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Turbans For Men And Why They Are Worn

By Kate McMahon


Sikhs often wear turbans for men that are peaked to cover long hair, which is never trimmed as a way of showing respect for Gods creation. Devout ones also do not trim their beards, as they comb it, twist and tuck it inside their headgears together with their lengthy head hair.

Often, Muslim religious leaders wear turbans wrapped around caps referred to in Arabic as Kalansuwa. These caps can be colorful or solid white, spherical or conical, with their styles widely varying from area to area. In addition, the colors of the turban wrapped around the Kalansuwa also vary. Some Muslims consider white the holiest turban color, given that it was the color of the turban donned by Prophet Muhammad.

Other Muslims also favor green since they consider it the color of paradise. Not all Muslims however wear a turban. In fact, in some western nations they are perceived as old fashioned and are rarely worn by those living in major cosmopolitan areas in the Muslim world.

Men in Afghanistan wear a wide range of turbans, the only difference being the way they cover their heads using them. The Taliban, which is the oppressive Islamic government ruling most parts of the country, provides a good example. Taliban members often wear quite a lengthy turban, in some instances intertwining two of them together in a way that an end hangs loosely over one shoulder. Taliban diplomats to Afghanistan usually wear a plain black turban folded over their foreheads.

Some afghan men rarely wear a turban at all, choosing instead some rather distinctive afghan hats. Iran leaders wear either black or white turbans folded in a flat circular style. It is thought that the word turban has its origins from the Persians who lived in the area now known as Iran, whose term for it was a dulband.

Indian men in some cases wear a turban to signify their caste, class, religious affiliation or profession. In India, this headgear can be quite elaborate. However, those made using fancy woven cloths and decorated with jewels are not restricted to India only. Men have utilized the headgear as far away as Turkey to demonstrate their power and wealth.

A kaffiyeh is technically not a turban. It is actually a rectangle shaped piece of cloth diagonally folded and then worn across the head, contrary to the manner in which turbans are worn. In modern times, the kaffiyeh was made popular by the late Palestinian statesman called Yasser Arafat. All in all, this headpiece is not just for Palestinians only. Citizens of states of the Persian Gulf, Saudi Arabia and Jordan also wear black and white kaffiyehs, with Palestinians preferring ones with multiple colors.

People living in deserts have for a long time used turbans for men to prevent sand from getting into their faces. Nomadic communities and their tribesmen also use them as a form of disguise. The color of men's headgear can also signify their tribal affiliation from a long distance.




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