Kalmyk dress

A card showing the Kalmyk traditional wear.

The Kalmyk of Russia are of Mongolian origin. They are the only Buddhist people group in Europe and are 2,500 miles away from their spiritual motherland, Tibet. In the early 1600's, most of their ancestors (the Oirat) left their homeland, Dzhungaria, which is now part of the Xinjiang region of China, in hopes of settling in the rich pastures of the northern Caucasus Mountains.

The typical Kalmyk dress includes velvet hats, loose fitted coats, and heavily padded long pants. They often shave their heads, except for one small area in the back that is reserved for a pony-tail.

Very funny to have received this card sent by Alina from Volgograd.

I bought the same card as I passed through Russia to enter Kazakhstan :D

Sent: 19 October 2014   Received: 7 November 2014   Travelled: 19 days