Latgale
Latgale is a culturally and historically distinct province in Eastern Latvia. In earlier times, these lands were populated by the ancient Latgalians living in extensive contact with neighbouring Slavs, as well as Balto-Finnic peoples. Over the centuries, it has been an ethnically and religiously mixed area. There are two distinct types of traditional clothing here, as seen in the counties of Northern and Southern Latgale.
Northern Latgale includes the former district of Abrene (which was partially incorporated into the Russian Federation), the northern part of Ludza, and the earlier parishes of Balvi, Baltinava, Viļaka, Rugāji, and Šķilbēni. The traditional clothing of this area shows the persistence of centuries old characteristics, which was facilitated by the mutual connections between Latgalian and Balto-Finnic communities.
Southern Latgale comprises most of the former districts of Daugavpils, Rēzekne, and Ludza. The boundary between the two counties is formed by the earlier parishes of Kārsava, Mērdzene, and Nautrēni. The traditional clothing from the western part of the district of Daugavpils belongs with the Krustpils type and is therefore considered part of the Vidzeme tradition.
Folk costumes
Men's Clothing from Latgale
Latgali no Sēlijas atdala Daugava un no Vidzemes — Aiviekste un Pededze. Austrumos Latgale robežojas ar Krievijas Federāciju, dienvidaustrumos ar Baltkrievijas Republiku.
Women's Clothing from Southern Latgale
Latgale ir kultūrvēsturisks apgabals Latvijas austrumdaļā. Tās ir seno latgaļu apdzīvotās teritorijas, kur vērojama aktīva mijiedarbība ar kaimiņos esošajiem slāvu un daļēji arī Baltijas somu etnosiem. Daudzu gadsimtu garumā tā bijusi etniski un reliģiski jaukta teritorija. Latgalē izšķir divus tautastērpu novadus: Ziemeļlatgale un Dienvidlatgale.Dienvidlatgales tērpu novads aptver kādreizējo Daugavpils, Rēzeknes un Ludzas apriņķa lielāko daļu, par robežšķirtni aptuveni uzskatot senāko Kārsavas, Mērdzenes un Nautrēnu pagastu teritoriju. Kādreizējā Daugavpils apriņķa rietumdaļa, kas veido Krustpils tautastērpa novadu, pieskaitāms Vidzemes tautastērpiem.
Reconstruction of the 14th century Latgallian woman's costume
In the 14th century, Latgallian costumes underwent a great change. The dark blue woolen shawls with the interwoven bronze ring pattern were replaced by shoulder blankets made of wool and linen – either checkered or patterned. The shapes and ornaments of the armbands worn also changed. Small yellow glass paste beads, tiny bronze spirals and tin-lead rosettes were used for decoration of both shoulder shawls and headdresses (vainags).
Reconstruction of the 11th -12th century Latgallian woman’s costume
The costume of the 11th and 12th century Latgallian woman is characterized by an ornate woolen shawl and a rich range of ornaments, which showed the garment wearer's special position in society. The dark blue woolen shawl is entirely covered by bronze decorations and pinned at the chest with a brooch. A metal crown and neck rings were the most luxurious adornments and were worn in large numbers along with decorations made of chain. The hands were adorned by spiral armbands and many finger-rings.
Women’s Clothing from Northern Latgale
Women’s clothing of the Northern Latgale district was characterized by a straight cut, mid-calf length linen fabric shirt, made of separate, rectangular fabric segments or a tunic-type shirt where the front and back are made of one contiguous piece of fabric folded over at the shoulders. The body of the shirt was woven in a diamond twill pattern, differing from the plain weave of the rest of the shirt. The shirt has stitched-on shoulder straps and red embroidery on the turnover collar, shoulder straps, and cuffs. The red embellishment on the shoulder straps was woven. The shirt was fastened with a small to medium sized silver annular brooch (sakta) or fabric ribbon.