Importance Of The Indian Turban

By Jennie Sandoval


The turban, bulle, or dastar is worn as a headgear in some cultures including: India, Afghanistan, North Africa, Jamaica and parts of the Middle East, South Asia, and East Africa. The Indian turban or Pagri is a preferred headwear of men in India and Pakistan. For many men it is a symbol of their heritage. There are nearly seventy different types of turbans.

The headdress isn't just used as a cultural symbol, but a mark of religious beliefs. Dastar is the name used by the Sikhs tribe to refer to it. In the Sikhs tribe, the headdress is an important part of them when they go public.

The importance of the headdress is illustrated in the real life of a man who has joined the Royal Canadian Mounted police, and had blatantly refused to exchange his for a police hat. He proclaimed that he had incorporated the headgear to his work uniform. His ply went to court and the judiciary concluded that it would be a violation of his human rights to force him to be without his turban.

In some religions, it is adorned by both males and females alike. The headdress first came up in writing written in the fourteenth century. In some parts of Afghanistan, especially those parts where the Taliban dominated, any man who was found not wearing it was beaten.

All turban wearers do not wear them all the time. For example: Hindus wear their turbans for special ceremonies and important holidays. Sikh men wear theirs all the time, in their homes and out in public - except to sleep. In Islamic countries most men do not wear turbans. The headgear is worn there like a crown. The Taliban wear turbans to show their dedication to Islam.

Those who wear it do not have to wear the head gear all the time. An example is the Hindu culture. Hindus put on their turbans only on special occasions and their holiday seasons. The men who come from the Sikh tribe on the other hand wear them all year round, at home, in public etc. The only exception to this rule is when they are sleeping. In most Islamic countries, a large number of men don't wear turbans. The reason is that they wear it like a crown instead.

The headgear is wrapped over the topknot of hair with one end of the cloth just behind the ear. It is wrapped one full time around the head and fastened with a safety pin. Depending on the style, the rest of the fabric is twisted and wrapped. Rajasthani turbans use eighty-two feet of twisted fabric. Some styles are not twisted at all. The fabric is wrapped around the head in an upwards direction that gives a pleated appearance. When almost all of the material has been wrapped, the end is used to make a kalgi or feather-like end that stands up.

Where this headdress originates exactly remains an uncertainty. It's predicted however that in earlier times, the Persians wore caps that were shaped like corn and around these caps were bands of cloth. It seems that history has concluded that these caps may have given birth to the Indian turban.




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