Folklore as a Key to the Interpretation of Museum Objects: The Example of Costume Complexes of the Kryashens of Bashkortostan

The subject of this article's research is a comprehensive study of the traditional costume of the Kryashens of Bashkortostan as a multilayered socio-cultural phenomenon, reconstructed through the analysis of song folklore. The focus is not only on the material component—cut, crafting techniques, typology, and decorative elements of clothing—but also on its symbolic code, reflected in the texts and contexts of folk songs. The study aims to identify the profound interconnections between the material world of the costume and its figurative-symbolic embodiment in musical and poetic creativity. Thus, the subject of research encompasses a wide range of questions at the intersection of material and spiritual culture, where the costume complex is analyzed not as a static artifact but as a dynamic component of the cultural system, whose meaning and semantics are revealed in the process of their verbal and vocal reproduction within the folk tradition. The work is based on an interdisciplinary approach utilizing principles of historicism, cultural studies, sociology, ethnology, art studies, folklore studies, and others. The following methods are employed in the study: comparative-historical, systemic, and typological. Among the general scientific methods, observation, analysis, and synthesis were used. Field research includes the method of participant observation as well as the survey method. The relevance of this topic is determined by the need for a comprehensive study of the cultural heritage of small peoples, as costume complexes, being a vivid manifestation of traditional culture, can serve as a key to understanding the worldview, religion, and ways of life of the Kryashens. Folklore sources provide valuable information about the forms, colors, decorations, and purposes of costumes, preserving the living memory of the culture of past generations. This work is the first step in scientific research on the formulated topic, and thus the task was set, firstly, to analyze the traditional costume complex of the Kryashens, and secondly, to trace how the objects of everyday and festive clothing are reflected in song culture. The scientific novelty of the presented research lies in the development and testing of an integrative methodology that synthesizes the tools of ethnography, folklore studies, and the semiotics of culture for a comprehensive analysis of the costume complexes of the Kryashens. Additionally, for the first time, a corpus of folklore texts (songs, ritual melodies) is introduced into scientific circulation, systematized and analyzed specifically as a source for reconstructing the semantics and functions of traditional clothing.