1. In many societies, the covering of the head and → hair, from the simple headscarf to a complete cloak, has a long tradition. A person's head is literally of outstanding significance. It is not only the bearer of the brain, and thus the seat of thought and reason, but it is also the locus of all sensory organs. On it, as the highest area of the body, decoration and covering stand out most meaningfully.

The veiling of the body, or parts of the body, has always served two principal purposes. First, it …