Ob River Ugrians have men’s and women’s headdresses. They are mainly made of fabric (usually cloth) and fur.

In her book “Khanty and Mansi: a Look from the 21st Century”, Zoya Petrovna Sokolova explores the topic of headdresses:

It should be noted that Khanty often walked with their heads uncovered not only in summer, but also in winter, throwing back the hood of their cloth or fur sak coat. The Eastern Khanty sewed hoods from sable paws, mink, otter fur, muskrat, skins from the head of a bear or from the legs of deer or elk.

According to Khanty beliefs, evil spirits are wary of muskrat fur, so women sewed strips of this animal’s fur onto the clothes they made to protect their family.

Hunting hats were made of the same material as hoods — fur and cloth. Today, modern materials can also be used.

The hunting hat was not sewn to the sak coat, thus providing a greater viewing angle and convenience for the hunter when they were stalking their prey.

The hat presented in the Ugut Museum has a mink fur trim.

In Khanty culture, hunters can be both male and female. When hunting, women do not wear special hunting hats, preferring to use their usual headdress — the headscarf — because it is not attached to the sak coat and does not restrict head movement.

Now, this type of traditional hunting clothes is a thing of the past, as hunters prefer to buy their equipment — including hats — in stores. Traditional Khanty hunting hats can now only be seen in museums such as the Ugut Museum of Local Lore named after Pyotr Bakhlykov.