Types of Hijab in Indonesia


            Indonesia has been crowned as country with the most Moslem population in the world, and in this case we can’t ignore hijab as one of remarkable issues in a Moslem society. Hijab is defined as a head covering worn in public by some Muslim women, and has become symbolic due to their obligation to cover their head for spiritual reason. Being religious doesn’t always mean being strict to the rules, because hijab in Indonesia has been accepted as a fashion style, in which has been developing rapidly, specifically in recent years.
            By focusing on its function, some people preferred to use an instant headscarf in which popular with the name hijab Bergo. This type of hijab is the most typical way to use a headscarf not only because its effectiveness, but also the fact that in the past Indonesian still lacked in the field of fashion. But in a way, Bergo has always been practical people’s favorite, even though nowadays people tend to think of it as an old-fashioned type of hijab, when as a matter of fact we can still easily found it being used by elderly women.

            The next type of hijab which is commonly known as Square hijab is actually a never-ending trend. Its simple square form is the reason why it is favorited among Indonesian Hijabers, moreover it comes in many types of fabrics. Not as simple as Bergo, but this is the type of headscarf which is acceptable to be use in formal occasions such as school. Loved by elders and youngsters, Square hijab used to have only one type of fabric, namely Paris, which is a very thin-transparent fabric, causing female to use an inner addition called Ciput. Affected by the fast growing Indonesia industry, varieties of fabric is now being commercialized, and people start to leave this hijab style since it is not very effective in covering their head completely. In terms of style, Square hijab is mostly being wear with Lempar style, in which the two hanging sides of the scarf is put over the shoulders with a throwing movement.

When the internet became a place where people could make sensations out of themselves, that’s when the revolutionary style of hijab took place, and the term Hijab Tutorial has been phenomenal since then. With one single photo only, one could share how they could wear it with any unthinkable way, not like before, and headscarf such as Square hijab is not only used by Lempar style anymore. Starting from Facebook, and now over popularized by Instagram, we can find lots of Instagram Hijabers took a great role in introducing hijab as not a mere obligations but even a high-end fashion.

The most recent type and the most trendy hijab style is Pashmina, a rectangle shaped cloth. With Instagram Hijabers as their epitome, youngsters tend to be more experimental in styling their headscarf. Likewise, it is also varied in colors, patterns, and fabrics, but it seems that this type of look is more favorited by the younger generations than the elders.

With these new hijab trends, people also becoming more aware of its function in the first place, to cover their Aurat. Then, there is another brand new type of hijab for these people: Syar’i. Its styles strictly followed the rules of Islamic regulation in dressing, therefore it’s simply being wear as a long and wide scarf which covered half of the body. But, this strictness is not ruled over its variety of colors, patterns, and fabrics, and so some people may look at this Syar’i hijab as trendy.

More and more creativities in designing the way to cover one’s head is yet to come, if we look at this overwhelming sensation alone. Overall, with the occurring phenomena such as Instagram Hijabers in the country, Indonesia’s title as country with the most Moslem population in the world is being strengthen and recognizable more than ever.

Image credit: google images, sorry for not being specific (saya langsung comot yang paling atas, dan ini udah lama banget jadinya udah lupa).

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