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SYMBOLISM OF COLORS IN THE LEXEME OF CLOTHES IN THE KARAKALPAK
LANGUAGE
Zairova K.M.
Karakalpak State University.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13921301
Abstract. In the article, the national clothes of the Karakalpak people were considered as
one of the most valuable parts of the culture, which has preserved its distinctive features in the
past life of the ethnic group till today. In this regard, it was mentioned about the symbolic meaning
of colors in the clothing lexeme in the Karakalpak language. We can see that colors in our
language do not only express the meaning of color, but also have other semantic differences, and
as a result of abstract thinking, they begin to express other meanings. Our article focused on
revealing the function of colors in clothing, their ethnographic, symbolic meaning, meaning
related to the traditions.
Key words: lexeme, ethnos, ethnography, symbol, colors, semantics, clothing terms: black
hat, white dress, blue dress, white kerchief, red scarf, etc.
СИМВОЛИКА ЦВЕТОВ В ЛЕКСЕМЕ ОДЕЖДЫ В КАРАКАЛПАКСКОМ ЯЗЫКЕ
Аннотация. В статье национальная одежда каракалпаков рассматривалась как
одна из самых ценных частей культуры, сохранившая свои отличительные черты в
прошлой жизни этноса до наших дней. В этой связи упоминалось о символическом значении
цветов в лексеме одежды в каракалпакском языке. Мы видим, что цвета в нашем языке не
только выражают значение цвета, но и имеют другие семантические различия, а в
результате абстрактного мышления начинают выражать и другие значения. Наша
статья была посвящена выявлению функции цветов в одежде, их этнографического,
символического значения, значения, связанного с традициями.
Ключевые слова: лексема, этнос, этнография, символ, цвета, семантика, термины
одежды: черная шапка, белое платье, синее платье, белый платок, красный шарф и т. д.
Clothing is directly related to the way of life of each nation which they have been living
since ancient, traditions and customs, and nature, and marks their national culture. Clothes clearly
show a person's education, intelligence, self-control and aesthetic skills. The reason is that a person
was valued not only for wearing new clothes, but for wearing them according to the culture of
dressing. The fact that our people wear clothes according to their age from early times and pay
attention to their colors is a sign of intelligence.
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Symbolic meanings of colors were formed according to the differences in the mentality of
each people, i.e. life traditions, customs, and beliefs. The fact that the secret of colors has become
an object of research in many disciplines (physics, psychology, physiology, chemistry, art,
linguistics) shows the complexity of its nature. A number of research works have been carried out
in Turkic languages in the field of linguistics. To mention specially, S.I. Matchanova determined
the structural and lexical-semantic differences of the words expressing color in the Russian and
Uzbek languages in her work[1,24]. M. Ganikhodjaeva studied the color adjectives in the Uzbek
language in a comparative-historical aspect [2,23]. Z.N. Pardaev studied the semantic and stylistic
differences of color adjectives in the Uzbek language, and in his work he learned the semantic
differences and stylistic use of color adjectives white, black, red, yellow and others [3,22]. Also,
R.V. Alimpiyeva mentioned about the meaning of the adjective "white" [4,13]. Ibrahim Haqqul
talks about the meaning of the word "black" [5, 14], R.N Shoibekov mentions the meaning
differences of the color adjectives in their articles [6]. A. Bekbergenov's article [7,54] about the
adjectives expressing color and their meanings in Karakalpak linguistics was published.
Understanding the meaning of colors is of particular importance in everyday life and social
production. Along with the fact that color determines the appearance of all things in nature, the
beauty of the surroundings, the distinction between things, plants, animals, it also reflects the
various thoughts, worldviews and beliefs of mankind. In linguistics, colors show that they have
semantic differences beyond their color sign, and they have ethnographic, symbolic, traditional
and cultural meanings. The adjectives that express color firstly explain a certain color, and finally,
as a result of abstract thinking, they begin to express other meanings. We took into account these
semantic differences, and in this article we decided to focus mainly on the use of colors in the
symbolic meaning in the clothes lexeme.
