Barga

Origin of the Tribe
Barga, an ancient Mongolian tribe, resided in the east of the Baikal Lake region since the 13th century. At the end of the 17th century, a branch of them moved to Heilongjiang and the region south of it. From 1732 to 1735, two groups of Bargas of this branch moved to Hulunbuir by the order of the Qing government, which is the origin of today’s Xin Barga Left Banner and Xin Barga Right Banner in Inner Mongolia.

Features of the Clothing
Preserving the characteristics of nomads and forest dwellers, Barga costumes not only present their tribal conventions, but also reflect the rooted animal worship. Women’s headgear is usually in the shape of horns of argali, with silver head hoops and hairpins embedded with different kinds of gems. In addition, women’s robes are one-piece and have long puff sleeves (reaching to the knees), arm bands and embroidered patterns. Long waistcoats with straight fronts are used to pair with robes. Due to the cold climate in the Hulunbuir area, leather robes are a large part of Bargas’ daily wear: when going or working outside, they usually don smoked fur robes, sheepskin coats and fur coats without an outer cloth layer; on ceremonial occasions, they take on leather ones with silk outer layer.

Dressing Customs
Like most of other Mongolian tribes, men and women have different routines for wearing their waistbands: men tie their waistbands around hips then lift their robes; women tie their girdles around waists to show off the figures. Women usually separate their hair into two braids before wearing headgear. Apart from head hoops, brides wear several golden and silver hairpins at weddings while grooms wear round hats with a standing brim and a mink tail. Both men and women wrap their heads with long hairbands in the color of white or light blue. As a symbol of marital status, married women wear long waistcoats when attending important occasions, but this dress code doesn’t apply to girls.