Turban

The turban is a headdress consisting of a long scarf- like single piece of cloth wound round the head or an inner hat.

Contemporary turbans come in many shapes, sizes, and colors.

• Middle Eastern, Central Asian, South Asian, Islamic, and Sikh turban wearers usually wind their turban anew for each wearing, using long strips of cloth. The cloth is usually five meters or less. However, some elaborate South Asian turbans may be permanently formed and sewn to a foundation.

• Turbans are worn as women's hats in Western countries. They are usually sewn to a foundation, so that they can be donned or removed easily. Now that fewer Western women wear hats they are less common. However, turbans are still worn by female cancer patients who have lost their hair to chemotherapy and wish to cover their heads. Some women use wigs; others prefer scarves and turbans.

• Women of the West Indies often cover their heads with intricately tied scarves which may be called scarves, head wraps, or turbans.

In Western countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Europe, etc., men seen wearing turbans in public are likely to be Sikhs, who wear turbans to cover the long uncut hair worn as a sign of their commitment to the Sikh faith.