large print guide to turbanology july 2011 (v2)

8/6/2019 Large Print Guide to Turbanology July 2011 (V2)

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TURBANOLOGY LARGE PRINT LABELS

1. Introductory Panel

Imagine living in a world where,

whenever they wanted, every man and

woman could wear a crown. What would

your crown be like?

There is a real community that wears a

crown or ‘Dastaar’ in not just our

society but every climate and country in

the world – the Sikhs.

For thirty million Sikhs, fashion has

followed faith down through the

centuries and now many styles of

turbans can be seen.

The Turbanology exhibition artfully

catalogues the different types of

Dastaar that Sikhs wear. We also

explore why the right to wear a turban is



central to the Sikh faith. Today there are

many growing misunderstandings and

misrepresentations of this aspect of

Sikh identity.

Turbanology dispels the myths and

unravels the real culture and heritage

making up the Sikh Dastaar.

We want you to be a part of the show –

send in your pictures, have your say

and suggest more turban styles and

stories for us to feature via www.turbanology.info

The Turbanology Team

Director – Jay Singh-Sohal

Curator – Scholars and Warriors

Designer – Mandeep Malhi

Graphics – Amit Patel



Photography – Jaskirt Dhaliwal

Online – Forward Slash Designs

Publicist – Sukhmani Vig

Archive Pictures Courtesy of:

GNNSJ, Birmingham

National Army Museum

Peter Bance, Coronet House

Sandhurst Collection

UK MoD/Crown Copyright 2011

© Dot Hyphen Productions 2011

The “Turbanology” name brand and

concept are solely the intellectual

property of Jagjeet Singh Sohal.



Banners

1. The Head and the Heart

The long piece of cloth that makes up a

Sikh’s turban has a sacred purpose,

since to preserve and keep hair clean

and uncut is a religious duty. But“turban” is only the English name for

any kind of Eastern headdress. It’s a

word that’s interwoven with three

hundred years of European myths and

stories: it’s not the word that Sikhs use

themselves.

For a Sikh, a turban is never a hat but

always a crown or “Dastaar”. A

European crown is traditionally made of

valuable metal and precious stones, to

be carefully preserved, inherited;

coveted. A linen dastaar is simple, clean

and practical. It requires pride and a sense of purpose to tie and must be



freshly folded each day. This is why a

Sikh’s turban always represents

spiritual wisdom as much as worldly

power.

Following Sikh principles of equality,

women may also wear the dastaar.

Every Sikh will tie one individually, withmany practical variations for worship,

work and sport. With the dastaar around

the head, a Sikh cannot hide his faith or

his identity as a Saint-Soldier. The

turban is a visible and constantreminder to be truthful, honourable,

courageous and help those in need.

2. Twists and Turns

Turbans are worn in many world

cultures as practical or symbolic

headdresses. But for the Sikhs, the

turban is an article of faith central to

their spiritual ethos and code of



conduct. Their reasons are rooted in the

300 year history of the founders of

Sikhism – the Gurus.

The first Guru – Nanak Dev – traveled

across India and the Middle East in the

15th century, debating with many Hindu

sadhus and Muslim fakirs. For thesediverse communities, the turban was a

shared symbol of saintly wisdom

connecting man to God.

The Gurus saw the turban as muchmore, the sixth Guru, Hargobind,

adapted the turban to the martial

tradition of the Warrior-Saints by

making it larger, stronger and suited for

the battlefield.

In 1699, the tenth Guru, Gobind Singh,

created the Khalsa – an order of

initiated Sikh men and women – at

Anandpur in the Punjab. The turban was



from then on to be worn as a constant

reminder of the sovereign and

independent nature of the Sikhs, and

that each Sikh is a distinct and constant

representative of the Guru. Every Sikh

will aspire to wear a turban whether

devout or practicing.

3. Divine Law, Human Law

When tales of wartime bravery were

told, the Sikhs became known all over

the world as warriors. But as manuallabourers? As shopkeepers? As bus

conductors? Sikh settlers in Britain

were rarely shown the respect they had

enjoyed as students or soldiers.

Discrimination against the Sikhreligious identity became a feature of

1960’s Britain.

State-run public transport depots

banned conductors, guards and drivers



from wearing beards and turbans.

These bans were fought and overturned

by the trade unions, workers’

associations and by fair-minded

individuals who remembered the Sikh’s

wartime sacrifices. 1969 was the year

Wolverhampton and Nottingham

scrapped their turban bans, and Daya Singh Nibber became Birmingham’s

first turbaned railway guard. Seven

years later, turban-wearing Sikhs were

gained exception from compulsion to

wear safety helmets on motorbikes and

building sites.

But without full legal protection,

wearing a turban could still count

against any Sikh applying for a job or

school. In 1983 Sewa Singh Mandla

fought a ban on turbans at his son’s

Birmingham school. The Sikh

community organised protest marches

and petitioned politicians across the



country. After losing their case at

Birmingham’s law courts, the House of

Lords ruled on appeal that wearing a

turban was each Sikh’s right.

4. Last Maharaja, First Ambassador

The British learned the true significance

of the Sikh turban through the example

of one man; Duleep Singh. Arriving in

Britain as a boy in 1854, he became a

favourite of Queen Victoria and lived the

comfortable life of a stylish celebrity

aristocrat. But he was also a prisoner.

