Cultural identity: G-B celebrates ‘Cap Day’ on 1st
October.
People
across Gilgit-Baltistan will don their traditional headgear of a white
woolen cap with a feather in it to mark the first ever ‘Cap Day’ yesterday
(Saturday).
The region’s government had in April this
year announced to observe the event annually in light of the rising number of
tourists visiting the valley.
“We
have decided to introduce our culture to the people living outside G-B and to
foreign visitors,” Chief Minister Hafeezur Rehman said while announcing the
annual day. “This is our identity and all government officials will put on the
traditional cap on this day every year,” Rehman told The Express Tribune.
He added that special events will be held in
all 10 districts of G-B to highlight the region’s rich culture. The region and
the nascent tourism industry suffered a fatal blow after gunmen attacked the
Nanga Parbat base camp in 2013, killing 10 foreigners.
Over 10,000 people associated with the
tourism industry in G-B lost their jobs in the aftermath of the attack.
But with tourists returning in increasing
numbers recently, with over 500,000 visiting G-B last year and an even greater
number this year, the government decided to hold a ‘Cap Day’ day as an
attraction and as a celebration of local culture.
Initially, the day was set to be marked on
September 1 to coincide with autumn, but the date was later changed. The
confusion saw many observed the day unofficially.
Weaves of history
The traditional Gilgiti cap is called
“Shanti-Khoi” in the local language.
The soft, round and flat-topped cap is
usually white in colour and is made from the finest wool. They are usually
decorated with either a tuft of feathers or a flower.
Its history can be traced back to the days
when the region was still divided among small, but fiercely independent
princely states which existed before 1947. The cap itself is believed to have
become a mainstay of the region during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Shanti-Khoi was conceptualised to escape the
freezing winds of a region that sees the temperature drop to 25 degree
centigrade below freezing point during winters.
Considered the official headgear of G-B, no
traditional formal dress in this mountain-locked region is considered complete
without the cap.
Such is its importance that was incorporated
into the official uniforms of the Gilgit scouts during pre-partition
days, a force commended by Major William Brown and it is still part of the
uniform of Northern Light Infantry Regiment (NLI) today.
However, the traditional cap varies slightly
from the ones worn in the rest of the region with locals identifying at least
six different types of caps used in G-B.
“The cap of every valley is slightly
different from others in shape and colour,” said Imitaz Wali, a resident of
Gilgit.
Wali, said that the cap worn in
Baltistan differs in style and materials from the cap in Diamer and Ghizer. “By
style I mean way the cap is worn.”
However, of late the tradition of wearing
the cap among the younger generation has decreased and officials believe that
the cap day would help revive the tradition.
