Although we are exposed to them every single day…do we actually think about what they mean? Or what they suggest?
There are all sorts of turbans…ones used for everyday use…big and round, like a monument on one’s head…or compacted, slimline ones…the nononsense kind.
They are used for various occassions…the pink one for weddings…with a tail, without a tail…loose fitting, tightly wound…matched to outfit…totally un-matched to outfit…phew…the list is long.
Those of you that are culturally “in-the-know” could you please explain more for the benefit of ignorant folks like me?
Turbans are of different kind. In all four provinces of Pakistan we have a different style to wear them. Pink ones at the weddings are normally a Sikh culture. Turbans are also worn in the Middle East and their styles are different.
We still do make our head Chowkidar (mostly in 5 star hotels in Pakistan) wear the Turban to keep reminding ourselves the glamorous Raaj we had in IndoPak.
In Pashtoon community, it is said that it represents coffin (That white cloth), which means one is ready to face death anytime and anywhere. In old times during war they couldn't find a piece of cloth to cover the dead, so that’s how the trend started. And also represents status, honor and pride.
Now I don’t know how much truth it holds, but that’s what I have been told.
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I once accompanied a friend's dada (grandfather) on buying a cloth for his turban ... and yes, the total cloth (un-sewn, ofcourse) required for turban is ~ 7 gaz (1 gaz is slightly less than a metre, for those unfamiliar with Pakistani naap units).
So, yea, the theory of carrying your coffin on your head seems to have some weight. Plus the turban keeps the head protected from sunlight (in summers) and warm (in winter), and the longish cloth on the neck, protects the neck from sunlight and is also useful for wiping the face (for sweat etc)
Turban is all about honor and pride and readiness to sacrifice one's self for it.(I will mostly talk about Punjabi culture here)
The shape of turbans is a really very ineteresting subject. The sikh turban of today looks very different than many other parts of the world including Pakistan and India. Only a century ago the shape of the Sikh turban was no different than the turbans worn by other Punjabis(Hindus and Muslims). Few centuries(before 1700s) ago the turban used to be round but couple of hundred years ago the shape strated getting pointy above the forehead. I saw a book on the History of Punjab which had some pictures of Muslim and Sikh, Hindu soldiers around the time British came to the region, all of them wore the turbans the same way. It was almost impossible to tell from the turban weather someone is Muslim or Sikh as most Punjabi Muslims used to keep long hair and beards also. The modern Sikh turban, which is usually tied one paich over the other neatly so that all the paiches(rounds) can be seen distinctly is said to be worn first time by Sher Singh one of the sons of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. It was not very popular until Maharaja of Patiala started wearing it and then it realy took off amongst Sikhs. It is still called Patiala Shahi pagg. Two things of Patiala gharana which are famous...Patiala Shahi pagg and Pegg(sharab da peg:)).
In old days(50 yrs or before) the Punjabi turban typically had a turla going upwards indicating ones pride and honor. usually people who's honor has been violated(by a daughter ran away or son killed by a dushman) would wear the turla downwards.
Best friends used to exchange their turbans and in the process swear to be brothers and protect each other's honor and life....usually called pagg vatt bhra ban'na.
The poor would ask for forgiveness from the zorawar or stronger by putting his turban on his feet...called pagg pairaN te rakhni.
A run away daughter or sister would dishonor her family's honor.....called pagg mitti vich mila dainee.
A more emotional brother or father would stop his daughter or sister from dishonroing their honor requesting her placing his turban in her feet(film ChooRiyaN has a scene like that)..that will usually create the emotion of family honor in girl's mind and th trick would work:)
I remember when we were kids we would take special care to tie our turbans as neatly as possible. During our college and University days chosing the right color turban to match rest of your dress and tie it as attractive as possible was a big thing as a well tied turban would enhance one's personality very much and will be attractive to sikh girls. Many schools and colleges in Indian Punjab have contests in the cultural festivals and melas where young men compete for the best tied up turban. Usually one can tie a turban in 3 or 4 minutes but some more shaukeen ones used to spend half hour to an hour to tie it to their liking. I think that is pathetic. I usually can tie a pretty good one in 3 minutes.
Like pristine mentioned turban is very protective in hostile environment. I did not realize it until I stopped wearing it after I came to USA that how cold the ears can get in winter.
