Editing Kerchief

{{short description|Cloth tied around the head or neck; bandana}}
[[File:Ari's back.jpg|thumb|A woman wearing a black bandana on her head]]

A '''kerchief''' (from the [[Old French]] ''couvre-chef'', "cover head"), also known as a '''bandana''' or '''bandanna''', is a triangular or square piece of [[cloth]] tied around the [[Human head|head]], [[face]], or [[neck]] for protective or decorative purposes. The popularity of ''head kerchiefs'' may vary by culture or religion, often being used as a [[Christian headcovering]] by men and women of the [[Anabaptist]], [[Eastern Orthodox]], and [[Plymouth Brethren]] denominations,<ref name="Hume2013">{{cite book |last1=Hume |first1=Lynne |title=The Religious Life of Dress: Global Fashion and Faith |date=24 October 2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-0-85785-363-9 |language=English |quote=Following the general Anabaptist worldview, Hutterite dress not only emphasizes modesty but also separation from the world. ... The women wear ankle-length skirts or dresses with a blouse, a kerchief-style head covering with polka dots (tiechle), usually black and white, and solid comfortable shoes.}}</ref> as well as by some [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jewish]] and [[Muslim]] men and women and is also considered a hat.

The ''[[neckerchief]]'' and ''[[handkerchief]]'' are related items.

==Types==
===Bandana===
{{Redirect|Bandana}}
A '''bandana''' or '''bandanna''' (from Hindi and Urdu, ultimately from Sanskrit बन्धन or [[List of English words of Sanskrit origin|bandhana]], "a bond")<ref name="merriam-webster1">{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bandanna |title=Definition of bandanna |publisher=Merriam-webster.com |date=2012-08-31 |access-date=2013-03-15}}</ref> is a type of large, usually colourful kerchief, originating from the [[Indian subcontinent]], often worn on the head or around the neck of a person. Bandanas are frequently printed in a [[paisley (design)|paisley]] pattern and are most often used to hold hair back, either as a fashionable head accessory or for practical purposes. It is also used to tie around the neck to prevent sunburn, and around the mouth and nose to protect from dust inhalation or to hide the identity of its wearer.

The word bandana stems from the Hindi words 'bāndhnū', or "tie-dyeing", and 'bāndhnā', "to tie". These stem from [[Sanskrit]] roots 'badhnāti', "he ties", and Sanskrit 'bandhana' (बन्धन), "a bond".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bandanna |title=Bandanna from Dictionary.com |publisher=Dictionary.reference.com |access-date=2017-06-10}}</ref> In the 18th and 19th centuries bandanas were frequently known as bandannoes.<ref>Yule and Burnell (2013), "Bandanna", p.78.</ref>

Bandanas originated in [[India]] as bright-coloured handkerchiefs of silk and cotton with spots in white on coloured grounds, chiefly red and blue [[Bandhani]]. The silk styles were made of the finest-quality yarns and were popular. Bandana prints for clothing were first produced in [[Glasgow]] from cotton yarns, and are now made in many qualities. The term, at present, generally means a fabric in printed styles, whether silk, silk and cotton, or all cotton.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Glossary of Textile Terms|last=Curtis|first=H. P.|publisher=Marsden & Co. Ltd.|year=1921}}</ref>

The bandana found popularity in the US during the late 1700s because [[Snuff (tobacco)|snuff]] users preferred coloured and patterned silk handkerchiefs over white ones, as the former hid tobacco stains better when the users blew their noses. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, bandanas began to appear with political and military advertisements printed on them.{{cn|date=April 2024}} Such printed bandanas were common in the early and mid-1900s during [[World War I]] and [[World War II]]. Decorative bandanas were also common gear, particularly as [[neckwear]], for [[cowboy]]s, and so for [[country and western]] entertainers such as [[Roy Rogers]] and, later, [[Willie Nelson]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/global-history-bandana-180976040/ |title=The Global History of the Bandana |last=Hilgers |first=Laura |date=November 2020 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |access-date=14 March 2024}}</ref> The latter singer began wearing bandanas when he moved from [[Nashville]] back to [[Austin, Texas]], "just in time to catch the hippie wave cresting at counterculture center the Armadillo World Headquarters".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.timeout.com/chicago/music/nine-things-you-didnt-know-about-willie-nelson |title=Nine-Things-You-Didnt-Know-About-Willie-Nelson  |date=6 June 2012 |access-date=2021-01-19 }}</ref>

