large print guide to turbanology july 2011 (v2)
TRANSCRIPT
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
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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’
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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
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preference; rounded out, taller or
angled.
Help us improve our definition of ‘The
Double-Patti’ and send in your favourite
pictures for inclusion in our show at
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
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‘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.
Help us improve our definition of ‘The
Damalla’ and send in your favourite
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pictures for inclusion in our show at
facebook.com/Turbanology.Sikhs.Unwr
apped.Exhibition