Monday, September 2, 2013

Significance Of The Head Turban

By Amanda Baird


Scarves are pieces of continuous wrapping of cloth tied on the hair. They do have various uses and significance in different parts of the world. People do use them for various reasons depending on the culture, medical or religious practices surrounding the wearer. But generally, a head turban is mainly used to cover hair and preserve cleanliness of the hair from dust and dirt.

In Sikhism, hair gears are regarded as part of the body which wearers have. It is easy to clean beard when washing the face and hence they do cover it. It acts as part of respecting God when one covers hair when visiting temples on sacred days. Believing that God is omnipresent, there is the need to cover and maintain hair gears all the time.

It stands as recognition of teachings that Guru gave to his followers. It represents sovereignty, self respect and dedication on Sikhism. Sikhs regard it sacred symbol as it promotes equality in the religion. Hair scarves area mostly worn by men of Sikh religion hence acts as an identity feature. They do not cut their hair since it is going against the nature of creation.

In the Islam community, religious leaders must wrap their heads with these scarves. The caps are used to contain hair because of their shapes. They have a conical shape and are mostly white in color. They come in various sizes to suit the needs of each wearer. The Islam community wears white scarves because they regard the color as holly. Green on the other hand is regarded to as a paradise color.

Countries that are governed by Islamic rules require citizens to wrap scarves as a national dress. They have special ways of wrapping them so that people who do not belong to the religion will not misuse them. Members of the Taliban warp long scarves that have been intertwined with loose ends. The piece that is hanging is then let to hang on their shoulders. There are other special hats that act as alternatives to the scarves.

Men from the North Africa use these pieces of cloth to cover their heads from dust and sand. This is due to the presence of strong wind in the desert. Nomadic tribes on the other hand disguise by wrapping them to protect themselves from enemies. Colors vary from one tribe to another.

Indian citizens use scarves to segregate themselves in terms of class, caste and profession one is in. The gears also signify wealth and power one has in the society, for example political leaders in India. Different wrappings come with the type of turban one uses. In Palestine, scarves are folded diagonally and then draped carefully on the skull. However, different styles and colors used dictate different regions that wearers hail from. When fitted on the head, the scarf is held by black cords so that they may not drop off.

Jamaica has a Rastafarian movement that ties head turban on hairs. They are characterized by long dreadlocks that need to be preserved from dirt. The movement requires that, in their journey to Zion, hair should be clean. Hair gears are hand knitted and come in four main colors. Red, green, gold mostly knitted in that order and then followed by black. Patterns and embroideries made are based on taste of a user.




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