page_title: Pakol
section_title: Origin, Discovery and Documentation in Chitral
hierarchical_section_title: Pakol / Origins and History / Origin, Discovery and Documentation in Chitral
caption_attribution_description: Norsk bokmål: Garm Chashma (Chishma), Chitral, NWFP, Pakistan "Øvre chitralere." Navn ukjent. Åtte yngre menn fra øvre Chitral. De er kledd i tradisjonelle drakter og luer. English: Garm Chashma (Chishma), Chitral, NWFP, Pakistan "Upper Chitralis." Names unknown. Eight young men from Upper Chitral. They are wearing traditional gowns and hats.
context_page_description: Pakol, Popularly known as the Chitrali cap, is a soft round-topped men's hat, typically of wool and found in any of a variety of earthy colors: brown, black, grey, ivory or dyed red using walnut. Pakol is a Khowar Chitrali word and is derived from the word Khoi which means hat in Khowar. The original Khowar name for the hat is Khapol. The cap's origin are debated upon with a theory of a possible origin in southeastern Europe, however the consensus among historians and ethnographers is for it to have originated from Chitral. The woolen cap has been the staple headgear of the Chitrali people for centuries. The main source of production is Chitral in Pakistan which is also located at the center of its range. It is also worn in Gilgit-Baltistan, Dir in Pakistan and also by Afghans such as Tajiks and Nuristani people as well as Afghan Pashtuns. Nuristan is a major region where it is imported from Chitral.
context_section_description: The modern Pakol is believed to have originated from Chitral where it was made and found exclusively until the end of the 19th century. The word Pakol is a chitrali word derived from another chitrali name of the hat Khapol. The Pakol is made from a special type of wool known as the Chitrali patti which is procured from the sheepherders from its valleys. The earliest mention of the Pakol is attributed to Donatus O'Briens' book (1895) on the language of Chitral, where describing the ethnic dress of Chitralis he states that:
  "The dress worn by most men consist of a homespun cap black, brown or grey made in the shape of a bag and rolled up until it fits the skull."
  
  Later on in 1896 George Scott Robertson denoted the cap with the name "Chitrali Cap".
  Early mentions of its nativity and homogeneity to Chitral and its English and local nomenclature paired with documentation of it not being worn in any of the regions surrounding Chitral make it evident that the Pakol most probably originated from the Chitral region of Northern Pakistan where it was worn exclusively till the end of the 19th century.
caption: Chitralis wearing the Pakol pictured in 1929.
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