A Comparative Study of Islamic Garment Called “Bornos” with Similar Clothing before Islam

In various civilizations, garment in addition to the role of environmental protection, has been the reference point representing symbolic concepts, including the social classes of people; in particular, hats have played a greater role. For this reason, they are very important from sociological point of view. “Bornos” is a kind of cap related to Islamic period which is similar to that of the Christian monks’ clothing as well as the types of head covers in ancient Persia, which is being discussed in this article and will use an adaptive way to study the impressions of social classes who use them. The main question of this paper is to find out about the social and symbolic functions of “Bornos” as the cap and garments of the Islamic period and its adaptation to pre-Islamic examples in the middle Ages, as well as ancient Iran and Mesopotamia. The theoretical foundation of this paper is based on Widengren’s research entitled "Research in the Sociological, Religious, and Historical Background of Clothing”. Widengren has phenomenologically surveyed a kind of clothing and head cover used by mystics in the Christian and Islamic tradition, and in the same way as the cover used by buffoons and actors of zany plays and this kind of clothing was used by hunters and warriors with minor changes, too. He has studied the mythical roots and historical links of the Indo-European countries, their origins and the evolution of the exchange of classes used in this clothing. In order to achieve the aims of the paper, we start from “Bornos” terminology, then continue to address its apparent formology and identify its possible types. Then, by studying Islamic documents and narrations, and adapting their social functions and the means with existing medieval examples and ancient Iran, achieving to the goals would be possible. The results of the study indicate that the above said society is divided into three representative forms: a) Hat; which itself is divided into two types: conical (curly) and soft type with a curved line forward or back; (b) Scarf-like head covering c) Raincoat garments with hat, that can be identified in all three Christian and Iranian Islamic traditions. Both genders, women and men, even children, used it; from the point of view of the social classes it was used among the lower peoples, such as itinerants, ranchers, peasants, the nobles, the kings , scholars, clerics and warriors. The use of Bornos in the Islamic tradition from the point of humiliation, the evil aspect, wisdom aspect, the rationality of crazies, the costumes of passengers, the clown dresses, and the uniforms of fighters are fully applicable to European examples, between Iran and before and after Islam. In other civilizations, the same kind of “Bornos” is also visible. In Sogdian art, hats such as“Bornos” can be seen. Some Egyptian pharaoh hats also resemble the cone-shaped bronze. In Tibet, llamas usually have caps that cover their ears and have a sharp tip. In the Anatolian region, the Cappadocian used caps with a tipped back.