First haircut

The first haircut for a human has special significance in certain cultures and religions. It can be considered a rite of passage or a milestone.

Indian

Hindu

In

Many Orthodox and Hasidic Jewish boys get their first haircut when they are three years old. The hair-cutting ceremony is known in Yiddish as the upsherenish or upsherin ("shear off"), and in Hebrew as halaqah (from the Arabic حلاقة - "to shave").

In

Muslim

The

The ritual first haircut (Polish: postrzyżyny) was a pre-Christian pagan-Slavic tradition which survived in Poland well into the 18th century. This first haircut traditionally took place between the ages of 7 and 10, and was conducted by either the boy's father or a stranger, who would thus enter into the boy's family.^[6] Before that age the boy's life was connected to his mother and he was treated as a child. The ritual haircut, coupled with the granting of an additional given name (usually the third), marked the boy's coming of age and a transition to the world of men, in which he was to be looked after by his father.^[7] The ritual also constituted the father's formal act of recognition of the boy as a son.^[7]

Ukrainian

Ukrainian babies often have their hair cut on their first birthday as part of the ancient Postryzhennya custom.^[8]

Polynesian

In

Traditionally, Niuean boys do not cut their hair, which is lovingly cared for by sisters, mothers and fathers. When the boys become teenagers, a ceremony is held where women tend the hair for the last time before it is cut. Members of the extended family plaster the youth with banknotes – all part of a large informal Niuean economy that links families and ensures the community looks after its own.^[10]

Malaysian

Malaysian children get their first haircut after the mother's confinement period is over, this can be from around 40–44 days long but more recently it has been done in as few as 20 days.^[11] After this period is over it is common to invite extended family over for the ceremony of cutting the child's hair. This ceremony is called Cukur Jambul. The purpose of Cukur Jambul is to welcome the new baby into the clan, it also serves the secondary purpose of allowing extended family to renew their relations with each other. After Cukur Jambul has started with a reading from the Quran, the father or mother takes the child to everyone who will cut some of the baby's hair, these people usually include grandparents, members of the marhaban group, local elders, and religious leaders. It is customary for those who do the cutting to gift the baby with something small, like a little cash. The hair is often weighed in order to donate its weight in gold, or the more convenient equivalent, to the poor. It is later put into some sort of bowl and buried in front of close family members in order to finish the ceremony.^[12]

North American

Native American

Some Native American tribes commemorated the first haircut with a ritualistic dance. The Apache tribe had a springtime ritual.

African Caribbean

Within the African Caribbean community this is performed once the child begins to speak clearly or after the child reaches two. This is usually done in a barbershop or carried out by the parent.

Yazidi

In the

• Tonsure, traditional practice of Christian churches of cutting or shaving the hair from the scalp (while leaving some parts uncut) of clerics, monastics, and, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, all baptized members.

References