It is one of the most eye-catching experiences to see women wearing beautiful colored headdress as part of their clothing in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) region. The custom of wearing intricately embroidered and lavishly ornamented caps and headdress by women is a unique feature of the cultural heritage of this region. These include traditional Iraghi phartsun [s] and Qalami phartsun (popularly known as Hunza Caps) and also the modern new style phartsun, called modern Hunza Cap. A less known and almost disappeared is the beautiful and ornate ceremonial Perak headdress, the serpent style headdress studded with turquoise and silver jewelry, reported in use in remote areas like Punial and Ghizer, and in rural areas of Gilgit-Baltistan. Perak is no more seen nowadays in urban centers. The practice of wearing caps and serpent like ceremonial headdress Perak is unique to Gilgit-Baltistan and neighboring Tibet and Ladakh region. Similar practices extends to Chitral where Kalasha Women also wear traditional daily headdress called shushut and more ornate ceremonial serpent style headdress kupas. My observation and travel to Gilgit, Hunza and Skardu some years ago and a literature search shows that the use of popularly known Hunza caps and Perak headdress among women of Gilgit-Baltistan region is slowly disappearing and needs to be preserved through research and documentation before it totally disappears from this region. In this regard the contribution of some local organizations like Karakoram Area Development Organization (KADO) a Civil Society Organization established in 1997 has been instrumental in preserving and promoting the culture and traditional crafts, including embroidery of the Gilgit-Baltistan Region.

1. Historical Background

The inquisitiveness to know more about these exquisite pieces of personal adornment and symbolic expression of women‟s ethnicity and womanhood in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) region was the major impetus behind doing some serious research on the anthropology of headdress used from ancient times in these mountain regions by womenfolk.1 A literature search for the origins and evolution of this particular piece of Gilgit-Baltistan Women‟s headdress, has found that there is very scant literature on this particular object of personal adoration and cultural heritage of women of this region. Other than few references scattered here and there in accounts written on G-B area (Sanaullah, 2011). The most useful and comprehensive work that was eventually found was a work by a local Civial Society organization, called Karakoram Area Development Organization (KADO), with support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). It has the most detailed and comprehensive data on various caps, their motifs, their meaning and local names. For a complete picture of a traditional Hunza Cap with its various component parts, see Figure 3, (KADO, 2007, p.35).

The reference is made to Hunza Caps and Perak headdress in remote areas of Gilgit-Baltistan and of Perak headdress more in areas like Ladakh, but also at a smaller scale in Gilgit-Baltistan region. I was told that Perak might be worn in some remote areas, like Punial and Ghizer, but not in area covering Gilgit-Baltistan, but later I was informed by an informant from Ganshe that older women in remote rural areas still wear perak headdress (Aggarwal, 2005). The use of similar serpent style kupas, and shushut caps by Kalasha women is also documented by Bilgrami (Bilgrami, 2004, p. 54 ). Talking about Kalasha women she notes, “They wear a stunning, elaborate ceremonial head-dress, the kupas, which is made of wool, lavishly ornamented with cowrie shells and with medallions of brass, shells, buttons and metal grelots.

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