Rites of passage
The first haircut, the mundan, coming of age and mourning. 35 hairstyles on EveryHairstyle so far.
Hair marks the passages of life: birth, childhood, coming of age, marriage, mourning, and entering religious life. Many of these rites involve cutting or shaving: the Hindu mundan, the Jewish upsherin, the tonsure of a monk, the cutting of a sumo wrestler's topknot at retirement. Others involve putting hair up or covering it, as at coming of age in Joseon Korea.
Cutting and shaving rites
The mundan shaves a Hindu child's birth hair; the upsherin gives a Jewish boy his first haircut at three; the aqiqah shaves a Muslim baby's head on the seventh day. Buddhist ordination shaves the head as a sign of leaving worldly life. In mourning, many Hindu sons shave their heads after a parent's death. When a sumo wrestler retires, his topknot is cut in the danpatsu-shiki, and ancient Egyptian children's sidelocks were cut at puberty.
Coming of age
In Joseon Korea, a boy's braid was tied up into a sangtu topknot at his capping ceremony or marriage, the mark of adulthood. In Rwanda, unmarried women wore amasunzu crests from about 18. Among the Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania, young warriors grow long braided hair dressed with red ochre, which is shaved when they become elders. Such rites show how hair turns a private body into a public statement.
Famous rites of passage hairstyles
Head shaving in HinduismThe mundan and mourning shave
UpsherinThe Jewish first haircut
TonsureShaving on entering religious life
Sidelock of youthCut at puberty in ancient EgyptAmasunzuWorn by Rwandan women of marriageable age
SangtuThe Korean coming-of-age topknot
ChonmageCut off when a sumo wrestler retiresFurther reading
🇨🇳 ChinaChinese hairpin
Traditional Chinese hair ornaments used to secure buns and signify status.Adorned · Any hair
🇮🇳 India and 3 moreDastar
A turban worn by Sikhs to cover uncut hair and signify faith.Wrapped · Any hair · 1699
🇪🇬 EgyptNemes
Striped head cloth worn by ancient Egyptian pharaohs.Wrapped · Any hair
WorldBun
A hairstyle where hair is gathered and coiled into a circular shape on the head.Updo · Any hair
WorldBraid
Interlaced strands of hair used for style and social signalling.Braid · Any hair
🇺🇸 United StatesInduction cut
Shortest military clipper cut without shaving bald.Shaved · Any hair
🇬🇷 GreeceGreco-Roman hairstyles
Hair practices of ancient Greece and Rome, including long locks, short crops, and net head-dresses.Wrapped · Any hair
EuropeRoman hairstyles
Ancient Roman hair fashions reflecting status and identityUpdo · Any hair
WorldBraids
A hairstyle formed by interlacing three or more strands of hair.Braid · Any hair
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Tonsure: Pietro Perugino, Public domain, source
- Nemes: Trailer screenshot,, Public domain, source
- Sidelock of youth: Unknown artist, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Braid: Ciell, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dastar: Photography by Harkanwal Singh., CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Bun: Stilfehler, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sangtu: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, source
- Induction cut: 霍建华微吧, CC BY 2.5, source
- Greco-Roman hairstyles: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Upsherin: Vered Peer, CC BY 4.0, source
- Chinese hairpin: Augusthaiho, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Roman hairstyles: Colchester Museums, Caroline McDonald, 2004-06-02 14:47:52, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chonmage: not listed, Public domain, source
- Braids: Unknown author, Public domain, source