Not as famous as the politico-diplomatic worlds adoption of the term ‘Sherpa’ nevertheless traditional functional Sherpa headgear has made its name felt across the world with many non-Nepali, Western businesses catching on the Sherpa style ‘brand,’ as indicated in the screen capture below (featuring even ‘Sherpa baseball caps’:
Of course, whilst flattering, it is questionable to what extent hijacking of the Sherpa name has transferred to at scale income and employment generation being returned to the Sherpa people and Sherpa lands in Nepal from this phenomenon.
Certainly there are three main Sherpa traditional ceremonial and functional weather and climate protection related hats. These include formal ceremonial hats with ear protective fur trim flaps, through to the close-fitting hat (subsequently called in western for-profit markets a ‘beanie’), and wide-brim cowboy look hats (see image below) of the Sherpas own creation. Above, the ceremonial style hat is illustrated, worn by Mr Sana Sherpa on the occasion of the Losar {Sherpa New Year] 2047 celebration programme organised by the Sherpa Association UK, in Ashford (Kent) on 29th February 2020.
