EASTERN HEADGEAR

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 74, Issue 112, 14 May 1931, Page 2

EASTERN HEADGEAR

PICTURESQUE CUSTOMS. I Thu majority of English people had never seen turbans of such variety and magnificence as those worn by the delegates to the Round Table Conference staying in London recently, says a writer in a London daily. Indigo, daffodil yellow, deep chimson, shell pink, sky blue and white head-dresses oi rich silk, sometimes elaborately embroidered and frequently held by priceless, flashing jewels, have brightened our streets. Each turban is a miracle of construction, for in some cases 50 yards of silk, six to eight inches wide, arc coiled round the head. The pagri, which Anglo-Indians have anglicised as “puggaree,” can bo of any length from 10 to 50 yards, and is bound in innumerable ways. A different type of turban is made from, a piece of cloth less than nine yards long, but as wide as 30 inches. This is bound round the head to form a narrow angle over the forehead, and is generally white, but never of a vivid hue as the pagri. The Pathans and some of the Punjabi Moslems bind the cloth round a tall conical cap, allowing the ends to hang down over the shoulder. There are hundreds of variations of these two methods of binding the turban and each has its own significance. India’s aristocratic families have evolved their own style and kept to them so rigidly that the visitor who has a knowleugo of turban ’customs can recognise any man as oemg a membe* of a certain family. Rank, sect, profession, or even the pilgrimages which a man has taken are denoted by the style of turban he wears.

The cost of the turban, varies according to the length and richness of material. Borne, made from linen or quite coarse cotton, cost as little as the equivalent of 10s, while several pounds are paid for those of embroidered silk. If the style is a peaked one, stiff silk or cotton is used. Some turbans are too elaborate to be bound each day on the head, and so are bought “ready made.” Such are those worn by the Parsec. They ore bound round a stiff foundation, rising to a peak, and are made in heavy black cloth with coloured spots. The Khojas of Bombay wear a head-dress of narrow gold ribbon veiled round a foundation. A skull cap is frequently worn under the turban if the stylo of binding exposes the crown of the head. When the turban is heavy a cap is worn in the house and then ttfeked into the folds of the head-dress when this is donned. Tho poorer classes frequently use their turbans as pockets. Indians reverse the European custom of removing tho head-dress as a mark of respect. When meeting a lady, an officer of higher rank, or going into a house, they keep ou their turbans. To be asked to remove it is considered an insult. Many picturesque customs are connected with the turban. The Indian wife, receiving her husband home in the evening, places his turban in a place of honour, while the exchange of turbans is a sign of fraternal affection. In Afghanistan tho vanquished tribe cast their turbans at the feet of the, conqueror, while a chief, appearing before an official of higher rank, will lower the height of his turban.