Turbans are traditional headgear worn throughout the Middle East and Southeast Asia, with various styles indicating social class or religious beliefs. They can be made from a range of fabrics and colors, and were once fashionable in Europe. Unfortunately, some people who wear turbans experience discrimination due to a lack of understanding of their cultural significance.
A turban is a piece of traditional headgear, created by wrapping a length of cloth around the head or around a soft supporting cap. Turbans are widely worn throughout the Middle East and Southeast Asia, by people of numerous ethnicities and religions, and can also be seen in parts of the West Indies. In the West, turbans are most often seen on the heads of people of the Sikh faith, despite the popular belief that the turban is an exclusively Muslim garment.
The practice of wearing turbans is believed to be quite old. Numerous works of art depict early forms of the turban, and turbans are also described in various written historical records, including religious texts. Some people wear turbans in accordance with their religious beliefs; Sikhs, for example, must cover their hair. Others wear turbans simply because the turban is a traditional and familiar garment, or as a fashion statement. In the West, cancer patients may wear soft turbans designed to keep their heads warm after chemotherapy-associated hair loss.
There are all sorts of ways to wrap a turban, and in many regions, there is a specific regional technique used for wrapping. People who are familiar with the various styles in which turbans can be worn can often identify someone’s social class or religious beliefs by the style of turban worn. Depending on regional traditions, the turban may be wrapped around the head, or wrapped around a cap of some form; Some military personnel have historically wrapped their turbans around spiked metal helmets.
There are a number of alternative names for this garment, including pagri, tagelmust, dastar, ‘imamah, dulband, and tülbent. Turbans can be made from a wide variety of fabrics, and come in a range of colors and decorative styles, from unbleached white muslin to richly embroidered African turbans. It is also not uncommon to see a turban worn with decorative embellishments such as chains and religious insignia.
There was a time when turbans were very fashionable in Europe, as paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries attest. The turban fashion was accompanied by a general interest in “oriental” culture and the Ottoman Empire. However, the wearing of turbans is much less common in the West today, and unfortunately many people who wear turbans experience discrimination, due to a lack of understanding of the rich and diverse culture of the turban. Especially in the United States, the turban is linked to Muslim extremism, thanks to the fact that it is the preferred hat of the notorious terrorist Osama Bin Laden.
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