Sunday, September 8, 2013

The Indian Turban Hats Is A Beautiful Head Garment

By Kate McMahon


A turban is a kind of headgear worn mainly by men of the specific community for mainly religious purposes. Among the various communities that wear these garments are the Indians. The Sikhs is one of the most common turban hats wearing Indian faith religion. They call the garment a Dastar. They are not the only faith religion that wears the headgear in India however as the Muslim also does that as a religious observance. The Indian turban is a common but often misunderstood headwear.

There have existed about sixty six head gears in the universe. In general the Hindus tend to reserve their headgears for significant occasions and ceremonies. The Sikh men however are required to wear the clothing all the time. Among the Sikhs this article is a representation of a lot of things among them honor, courage, self respect, spirituality and piety. This garment is generally identified by Sikh men although it is not uncommon to find women wearing the article.

In the Indian culture, the origin of this garment has not yet been established. In Sikhism it started when a Guru Sikh, Guru Angad Dev honored the new Guru, Guru Amar Das, by giving him the article after being chosen as the new Guru. The last human Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh also wrote in the scriptures that every Sikh man was required to comb their hair and wrap their turban a new on a daily basis.

In Sikhism and India as a whole the garment is used to signify many things, the first is spirituality and holiness. The second significance is honor and self respect. In the Punjabi community the only people who wore the article are those that served the community in the most selfless ways. It can also be used to signify responsibility. During the Rasam Pargi, a Northern India ceremony, the eldest son takes on the responsibility of the family when the father passes on. This is signified by the tying of a turban before a large gathering.

It also represented goodness and moral values. The warriors were most trusted people in the community by everybody. This was like so because they were believed to be of noble mind and exceptional moral values. It is also a symbol of courage as it was worn during battle when going to war. It could also signify friendship of the highest order. During the Pag Vatauni a person exchanged their garment with that of their friend as a pledge of suffering or celebrating with the other person in all situations.

The articles have different styles of tying them which are used according to occasion. One of the styles is the Chand Tora Dhalama which was used by the Nihang Sikh men. This was a style used in battle and was only used in war.

It has not been an easy ride for the Indians who live outside India and still wear the headgear as discrimination is rampant. After the September 11 attacks most people assume people wearing the article are all terrorists and thus treat them the same even though this is not the case. It is important that people know these garments are significantly different to those worn by the Muslims.

This is a cultural and historical garment that needs to be more appreciated than it is at the moment. The discrimination should also be stopped as the wearers of the garment are also human. Let us appreciate the Indian turban hats for what they are.




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