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Monday, 10 June 2013

How The Significance Of Middle Eastern Turbans Vary Across Different Parts Of The World

By Mara Boone


There are different reasons for wearing Middle Eastern turbans. Among the reasons for donning them range from cultural to religious and even to social reasons. Today, more people all over the world are wearing them. And as you would expect, the reasons do vary a great deal. Women who are being treated for cancer wear them to hide their heads which do not have any hair. Other people use these headgears to enhance how they look.

A Sikh will use a turban for covering their hair. This is because they never cut their hair. Their reasoning is that the hairs are a creation of God and as such, should be respected. The more devout Sikhs do not cut their beards. What they do is to comb their beads and have them tucked under the headgears. Thus, to the Sikh men these headgears have a lot of religious significance.

The significance as well as the reason for wearing these headgears will vary from one area to another within the Middle East. How they are called will also depend on the region in which a person is. In Yemen, for example, Muslim elders are the main wearers. They are known locally as kalansuwa. These will normally take different shapes, being either spherical or conically shaped. Color wise, they also have great variations.

Afghanistan people also wear a turban, and these are found in great varieties. There existed difference even in the now defunct Taliban regime. Some people would be found putting on the long types, while others preferred putting on solid black headgears which they tie just above their foreheads. But for some people from the same country, these headgears have no meaning; instead, these folks wear afghan hats.

For Iranians, black or white turban is the most common. In fact, the origin of the word turban can be traced to these people. Initially called dulbands, they were worn by people who lived in Persia, which is the modern Iran.

Apart from the Middle Eastern regions, Indians are also notorious for wearing these headgears. In this country, the turban has different connotations. They show the religion of a person, caste, profession and power in the society. The last one is especially of the turbans that are made of more fancy clothes, and which have been festooned with jewels.

Within the same region of Middle East, another type, though not technically a turban as you know it, is called a kaffiyeh. It is much like a cap. It is folded diagonally and subsequently donned above the head. Unlike a traditional turban, this is not wound but just folded. If you can remember the former Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat, then you might as well know this type since it is the one he wore most of the time.

In northern African parts, nomadic tribes there use these Middle Eastern turbans chiefly for the purposes of disguise. Others in the same region protect their heads from the sand by using these headgears. You get a hint of the region an individual comes from by just looking at the color of a given headgear.




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