Keffieh

The keffiyeh or kufiya (Arabic: كوفية‎‎ kūfiyyah, meaning "from the city of Kufa" (الكوفة); plural كوفيات kūfiyyāt), also known as a ghutrah (غُترَة), shemagh (شماغ šmāġ), ḥaṭṭah (حَطّة), mashadah (مَشَدة), chafiye (Persian: چَفیِه‎‎) or cemedanî (Kurdish: جه مه داني‎), is a traditional Middle Eastern headdress fashioned from a square scarf, usually made of cotton. It is typically worn by Arab people, as well as by some Mizrahi Jews and Iranic nomads (especially Kurdish people).

It is commonly found in arid regions as it provides protection from sunburn, dust and sand. Its distinctive standard woven checkerboard 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.

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 teenagers in Tokyo, Japan, where it is often worn with camouflage-style clothing.

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