The Spiritual Significance of Hair Across Cultures
There are some people today that say that hair is “just hair”
and that too much emphasis is placed upon it. There are others that are very focused on their hair have it play a significant roles in their lives and culture. Despite what one believes, there is a large amount of historical evidence that hair has held (and continues to hold) great spiritual significance for people all over the world since the beginning of time. We cannot deny the huge financial value of hair care, services and products in the U.S alone, surpassing $9 billion a year. That alone is enough to indicate that hair, how it looks, and how it is cared for is of great value, and to many is of great spiritual meaning and connection. It has been linked to the very essence of the person to who it is attached. Let’s explore the spiritual connection it has had in some cultures around the world.
Hair has a special SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE in Africa.
Many African cultures saw the head as the center of control, communication, and identity in the body. Hair was regarded as a source of POWER that personified the individual and could be used for spiritual purposes or even to cast a spell. Since it rests on the highest point on the body, hair itself was a means to communicate with divine spirits and it was treated in ways that were thought to bring GOOD LUCK or WARD OFF EVIL.
The Incas (present day Peru in South America)
cut hair from a one or two year old baby at a ceremony called rutuchicoy. The cut hairs were kept in a safe place, because the Incas believed that hair contained a PERSON’S ESSENCE.
Hindu families
have followed the tradition of having a child’s head shaved as a way to GET RID OF IMPURITIES and so that fresh hair can grow in its place. The removal of the hair is believed to bring STRENGTH, ENERGY, LONG LIFE, and other virtues. The shorn hair is offered as a religious sacrifice.
Hair has been a part of customs and rituals designed to thwart evil spirits, bring good luck, or comfort those in mourning. The Yoruba in Africa may shave a baby’s head to mark its PASSAGE FROM THE SPIRIT WORLD into the living. The shorn hair may be used in good luck charms or healing tonics.
The practice of scalping one’s enemies was linked to the idea that this could remove their STRENGTH and POWER.
Hair is an extension of ourselves, whether it is viewed literally or figuratively. The common belief in its sacredness and power across varying cultures throughout the entire world indicate that it is indeed something special.
