How to Tie a Pagari (Indian Turban)

The Pagari (Indian Turban) shown in the intractable, is worn by the men in the Sikh community in India. It is a religious requirement of the Sikhs to never cut their hair and therefore to manage their long hair they wear the turban

Step 1 Step 1

Grow hair long enough to tie it in a bun fashion on top of your head.

Comments

[SrvKS]

haha :) really nice instructable :)

[akohli1]

Great Pagri Bro,wish to learn from you whenever you visit Bangalore. My Cell No:098440-19888.
Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa
Wahe Guru Ji Ki Fateh

Arvinder Singh Kohli

[emartian]

This is so cool! When I was little, I loved Hadji from Johnny Quest. I loved that the all-american boy had a friend-adoptive brother really, who was a proud and practicing Sikh. I'd vacillate between playing at Johnny or Hadji, but my turban always came out limp and crooked. Now, as a grownup I can finally do it right!

[Whales]

I love this, i remember the crew of the Natalus in The League of Extroordinary GEntlemen, who i assume are sihk, they were turbans. It's probably alittle warped, but i always loved those guys soo much, they look badass.

I just tried it with a cloth i had sitting around, I'll probably need some practice and a better cloth... When i get it down, I'll post pictures.

[mihikashaunik]

That would be great .Do post them here;)
Best of luck trying it out .

[pia]

I have seen some turbans with jewels stuck on the front, does that have any significance? Does it have a name?

[sarveshk]

Actually it DOES have significance. In ancient times, Sardards or Mansubdars (Knigts) used to wear their Golden or Silver badges of designation in front of their turbans. Those badges used to contain various gems and Diamonds too.

See this pic, a cop is wearing his badge on his turban,
http://revolutionaryfrontlines.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/india-wb-dgp-g-singh1.jpg

[mihikashaunik]

They are just for show.
Some people also put a strip of cellophane in the last layer in front (the triangle) to make to shine.

[pia]

I have found that turban jewels have quite a few names:
"Jigha" "Sarpati" "kalgi" "figha"
It seems that turban jewelry was the perogative of the Moghul emperors & their close family members (including his horse!!)
Hindu Kings (mainly the Rajputs) also used these adornments & now Hindu grooms use them to dress up in a princely way for their weddings.
Most of the turban jewels are really beautiful & some are quite spectacular, us plain folks however will have to make do with costume jewelry....

[pia]

EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT TURBAN TYING BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK!
The next time I need to wear a costume, I'll be wearing a turban (& following your instructions). Thanks for the help!

[Jokersharlequin]

Wow. That was great. I homeschool my daughter and we just finished learning about Ancient India. She always talked about how the turbans look so cool. Thanks for sharing so that I can share with her.

[cronama]

wow thats tight

[x z i t]

sexy!

[cowscankill]

Very neatly done, looks great.

[davee52uk]

1. There are ladies in my area in UK who wear turbans also.

2. Does the colour of the turban indicate anything ? Do thde colours change to change to match religious festivals in the Sikh Year such as Diwali etc.

In the Anglican (Christian) year the altar cloths change for different parts of the year Advent (Christmas) I believe is purple and Easter is white.

3. Does a point at the very front of the turban indicate anything or is it just ultra-cool

4. Are the turbans sometimes starched as some seem very rigid ?

[mihikashaunik]

Women known as the Nirankaris or those Baptised (amrit- chakhyah) wear turbans too.
Turbans do signify seasons, festivals, and sometimes indicate their caste or social status but are not so rigid.
The Rajasthani Safas signify status, religion, region, seasons and festivals.
Yes they are starched, and dampened and stretched just before use.

[gia]

Is there a specific head thing Sikh women/girls wear?
It would be awesome to have an instructable for that too.

[mihikashaunik]

Women known as the Nirankaris or those Baptised (amrit- chakhyah) wear turbans too. But i will need some time to feature the process.

[CazzPhoenix]

Very cool. Where I work there are several men who wear those and I've always wondered how it was done but didn't want to ask lol. Are Sikhs the only people who wear turbans in this fashion?

[mihikashaunik]

Yes this is a turban worn specifically by the Sikh.

[ve2vfd]

Thanks for showing us how it's done! Like many other posters here I've always wondered how Sikh gentlemen tied their turban.

At what age do men start wearing the turban? In the area where I live I often Sikh boys with their hair tied into a bun and covered with a cloth, but I've never noticed teenagers with turbans.

[mihikashaunik]

They start wearing turbans when they hit puberty, usually about the time they finish school.

[gdhenson]

This is cool - I should do a write up on how real Irishmen wear kilts.

[mihikashaunik]

Give it a shot ... sounds good

[Spaceman Spiff]

This is great! And yes, I do see myself doing this. Now all I need to do is grow an awesome beard!

[lady4feet]

I don't ever forsee myself doing this, I'm female and not Indian but I always wondered what the trick was. Thank you for sharing part of your culture.

[Kiteman]

I don't expect I will ever do this myself, but it is a skill I have idly wondered about in the past.

Thanks for sharing.

[Biohazard1194]

Same here Kiteman.
It is neat to learn how to tie something like this, and what it is called and used for, but I don't think I'll be doing it myself any time soon. :P

[RobFS1]

I concur with all the prior comments and echo in saying that I also wondered how to tie this and what it was called. Great job!

[Hisart]

I often wondered what this was called, how it was tied and where that little triangle on the forehead fit into the Pagari. Nice job.

[scoochmaroo]

I have also often wondered about this! It looks like you're wearing something to cover your hair before you start tying the pagari?

[mihikashaunik]

Thats an optional accessory to hold your hair in place.
You could simply tie a square cloth (1m x 1m) on your head and then tie the pagari.

[metalman1138]

I use shemaghs all the time, i had always wondered how a pagari was tied. Thank you.