BANDANA, or BANDANNA  , a word probably derived through the Portuguese from the Hindustani bdndhnu, which signified a primitive method of obtaining an effect in dyeing by tying up cloth in different places to prevent the particular parts from receiving the dye . The name was given to richly coloured silk handkerchiefs produced by this process, of which bright colours were characteristic . Bandanas are now commonly made of cotton and produced in Lancashire, whence they are exported . The effect is also produced by a regular process in calico printing, in which the pattern is made by discharging the colour .