The world of color in the culture of each nation has its own symbolic meaning, i.e. color is
considered as one of the factors that represent the culture of the nation. In our language, by
combining the term
qalpaq
"hat" with the word
qara
“black” which means color, and
qaraqalpaq
is widely used as a symbol of our nation. For example:
… Al men máńgi watanlasıń qaraqalpaq bolaman! (I.YUsupov).
... And I will always be your compatriot Karakalpak! (I. Yusupov).
Also, in our language the
aq qalpaq
(white cap), which is the national headdress of the
Kazakh and Kyrgyz peoples, neighboring Turkic peoples, is used as a symbol of that nation. For
example:
Diydarıńa qarayman da toymayman,
Ala tawdan aq qalpaǵıń kórinse … (I.YUsupov).
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I can't get enough of looking at you,
If your white hat is seen from Ala taw... (I. Yusupov).
In our language, the colors "white" and "black" are effectively used in symbolic meanings
in some words related to the customs, traditions, and beliefs of our people. White and black
lexemes are used in opposite meanings. For example:
Aq- degeni alǵıs, qara-degeni qarǵıs.
(White
means thanks, black means curse.) In addition to the nominative meaning of white, it is of great
importance in understanding the meanings of words that have good qualities: purity, honesty,
innocence, etc. In recent years, due to the arrival of European culture in our country, it has become
a tradition for a newly married bride to wear a white dress at the wedding. This whiteness is used
as a symbol of happiness, honesty and purity. "White dress" is a symbol of a dress of happiness.
The Kazak linguist A.Almautova quotes the academician A.Kaidar's opinion in her work:
"the terms of color have distant roots, they come with the long life of the people, they are one of
the major issues such as social, philological, ethnolinguistic significance that are connected with
the aesthetic sense of analysis, national psychology, customs, and traditions" he says. Therefore,
when making the types of clothes, our ancestors gave a special meaning to their color according
to their social, spiritual, and other peculiarities [8,74].
The color of a person's clothes explains his world view, purpose, spiritual aspirations,
chosen path. For example, people who are in good mood, cheerful and enjoy life like to wear white
clothes. Such clothes are suitable for people who do not hold grudges in their hearts and do not do
bad things. The reason is that white clothes are compared to the sun and people who wear them
shine light on others, and black color is the color of the night and the pupil of the eye, and those
who wear this color are considered to be full of secrets [9,10]. In mythology, white color is
considered the color of Gods’, the color of invisible powerful forces. Therefore, there is
information that pilgrims to the "House of God" (Kaaba) set off in special white clothes [10,22].
The color black means darkness, poverty, and when used in relation to organs such as eyebrows,
eyes, and hair, it means a hint of beauty. On the other hand, the meaning of grief, sorrow, and
mourning is understood due to the word combination "wearing black" in the clothes. For example:
Gúlziyba uzın qara kóyleginiń jeńlerin túsirip tiklenińkiredi: – Sizlerge qa’dirsiz bolǵanı menen,
el biri edi –da’! Jerlewge kelińler! (Gulziyba took down the sleeves of her long black dress and
said: - Even though he was incompetent for you, he was one of the countrymen! Come to the
funeral!) [14,3,190]. The word "black" in the word combinations such as "black veil", "black
intention" is used in the meanings of "sorrow", "death", "badness", and the symbolic meaning is
considered a linguistic-cultural connotation [8,75].
Our people wear clothes according to their age, pay attention to their colors, in this case,
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the white color is a sign of intelligence and wisdom, while the red color is a sign of the blooming
period of youth, and it is a manifestation of the ethical, aesthetic and social life of the people.
Elderly mothers wore white kiymeshek (dress), white jegde (jacket), and white jawliq (large scarf).
For example: Jupını ǵana kiyingen,basına jamılǵan aq jawlıǵınıń sáwlesi qara torı júzine túsip
turǵan, kózleri adamǵa analıq miyrim menen baǵatuǵın bul hayaldı Patma dep tanıstırdı[15.4.19].
(This woman who light dressed, the rays of her white jawliq that covered her head, fell on her
black face, and her eyes were full of motherly love for people is introduced as Patma.) And the
young women wore red kiymeshek on their heads and scarlet jackets. The red clothes are usually
considered as wedding clothes. For example: Toylar qutlı bolsın, bayram múbárek, Jasasın qızıl
gúl! «Qızıl shúberek!» (Happy weddings, happy holidays, May the red flower bloom! "Red
kerchief!") (A. Ajiniyazov). Here, in a variable meaning, red flower represents the symbolic
meaning of girls, while red kerchief means young women. The red color symbolizes the blooming
period of youth, and the white color symbolizes the graying of hair and beard, the time of old age.
