Jasper County Democrat, Volume 13, Number 96, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 March 1911 — Origin of the Turban. [ARTICLE]

Origin of the Turban.

The origin of the turban must be looked for not, as commonly believed, among Moslems, but as a sign of authority and honor dating back to the earliest pex-iods of Jewish history. The term used in the Hebrew Bible for putting on the bonnet of the high priest is from a root meaning “to bind round.” The words miter, hood, diadem, as used in the Old Testament, are only variations of the word turban. Jerome tells us that the turban has a place in the most ancient records of history. The variations as adopted by Mohammedans are many. Their own authorities hint at a thousand methods of arranging the turban, which show not only the tribe and religious distinction, but even the personal peculiarities of the wearer. An old legend traces the turban to an act of desperate courage recorded of the ancient Levantines. A brave band of warriors are said to have wrapped their winding sheets round their heads as they devoted themselves to certain death to save their comrades on the battlefield.