Saçbağı

When a woman wore her hair in a single braid down her back, she could tie a jeweled tassel of gold or silver chains, a saçbağı, to the end. (It’s pronounced “sach-baah-ih.”) The 17th-century poet Karacaoğlan hints at the evocative power of the saçbağı:

As she wakes up in the morning, praises herself
Golden saçbağı reaches her heels . . .
I will buy you a golden saçbağı
Gather it up and wrap around your slender waist . . .
Karac’oğlan praises and praises her
Her golden saçbağı reaches her heels
I will buy golden saçbağı for your braids
Attach it to your hair, hang it up from your waist, bride1

In the drawing below, the woman on the right has a saçbağı tied to the end of her braid. The diamond-shaped pieces are pieces of flat metal, probably gold or silver.

On the left, three women in street dress
  1. Translation by Eminegül Karababa. Source: Karababa, Eminegül. “Investigating early modern Ottoman consumer culture in the light of Bursa probate inventories,” Economic History Review, 65, 1 (2012), p. 211.

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