In the past, ancestors in Pakistan covered their heads regardless of their gender irrespective the culture they belonged to. They wore handmade traditional caps. Only recently, women in reclusive eastern countries are the only ones who do this. The vibrant Pathani hat, Punjabi pagri, and Sindhi topi convey fascinating cultural stories.
Get Top Trends is sharing the historical and scientific tales behind Pakistani customary traditional caps in this post. The distinction among social groups that have always existed will also be further explained by looking at the history of caps.
Sindhi Cap
The Sindhi cap’s hues, layers, and style are practically unmatched. In the 18th and 19th centuries AD, the Sindhis believed that wearing a turban, cap, or another piece of fabric on one’s head was a show of sobriety, while leaving it uncovered was seen as a sign of social indulgence.
As a result, individuals always kept their heads covered based on their social position. In its first stages, there were two kinds of head coverings: one was created by stitching two white fabric folds with four circular pieces, while the other was manufactured using silk and golden threads, adorned with glass fragments, and carved with exquisite details.
Crafting a Sindhi traditional cap resembles creating a structure with a base, walls, floor, roof, color, plaster, etc. There are five main types of hats: fancy, betel leaf-shaped, four-cornered, round (circular), and caps with various patterns. Three distinct stages of development have passed before the current hat style.
Afghani Cap
The Chitral and Gilgit areas are where the hat first appeared in Northern Pakistan. Early in the 20th century, it became popular among the Pashtun groups of Northeastern Afghanistan as an alternative to their heavy, bulky turbans. It also became more well-liked among the Tajiks of Panjsher and Badakhshan and the Nuristanis.
Certain Pashtun groups from Kunar and Laghman also wear it. The Chitrali style traditional cap, which has a stitched brim, and the Gilgiti style, which is worn more like a knit hat with a bird feather, are the two main varieties of Pakul. Several versions of the Chitrali Pakul are well-liked in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Additionally, they also worn Hunza Cap. In Pakistan, it is incredibly well-liked in the northern regions of Gilgit, Hunza, Chitral, and the North West Frontier Province. In portions of Jammu and Kashmir’s northern districts, it is also worn. Since Afghan mujahideen battled the Soviet rule of their country (1979–1989), the Pakul, also known as a Muslim, Pashtoon, or mujahideen hat, garnered considerable notice in the West in the 1980s.
Jinnah Cap
A cap known as a Karakul is fashioned from the fur of the Qaracul sheep breed. The triangular hat is a component of the Kabul natives’ traditional attire, which Afghan males have worn for centuries.
Typically, males in Central and South Asia wear qaraqul hats. In 1919, the previous Amanullah Khan wore a folding Karakul. Since then, this hat has been worn by every Afghan president or monarch. It’s a customary outfit from Kabul.
The Karakul hat gained immense popularity among Politburo members in the USSR. Soviet officials started to often appear in public donning these kinds of hats. The hat’s popularity among
Party officials most likely stemmed from the fact that the tsar and Soviet generals had to wear it on parade. Soviet leaders used the Karakul cap to emphasize their elevated political standing. Because it resembled typical Russian pies, this hat also earned the moniker “Pie-hat” in the Soviet Union. There are also African and Kashmiri variants of it.
Punjabi Caps: Kulla and Pugree
Similar to the Peshawari turban, a Punjabi pugree consists of two pieces: the outer wrapping, which is often made of coarse, starched muslin and is not necessarily white, and the inner, which is shaped like a conical kulla. The pugree, like the Peshawari turban, has a tail and a noticeable crest. The turra or shamla’s height differs depending on the location and the individual.
The fashionable pugree is a headpiece worn by students at the esteemed Aitchison College in Lahore. When the tail is tugged, it does not unravel as quickly as the Peshawri turban. It is Most likely because of its more flexible Kulla and tightly tied muslin lungi.
In contrast, a long, narrow strip of coarse cotton, generally white but not necessarily, is wrapped around the head and called a Punjabi pug. Village peasants would use a wide variety of colors for their pugs. Commoners mostly wear the pug, whereas the pugree is the headgear of the rural aristocracy. While the pugree and pug share fundamental characteristics across Punjab, there are differences in the color of the materials and how they are knotted around the head or wrapped around the kulla.
Balochi Caps
Baloch sardars wear turbans, arguably the most striking among all those worn in Pakistan with Balochi dress. It is made of delicate, immaculate white cotton wrapped around the head in a way that a Baloch can only understand and manage. It is devoid of a crest, and its tail falls loosely on one side of the turban, snaking loosely around the chin and then up on the opposite shoulder, with the end tucked in the turban’s folds to frame the wearer’s face in the folds of white cotton. During dust storms, the turban tail is also utilized to shield one’s face.
A Baloch Sardar makes a remarkable impression in his white turban thanks to his distinctive mustache and beard. When he rides a horse, he occasionally appears to have just stepped off a Hollywood set.
