the ‘inside’ other 107
The inhabitants of these regions were multiethnic and multilingual
(Sogdians, Iranians, descendents of the Tokharians, Turks, Uighurs,
etc.). For example, the female kaftans in Kucha and Khotan, unlike
the male ones, were never tightened with a girdle.^79 In the above men-
tioned oasis centers the women were famous for their extraordinarily
slender waists, probably the result of a continuous usage of a special
tightening device of a corset-type. According to S. Yatsenko, there are
no reasons to suppose any foreign influence for such a rite as there was
nothing similar to it in the neighboring Kucha and Khotan regions.^80
The hats and head decorations were also rather different and there-
fore not a single common type can be identified. In Kucha, they were
rare and probably were a privilege for women from the royal family
or for some male aristocrats. In Khotan, for centuries the male and
female head decorations have had the same shape. According to ‘Bei-
shi’ and ‘Sui-shu’ chronicles, in the second half of the sixth century,
the Khotan princess used to wear a “golden wreath” on her head.^81 The
prince himself wore a strange hat with a figure of a golden beast on top;
golden lion decorated also the hat of the Kashgar prince.^82 Shoes were
another important detail. With only one exception (from Khotan),
with the female dress shoes were always covered by clothes.^83
In another oasis, Turfan (Gaochang), women, according to ‘Bei-shi’,
“used to tighten their hair in tufts”.^84 Between the end of the sixth and
the beginning of the seventh century, the inhabitants of the region
were put under serious ‘costume experiments’ by the Turk and Chi-
nese rulers. The following episode, for example, shows the attempt to
impose foreign costume and the reasons behind such experiments. In
590 A.D., a vassal to the Turks, namely the local Turfan prince, passed
away and the throne was taken by his son K’iu Peya. His mother was
the daughter of the Turk khagan and the first wife of the deceased
prince. All this was enough for the Turks to recommend the new
prince to accept the Turkic rites; he agreed but protracting and not
without irritation.^85 Twenty one years later, when the prince tried to
strengthen his position and free himself from the Turkic authority in
(^79) Dyakonova 1980, 188; Yatsenko 2000b, 330, 342.
(^80) Yatsenko 2000b, 330–331.
(^81) Bichurin 1950 (Vol. 2), 247, 285.
(^82) Bichurin 1950 (Vol. 2), 285; Yatsenko 2000b, 343–345.
(^83) Yatsenko 2000b, 348.
(^84) Bichurin 1950 (Vol. 2), 253.
(^85) Chavannes 1903, 102.