    the keffiyeh or kufiya ( , meaning "from the city of kufa" (); plural  ), also known as a ghutrah (), shemagh ( ),  (), mashadah (), chafiye (), cemedanÃ® () or sudra (), is a traditional middle eastern headdress fashioned from a square scarf, usually made of cotton. it is typically worn by arabs, kurds and some turks. it is commonly found in arid regions as it provides protection from sunburn, dust and sand. its distinctive standard woven checkered pattern may have originated in an ancient mesopotamian representation of either fishing nets or ears of grain, but the true origin of the pattern remains unknown. the keffiyeh has been worn by arabs residing in regions in arabia, jordan and iraq for over a century. during the 1960s, usage of the black and white palestinian keffiyeh grew as palestinian nationalism increased and the palestinian leader yasser arafat adopted it as a symbol. toward the end of the 1980s, the keffiyeh became a fashion accessory in the united states and, during the 2000s, it became very popular among adolescents in tokyo, where it was often worn with camouflage-style clothing. == varieties and variations ==  during his sojourn with the marsh arabs of iraq, gavin young noted that the local sayyids"venerated men accepted&nbsp;... as descendants of the prophet mohammed and ali ibn abi talib"wore dark green keffiyeh (cheffiyeh) in contrast to the black-and-white checkered examples typical of the area's inhabit
Arab_culture Arabic_clothing Clothes_in_politics Headgear History_of_Asian_clothing Islamic_dress_(male) Middle_Eastern_clothing Palestinian_clothing Palestinian_nationalism Scarves