English: CENTRAL CAUCASUS.

The burka.

The burka is the weather cloak of the Caucasians. It is semi-circular, and made to fit the shoulders by the insertion of a gore. It is made of a felty milled wool, a sort of rough hunter's cloth, on the outside of which the hair is sometimes left. The favourite colours are black, or black-brown; seldom white. The opening for the neck, and the seams over the chest are trimmed with the braid. The inside of the burka, and the shoulder parts are often lined with silk or calico. The burka is tied at the neck with strings. The bashlik is a complement to the burka. It is a hood, the ends of which are slung round the neck (cf. Pl. 53)