Kesan ki kijo pritpal, nah(i) ustran se katyo vaal |" "Doi vele utth bandhyo dastare, pahar aatth rakhyo shastar sambhare | He is the author of "Sri Gur Panth Parkash" which he wrote almost two centuries ago. Bhai Rattan Singh Bhangu is one of the most famous ancient Sikh historians. Several ancient Sikh documents refer to the order of Guru Gobind Singh about wearing the five Ks. "Comb your hair twice a day and tie your turban carefully, turn by turn." "Kangha dono vakt kar, paag chune kar bandhai."
Since about 1500 and the time of Guru Nanak Dev *1, the founder of Sikhism, Sikhs have been wearing the turban. Turban is and has been an inseparable part of a Sikh's life. Picture by RM Singh, Tribune Historical Background
Water painting of a Sikh Woman with a Turban and chuunee. Devout Sikhs also do not cut their beards. Sikh men commonly wear a peaked turban that serves partly to cover their long hair, which is never cut out of respect for God's creation. It is a most outstanding act." quoted from Sikhnet. When you choose to stand out by tying your turban, you stand fearlessly as one single person standing out from six billion people. The turban doesn't represent anything except complete commitment. It is a signal to others that we live in the image of Infinity and are dedicated to serving all. For men and women alike, this projective identity conveys royalty, grace, and uniqueness. It is how we crown ourselves as the Singhs and Kaurs who sit on the throne of commitment to our own higher consciousness. While the symbolism associated with wearing a turban are many - sovereignty, dedication, self-respect, courage and piety, but!, the main reason that Sikhs wear a turban is to show-their love, obedience and respect for the founder of the Khalsa Guru Gobind Singh. The turban, as well as the four other articles of faith worn by Sikhs, has an immense spiritual and temporal significance. When a Sikh man or woman dons a turban, the turban ceases to be just a band of cloth for it becomes one and the same with the Sikh's head. For the Khalsa, the turban is not to be regarded as merely an item of cultural paraphernalia. Though not required to wear a turban many Sikh Kaurs (women) also choose to wear a turban. All baptised male Sikhs are required to wear a Dastaar. More appropriately known in the Panjab as a dastaar, the Sikh turban is an article of faith which was made mandatory by the founder of the Khalsa. Thus, a turbaned Sikh has always stood out from the crowd, as the Guru intended for he wanted his 'Saint-Soldiers' to not only be easily recognizable, but easily found as well. He wanted his Khalsa to be different and to be determined "to stand out from the rest of the world" and to follow the unique path that had been set out by the Sikh Gurus. This was to be worn in recognition of the high moral standards that he had charted for his Khalsa followers. Guru Gobind Singh, in defiance of this infringement by the Mughals asked all of his Sikhs to wear the turban. All non-Muslims were strictly barred from wearing a pagri. During the Mughal domination of India, only the Muslims were allowed to wear a turban. Traditionally, the turban represents respectability, and has long been an item once reserved for nobility only. Sikhs are famous for their many and distinctive turbans. The Sikh pagdi (ਪਗੜੀ) is also called dastaar (ਦਸਤਾਰ), which is a more respectful word in Punjabi for the turban. Vast majority of people who wear turbans in the Western countries are Sikhs. Sikhism is the only religion in the world in which wearing a turban is mandatory for all adult males. Traditionally in India, the turban was only worn by men of high status in society men of low status or of lower castes were not allowed or could not afford to wear a turban.Īlthough the keeping of unshorn hair was mandated by Guru Gobind Singh as one of the Five K's or five articles of faith, it has long been closely associated with Sikhism since the very beginning of Sikhi in 1469. It is a headdress consisting of a long scarf-like single piece of cloth wound round the head or sometimes an inner "hat" or patka. All these words refer to the garment worn by both men and women to cover their heads. The turban or "pagri" often shortened to "pag" or "dastar" are different words in various dialect for the same article. Picture by Paul Schmid / The Seattle Times