Karakul sheep the early 20th century. Karakul sheep are a multi-purpose breed, kept for milking, meat, pelts, and wool. As a fat-tailed breed, they have a distinctive meat. Many adult Karakul are double-coated; in this case, spinners separate the coarse guard hair from the undercoat. Karakul is a relatively coarse fiber used for outer garments, carpets and for felting. Very young or even fetal Karakul lambs are prized for pelts. Newborn karakul sheep pelts are called karakul (also spelled "caracul"), "swakara "(coined from "South West Africa Karakul"), "astrakhan" (Russian), "Persian lamb", "agnello di Persia", (Italian), "krimmer" (Russian) and "garaköli bagana" (Turkmen). Sometimes
Karakul (hat) in Kashmir. In most religious shrines of Kashmir, the priests wear turbans. Some of the turbans have been of ordinary dyed muslin cloth mostly of saffron color with a dashing of green sometimes, where as some represent very exquisite and fashionable headgear. Most of the politicians in Kashmir have given up the use of a turban which used to be the symbol of dignity and honor, except for ceremonial use. The Karakul caps are popular amongst most of the mainstream politicians. It is quite common for a Kashmiri groom to remove the traditional turban and replace it with a Karakul