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) Cap as he waits at his in-laws house for his bride to accompany him home. In the Kashmiri Muslim diaspora the Karakul cap is now only worn at important moments. Karakul caps became popular among Africans and African-Americans in the 1960s. African Presidents such as Modibo Keïta of Mali and Ahmed Sékou Touré of Guinea, who were themselves both of pre-colonial African royal descent, wore the karakul cap to show their independence from European colonial power. The karakul cap is often worn by African and African-American Christians and Jews. Both the velvet and faux fur versions are worn by men