Turban - 4000!yrs old

Growing up in Southall, West London, where many of Britain's Sikhs settled after moving to the UK, the turban was all around us: at home, in the gurdwara, on the street. It is Sikhs' most identifiable feature.

But tracing the turban's origins back through history, we found that it was, at one time, also worn by Muslims, Hindus, Jews and Christians.

The turban's exact origin is unclear. A turban-like garment, found on a royal Mesopotamian sculpture dating to 2350 B.C., is believed to be the earliest known example, offering evidence that the garment predates the Abrahamic religions.

Sikh warrior and political leader Akali Nutha Singh depicted wearing a style of turban known as "dastar bunga" -- or "towering fortress."

Sikh warrior and political leader Akali Nutha Singh depicted wearing a style of turban known as "dastar bunga" -- or "towering fortress." Credit: Courtesy of the Council of the National Army Museum / Turbans and Tales

The use of turbans once stretched across India, the Middle East, Europe and Africa, protecting wearers from sun, rain or cold. In some regions, only believers had the privilege of wearing one, while other cultures ordered non-believers to assume turbans of different colors so they could be identified. (In eighth-century Egypt and Syria, for example, Christians wore blue turbans, Jews yellow and Samaritans red, while Muslims generally sported white ones).

Rare jewels of the maharajas

Rare jewels of the maharajas

In India, only the royal entourage and high officials were permitted to wear turbans before the founding of the Mughal Empire in the 16th century. The garment was a symbol of status, often decorated with peacock plumes and ornaments. Hinduism, with its strict caste system, forbade individuals of lower castes from donning turbans.

Islamic rule brought about changes. Stylized around their Persian and Arabic heritage, the Mughals' turbans were conical and broad, unlike the smaller ones previously worn by Indians. And when Aurangzeb, one of the Mughals' most controversial emperors, came into power in 1658, the garment was used as a tool to segregate the population.

by Amit AminNaroop Jhooti