Around the same time, bandanas also became popular with motorcyclists, particularly with [[Harley-Davidson|Harley-Davidson riders]] and [[Motorcycling|bikers]].{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}  In the 1970s paisley bandanas also became popular amongst gangs in California, most notably with two well-known rival gangs, the [[Bloods]], who wore red bandanas, and the [[Crips]], who wore blue ones.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2016-01-18|title=Ethnic Dress in the United States: A Cultural Encyclopedia2016 010 Edited by Annette Lynch and Mitchell D.Strauss Ethnic Dress in the United States: A Cultural Encyclopedia Lanham, MD Rowman & Littlefield 2015 x + 326 pp. 9780759121485(print) 9780759121508(e-book) £49.95 $75|journal=Reference Reviews|volume=30|issue=1|pages=17|doi=10.1108/rr-09-2015-0225|issn=0950-4125}}</ref>

Green bandanas have become a symbol of the abortion-rights movement.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-07-07 |title=How the green bandanna became a symbol of the abortion rights movement |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/life/how-the-green-bandanna-became-a-symbol-of-the-abortion-rights-movement/ |access-date=2023-06-19 |website=The Seattle Times }}</ref>

{{Gallery
|File:Red and blue bandannas.jpg|Red and blue bandanas in traditional [[paisley (design)|paisley]] patterns
|File:Bandanas.jpg|Bandanas are produced in a variety of colors and designs 
|File:Bandhani (8357755412).jpg|[[Bandhani]]
|File:Neck Kerchief.jpg|A man wearing a bandana around his neck
|Image:Bandana.jpg|A girl wearing a bandana on her head to support Portugal in football in the colors of that country's flag
|title=|Ukrainian army - Cooperative Osprey '98.jpg|[[Ukrainian army]] soldiers wearing bandanas during a [[military exercise]]}}

===Oramal===
[[File:Кентау. Торговки хлебом 2007.10.JPG|thumb|Oramal]]
The Oramal is a traditional kerchief used in [[Central Asia]] and the [[Caucasus]] (note how it is tied, the neck is usually not covered by it). In some countries like [[Uzbekistan]], it was traditionally used only at home, while in public the [[paranja]] was more popular. In other countries, like [[Kazakhstan]], it was commonly used in public. In [[Kyrgyzstan]], the white color is an indication that the woman is married.

As well it was widely used by men at horse riding in summertime instead of wearing a cap (cf. [[bandana]] of [[motorcycling|bikers]]).

===Austronesian headscarves===
Kerchiefs are also worn as [[headdresses]] by [[Austronesian people|Austronesian cultures]] in [[maritime Southeast Asia]]. Among [[Malays (ethnic group)|Malay]] men it is known as [[tengkolok]] and is worn during traditional occasions, such as weddings (worn by the groom) and the [[Silat|pesilat]].

== See also ==
{{col-begin}}{{col-break}}
* [[Handkerchief]]
* [[Handkerchief code]]
'''Other neckwear:'''
* [[Ascot tie]]
* [[Cravat (early)|Cravat]]
* [[Fichu]]
* [[Neckerchief]]
* [[Pañuelo]]
* [[Scarf]]
* [[Shawl]]
{{col-break|gap=4em}}
'''Other headwear'''
* [[Do-rag]]
* [[Hachimaki]]
* [[Headband]]
* [[Headscarf]]
* [[Hijab]]
* [[Keffiyeh]]
* [[Tengkolok]]
{{col-end}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

;Additional sources
{{Wikisource1911Enc|Bandana}}
{{Commons category|Kerchiefs}}
* {{cite news | last= Hilger | first = Laura | work = Smithsonian Magazine | title = The Global History of the Bandana |url = https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/global-history-bandana-180976040/ | date= November 2020 }}
* Yule, Henry, & A.C. Burnell (2013). ''Hobson-Jobson: The Definitive Glossary of British India''. (Oxford, England: OUP). {{ISBN|9780191645839}}.

== External links ==
*[http://www.bandannaclub.com/Tie-Bandanna.shtml How to tie a bandanna]
<!--[[:Category:Western wear]]; category applied to [[Bandanna]], which redirects here. -->
<!--[[:Category:Hindi terms]]; category applied to [[Bandanna]], which redirects here. -->

{{Headgear}}
{{Clothing}}
{{Rodeo}}

[[Category:Headgear]]
[[Category:Neckwear]]
[[Category:Kerchiefs]]
[[Category:Rodeo clothing]]
[[Category:19th-century fashion]]
[[Category:20th-century fashion]]
[[Category:21st-century fashion]] 
[[Category:Maritime culture]]