Following two Anglo-Sikh Wars, Britain

finally controlled the Indiansubcontinent and Duleep Singh was the

last Maharaja of the annexed Sikh

Empire.

With its gift of the priceless Koh-i-Noordiamond, the Punjab provided the literal



jewel in the crown of the British Empire.

Duleep – youngest son of the ‘Lion of

the Punjab’ – became a hostage against

future instability. The exiled prince was

allowed his royal status and would wear

his elegant, jewel-encrusted turban to

state and royal occasions. Duleep and

his Sikh retainers were depicted anddiscussed favourably in the Victorian

media.

Later Duleep rebelled against his

comfortable captivity. Inspired by tales

of India from visiting Sikh relations –

especially his mother, Maharani Jinda,

he attempted to regain his lost heritage.But Duleep had few, if any, of the

qualities of his famous father. The

British outmanoeuvred him at every

turn, and he died penniless and

unhappy in France.



5. Fierce Warriors, Staunch Allies

After the Anglo-Sikh Wars, the British

were so impressed by their opponents

fighting valour they found a role for

them in the Raj. Dispatched to the

Empire’s unruly North West Frontier,

the Sikhs fought bravely throughout what we now call Afghanistan, remained

loyal during the India Mutiny in 1857

and fought to the last man at Saragarhi

in 1897. Lauded in the Victorian press,

the heroic exploits of Sikhs became thetalk of drawing rooms and playing fields

across the world.

But the real test of Sikh valour came

during the Great War. Remaining true totheir reputation as steadfast warriors,

thousands of Sikhs volunteered to fight

in Flanders, Gallipoli, Suez, Kilimanjaro

and Baghdad. Sikhs wore turbans under

fire; many later finding bullets in the



windings. During the Second World

War, Sikhs fought in Burma, Italy and

the Middle East, won medals and

commendations and even served as

bodyguards to Sir Winston Churchill.

Across both conflicts around 83,005

Sikhs were killed and 109,045 wounded.A century of sacrifice gives Sikhs an

enduring fame in British military

history. Today, images of Sikh soldiers

line the corridors of the Royal Military

Academy in Sandhurst. Sikhs continueto serve Great Britain today in Iraq,

Afghanistan and across the world.



Turbans

Turbanology 001 – ‘The Kenyan’

How to recognise a ‘Kenyan’ Dastaar:

A smart, ironed and crisply folded

layered turban.

Colours: Varied; clean white in the

tropics, a sedate black in modern

corporate environments.

The East African Connection:

The so-called ‘Kenyan’ Dastaar is a

popular turban with second and third

generation British Sikhs. It was first worn in the UK by Sikhs migrating from

Kenya and Tanzania, many of whom

had filled senior roles in East African

society. Judges, politicians,

businessmen; their neat, precise turban



style reflected their status as

professionals.

The origin of ‘The Kenyan’ is in the

formal, folded and pressed style of

turban developed as parade dress by

Sikhs serving in the British Indian

Army. These uniform turbans weresmart but also large, making each

soldier’s silhouette more imposing. ’The

Kenyan’ style remains in vogue and has

become a signature look for British

Sikhs.

Help us improve our definition of ‘The

Kenyan’ and send in your favourite

pictures for inclusion in our show at

facebook.com/Turbanology.Sikhs.Unwrapped.Exhibition

Turbanology 002 – ‘The Double-Patti’



How to recognise a ‘Double-Patti’

Dastaar:

A ‘double-patti’ can be difficult to

positively identify as the wearer may

adapt it into many different styles. It is

usually larger than other turbans, with

fewer folds and wraps. Colours aresometimes worn to complement shirts,

ties, or even socks!

One is Not Enough

This style of turban is commonly seen

in the Punjab, India. The ‘double-patti’ is

named for the two long pieces of cloth

which are sewn together into one wide

band. The open cloth is wound aroundthe head and formed into a smooth

layer while tieing, giving the turban a

thick and defined outline. This method

enables the wearer to create different

turban-styles according to their



preference; rounded out, taller or

angled.


Double-Patti’ and send in your favourite


facebook.com/Turbanology.Sikhs.Unwr

apped.Exhibition

Turbanology 003: ‘The Damalla’

How to recognise a ‘Damalla’:

These round turbans are traditionally

seen in blue or orange; white and other

colours can sometimes be spotted. A

‘Damalla’ is made from two layers; the

outer layer sometimes holding weapons

and symbols – and even symbolic

weapons!

Winding for a Warrior



‘The Damalla’ is the traditional Sikh

warrior turban. It cocoons the entire

head, offering protection on the

battlefield. A ‘Damalla’ is actually two or

more pieces of cloth. The first is

wrapped around the hair and ties off the

wearer’s hair into a top-knot. A piece of

cloth as long as the wearer wishes isthen chosen and wrapped around the

head without ironing or folding.

The ‘Damalla’ is the oldest form of

turban, worn by the Sikh Gurusthemselves. Over time it has come to

represent the Sikh Khalsa and the

discipline of these Warrior-Saints. The

largest Damallas are often seen

crowning the heads of Nihangs, fierce

warriors, whose modified ‘Damallas’ are

not just turbans but battle standards.


Damalla’ and send in your favourite




facebook.com/Turbanology.Sikhs.Unwr

apped.Exhibition

large print guide to turbanology july 2011 (v2)

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