Everyday clothing of a chumak. Ukrainians. Early 20th century. Kherson Province

Ukranians

Costume

The chumak business was a carrying and trading activity that existed in the territory of Ukraine in the 16th through 19th century. The trade was pursued by the chumaks, merchants who set out for salt and fish to the lower reaches of the Don and to Crimea, to the Black and Azov Seas, from where they carried the goods to many fairs of Ukraine. The chumaks also traded in agricultural products, bread and grain, tobacco, butter, linen, skins, fur, yarn, glass and metal articles, and other goods carried on carts (mazha). There are several versions of the origin of the term chumak: from Turkic choom or chium, or “drayman” to chooma, or plague, which often occurred in the 19th century. The chumak clothing reflected all the difficulty of life on the road, where summer heat changed into spring and autumn frosts with piercing wind. The chumaks wore a shirt of home linen cloth tucked in wide linen trousers tied up with a wool belt wrapped around the waist several times. A lambskin cap was the headwear. The outerwear was a svita, which reliably protected them from cold, piercing wind, and rain. They took their long road wearing leather boots with hobnailed soles. The chumaks set out to Crimea for salt in spring – in April or May, or in autumn – in late August. Contemporaries respected the chumaks, and fellow villagers paid heed to their opinion, eagerly awaiting their return from voyages. However, with the development of railroads, the chumak business gradually waned.