The word combinations "Aq jawlıqlı, qızıl oramallı (white jawliqli" and "red scarfed)" are used in
the meaning of "woman, wife, bride". For example: Aq jawlıqlı kórsem kópshiy beremen …
(G.Dawletova), Jaynap-jasna, shadlan, áyne máháliń, Shadlıq kızıl sharshıń bolsın kelinshek
(Á.Ájiniyazov). (When I see one with white jawliq, I talk too much). (Enjoy, be pleased, it’s your
time, may your kerchief will be joy, bride).
In clothes, colors contain good and bad, happiness and unhappiness, joy and sadness, and
other several meanings. In S. Shamuradova's work, it is quoted that "white color means descriptive
symbol to the kerchief, the symbol of happiness, and if black and yellow colors are epithets to the
scarf, they mean the separation and grief "[10,40]. In fact, the white color also means sadness, just
like the black color. According to the tradition of our people, on the day when a person dies, before
going to his last place, he is wrapped in a white cloth, which is called a shroud (clothing of the
deceased) in our language. In Sh.Rakhmatullaev’s work it is cited: "This Arabic word has the
appearance of kafan(un) and is derived from the verb kafana, which means " is wrapped with white
cloth", explain the meaning "white material (cloth) for wrapping the deceased before placing them
in the grave" [11, II, 198]. When this cloth is sewn, sleeves and collar are not attached, therefore,
among our people, there is a ritual to wear the garment with the sleeves tucked in, and do not hang
it on your shoulders, it’s related to this shroud. Also, mourner people are separated with their
clothes. In our country, mourners do not wear colorful clothes, girls wear headscarves. Such
clothes will be in black and blue colors.
In fact, the symbolism of colors used in clothes in our language has its own broad meaning.
In the Karakalpak language, the lexeme blue has a number of abstract meanings compared to other
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color-denoting features (in explaining the meaning of color). The reason is that it is difficult to
visualize exact color when saying blue. Blue lexeme is depicted in the circle of green, sky-blue
colors. If the blue color of the national dress of our people is interpreted as a sign of youth, then
knitting upwards of the pattern on it is interpreted as "growth". In this case, blue-green means
youth, a symbol of growth and development. In the understanding of our people, green is the
awakening of nature, a sign of vitality, and it is considered a sign of human life's continuity and
growth. In M. Sadikova's work, the use of the lexeme "blue" in the meaning "young, blue,
immature, unripe" is given with the help of the examples, and from the historical point of view,
she shows that the color meaning word appeared from the word "jas" of the word “jasil”, i.e., with
the help of adding affixes to the word "jas" (jas+i+l) [12,21]. If we quote A. Pirnazarova's opinion
about the "ko’k ko’ylek (Blue Dress)" she gave information like this: "The patterns of this dress
are complex and have a great meaning. The blue color itself is the color of the sky and gives the
meaning that it is the basis of life, and the large tree trunk with branches stretched in all directions
that is woven into the front represents the mother, the founder of life [13]. From an ethnographic
point of view, there is a great meaning in the instructive phrase "ko’kke nalam jetipti (my moan
reached the sky)", in which ko’k (blue) is a symbol of the sky and the phrase is used in worship
and prayer to the sky. The national blue dress of our people contains a number of such meanings,
and the symbol of mother, who is the basis of life, and the period of growth and development of
youth are deeply depicted.
Green color is a symbol of growth and development in human life, while yellow, yellowish
color means sadness, separation, depression in human life. For example: Bul sózden buwılǵan
bir gúl dástesi, Sarǵısh boyaw basım árman kestesi (X.Da’wletnazarov). (A bouquet of
flowers made from this word, dream table with more yellowish color).
In conclusion, linguistic facts show that the culture of our ancestors, who were able to be
choose and use the colors of the national clothes correspond to various colors of social life, natural
center, according to symbolic, ritual, and other differences of the national past of our people, was
at a high level.
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