Metal Hasp & Leaf Head Piece

Fun and elegant, this traditional vintage Kuchi headpiece is worn by Kuchi women as part of their ornate fashion. Handmade by the Kuchi tribe using melted down metals such as tin, brass, and silver and adorned with colored glass. This is a chance to truly appreciate a bit of Afghan/Pakistani history and the beauty of the culture of the nomadic Pashtoon tribes that wander the border areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan, along ancient routes between the seasons, moving down from the mountains in the winter and back to their homes in the summer. The word Kuchi itself is derived from a Persian word meaning migration, in relation to nomads or gypsies, and does not describe a particular group or people, but rather a state of being. Many different peoples or tribes from these areas have been classified as Kuchi but the original migratory nomads of this area are the Pashtoon. The Kuchi are fiercely independent, usually wreathed in silver necklaces and dressed in spangling embroidery, and they stare boldly back from atop their camels when you cross them on the roads. Kuchi jewelry, like the jewelry of India and other tribal places and peoples, often incorporates jewels of transparent colored glass set in and backed with foil to reflect light in every shade of the rainbow. Shining mirrors, metallic thread, colorful beads, pom poms, cloves and other fragrant materials, bright fabrics and thousands of different kinds of dangles and bells also serve to attract the eye and ward off evil spirits.