The pictures above show the 3 types of turbans worn by Sikhs of different ages.
The furthermost left picture shows a small child wearing a handkerchief. This is generally worn by a young child when his hair is long enough to tie into a jura.
Once the hair becomes a bit longer and the jura becomes too big to fit into the handkerchief, or looks messy, the child will start to wear the turban shown in the middle photograph, known as a patka.
Once the male reaches youthhood he will wear the turban shown in the furthermost right image.
Some facts about the turban:
- It is mandatory and not a social or cultural article.
- It covers long, uncut hair.
- It is approximately 5-6 metres of cloth wrapped neatly around the head.
- It symbolizes discipline, integrity, humility, and spirituality.
- Middle East head coverings are different because they are worn for reasons to do with culture or tradition and NOT RELIGION.
- 99% of people wearing turbans in UK are Sikhs, not Muslims or Hindus.
Importance Of Identity:
- Sikhs feel severely humiliated if asked to remove their turban in public, as this breaks a sacred covenant with god and exposes an intimate part of the body. It is very insulting and disrespectful to a Sikh to remove his or her turban in public
- Turbans are a mandatory part of Sikh faith.
- A turban is not a hat. It cannot be casually taken on and off. It must be carefully retied each time it is removed.
- It is very important to treat the turban with the utmost respect.
I believe we should add a photo with patka – to explain a bit more about it.
Thank you so much for this suggestion. Will add some more photo’s above