I believe most of the emotional aspects reltaed to turban like honor, pride etc are common among many cultures accross the world.
ummmm chann i dont mean to be offensive but do sikh pilots wear pags under their helmets too? i dunno what its called the small micro pug that sikh sportsmen wear and lately some gangsta sikhs in the UK/USA but just wanted to know
I am not 100% sure but my impression is that sikh pilots and other officers in Indian army and airforce(and in British before that) don't wear helmets. none of the sikh servicemen are required to wear any thing to replace the turban. lately some officers like elite commandos etc have been seen wearing those small patkas instead of full turban....but that might be operation specific.
I know that air Marshal Arjun Singh always wore turban and i don't see him taking it off and wearing helmet. I am sure he would have refused if that was the case.
Sikhs are very particular about this issue and if there was any problem I am sure we would have heard long time ago.
But I could be wrong. or may eb it is upto the officer.
Although turban today is more signifigant in sikh religion, I was always under the impression (correct me if I am wrong any historian) that the turban in general of the indian subcontinent was something originated by the muslim conquerers.
We all know that our beloved prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) use to wear a round turban of black color I think (like afghani's) which use the have the end of the cloth hanging down the back. Naturally the devoted followers also did this as they spread islam across the world.
Now in India, we know that the moghul kings and people of honour or prestige use to wear a turban also way before sikh religion even came into existance. I guess when the sikh religion was foudned, they adopted this practice, but I dont think the turban in general existed in india in pre-islamic times. I dont see the turban being used among hindu pundits and fundamentalists even today.
Salaam
[This message has been edited by STRONGMAN (edited May 10, 2001).]
Turban was there in middle east and other places much before Islam too. So Islam adopted this from previous cultures of many milleniums. Even if we assume that turban originated in Midlle east, it is very possible that it came to the the Indian subcontinent much before Islam.
I don't know about rest of India but I know Punjabi Hindus,Kashmiri Pandits and Marathas used to to wear turban. It is not very uncommon to see a Punjabi pandit with a turban in rural areas of Punjab. They all wear turbans on weddings though.
Another thing,where ever turban originated I am sure it originated from environmental needs(like most of other clothing) all other significance we talked about in this thread might have come later.
Muzna ,I am not 100% sure of the exact color, I think it varied, perhaps a scholar can tell us. My maulvi friend use to wear a black one and I think he said its the color the prophet S.A.W. use to wear. But I've heard, black, green and white, so I think the colors varied.
Chan, it did exist in middle east even before prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.)
But you see the hindu fundamentalists wearing the brown/orange outfit and bald headed so I thought its not originally a hindu custom, perhaps its something that was later adopted by the indians more likely in Punjab/kashmir and northern india because thats where the muslims first arrived and where their hold was most strong.
Salaam
[This message has been edited by STRONGMAN (edited May 10, 2001).]
Strongman, yeah these newage fundoos don;t wear but I know some of the swamis used to and still do. I think Advani had worn it on certain occassions.
What sucks is not much information about history of turban on the web.
From colors yaad ayea. Black color of turban amongst Sikhs is considered color of protest...like after Bluestar operation most sikhs wore black as protest and sorrow for many months.
Pink(ewwww)/basanti is shagaun for weddings etc.
Kesari is color of josh/bravery.
White is for sorrow.
Everything else is fashion:)
Though turbans existed before Islam the Islamic style called “amaamah Sharif” is to wear a HAT or CAP beneath the turban. It is a sunnat for men to wear it and there is a hadith i think that says that the turban is the honour of the Arabs/Muslims. One or two generations ago muslims across the globe wore turbans which were all local variations of the basic Prophetic Model (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam.)
Sikhism was heavily influenced by Islam and it would not be surprising if that is why they also wear turbans but our turbans are different to theirs *.
See roman if you were wearing that pagg with flowing palla...you could have easily wiped off the tears and kept that strong brave hearted man appearance.
Sikhism was heavily influenced by Islam and it would not be surprising if that is why they also wear turbans but our turbans are different to theirs *.
During muslim rule only the Zamidars and people of ruling class were allowed to wear turban...sikhs made it part of their dress code in defiance and to stand out(not afraid of being identified) For the same reason Guru Govind Singh ji rode a horse and wore jewels in his turban.
You should read about Sikhism there is vitually no similarity between Islam and Sikhism other than both believe in one God..we consider all humanity our family and many ways to reach that one God instead of just one, no prophets just Gurus (teachers)reincarnation and Karma...... Sikhism is 180 degree diff than Islam
[This message has been edited by Rani (edited May 18, 2001).]*