Kufi

A kufi or kufi cap is a brimless, short, and rounded cap worn by men in many populations in North Africa, East Africa, West Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East. It is also worn by men throughout the African diaspora. The cap has strong associations with many Islamic cultures, as well as pan-African pride.

For the hat worn by members of the Muslim faith, see Taqiyah (cap). For the Arabic script style, see Kufic. For the village in Iran, see Kufi, Iran.

Dating back to 2,000 BC, it was known as the "Cap of Cybele" and is considered one of the oldest and most sacred pagan religious symbols of humanity. Worn by the sun-priests of Ancient Egypt, it is now commonly known by various titles including the Yarmulke by Jews and Kufi (also called "Taqiyah") by Muslims. It is also called the Zucchetto (plural: Zucchetti) by the Roman Catholic Church.

The kufi is worn for various cultural reasons, such as for purposes of adornment, and to symbolise status, wisdom, religiosity, and patriarchy. In the United States, many African-Americans wear the kufi during weddings, funerals, graduations and Kwanzaa celebrations. Furthermore, people of mainly West African heritage of all faiths wear the kufi, although it is associated with members of the Islamic faith more.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.