"Thy hue, dear pledge, is pure and bright
As in that well-remember'd night
When first they mystic braid was wove,
And first my Agnes whisper'd love."
Welcome back, friends, to Scholar Minor. As you may have guessed from our opening poetry excerpt - from To a Lock of Hair by Sir Walter Scott - the topic for this week’s episode is hair.
While there are some folks who follow cultural or religious traditions regarding the wearing and maintenance of their hair, a lot of people - including myself - mostly think about hair from an aesthetic perspective. My own hair right now is probably the longest it’s been since early childhood - and while I like the way it looks just fine, it has proven to be a hot, heavy nightmare in the summertime. So, while I decide whether to chop it off or not, let’s learn about some of the mythologies and histories of hair. I hope you enjoy.
All over the world, hair has played a hugely important role in mythological and religious symbolism. Author Ralph M. Trueb, in his 2017 paper From Hair in India to Hair India, tells us that the Vedic gods of Hindu tradition - Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma - were often depicted with uncut hair. He observes that in the Manusmriti, or "The Laws of Manu", one of the most important works in Hindu tradition compiled around 100 CE, pulling or harming another's hair - even in a fight - was considered dishonorable and punishable by grievous means.
In Hindu mythology, the way that deities' and heroes' hair was depicted was very intentional - with hairstyles functioning as symbolic representations of specific traits. For example, Shiva is often depicted with dreadlocks, which are representative of power of mind. How hair is worn and maintained is still extremely important to folks in many religious traditions around the world.
In Norse myth, we can find the story of Sif and her golden hair - recounted in Snorri Sturluson's 13th century Prose Edda. Sif, who was married to the God Thor, was shaved bald by the mischievous Loki during her sleep. Sif was heartbroken and Thor was livid - demanding that Loki find replacement hair.
Loki travelled to the world of the dwarves - Svartalfheim, or Niðavellir - to locate the sons of Ivaldi, who were master dwarven smiths. Ivaldi's sons - whose first names are sadly not recorded - create a beautiful headpiece for Sif of finely crafted golden hairs. They also craft a miraculous foldable flying ship for Freyr, Skíðblaðnir, and the unfailing spear Gungnir for Odin.
Loki found these creations mightily impressive, declaring the sons of Ivaldi the finest of all smiths. Two other dwarven smiths overheard, however - the brothers Eitri and Brokk. They proposed a wager with Loki that they could make three gifts for the Aesir gods that would surpass the Ivaldi sons' in quality. Loki accepted the wager.
Despite Loki taking the form of a biting fly and pestering the brothers while they worked, Brokk and Eitri fashioned Gullinborsti - a golden boar for Freyr, a multiplying golden arm band for Odin called Draupnir, and Thor's legendary hammer Mjollnir. When the Aesir gods were presented with all the items for judgement, Brokk and Eitri won their wager against Loki - though Loki managed to escape with his head following the Gods' verdict.
One of the most well-known tales regarding the importance of hair comes from the Old Testament, in the story of Samson and Delilah. Samson was a Nazirite - his life dedicated to strict religious observance - and he was well known for possessing great physical strength. As a Nazirite, Samson was required to abstain from all beverages originating from grapes, avoid any contact with the dead or places where the dead were buried, and never cut the hair on his head. The vows of the Nazirites are very strict - even grooming with a comb is forbidden, as it could result in hair being unintentionally pulled out.
Samson was an Israelite, and unfortunately became enamored with a Philistine woman named Delilah. During the time of origin for this tale, between 1200 and 1000 BCE, the Israelites and the Philistines were at war. After gaining Samson's trust, the Old Testament tells us, Delilah cut his hair - betraying him and breaking his vow as a Nazirite. Having broken his vow, Samson's strength was gone and he was captured by the Philistines. Shortly before his death, the story assures us that God returned Samson's physical prowess to him long enough to destroy the temple of the Philistine god, Dagon.
As evidenced by this tiny slice of hair-related mythology, hair has been hugely important to cultures all over the world for millennia. And, as with countless other seemingly mundane, ever-present features of daily life - hair became firmly intertwined with superstition and folk tradition.
If you’re interested in magical practices from around the world, you’re probably already familiar with the fact that hair is frequently used in spellwork. Animal hair - such as the hair of a cow, a black cat, or a hound - could be included in a charm or spell to draw from the traits of the animal in question. Human hair, of course, made frequent appearances too. Our old friend, the Encyclopedia of Superstitions, has a fairly typical example for us:
"If you can get a few strands of your enemy's hair, bore a hole in a tree, put them in, and plug up the hole; you can thus give him a headache which cannot be relieved until his hair is taken out of the tree."
It is very common across the board to find that someone else possessing your hair is bad news. I don’t usually get the heebie jeebies when researching for this podcast, but I’ll admit that some of the superstitions involving human hair are pretty yikes. Unfortunately a lot of them involve hair from folks who have . . . er, aren’t going to be styling it again, if you catch my drift. While someone who dislikes you having your hair appears to be pretty sinister, possessing another person’s hair wasn’t always with evil intention.
We’ve talked about the 19th century’s preoccupation with the macabre, and hair played an important role in Victorian grieving tradition. Memento Mori, translating to “Remember you must die,” often refers to the small tokens created to remember lost loved ones during the 1800s. These were symbolic items - meant to serve as sentimental reminders and bring comfort to the bereaved. While there are many, many forms that Memento Mori objects could take - and we’ll talk more about them another time - hair was a fairly common material used to make these mementos.
Human hair from a deceased person would be used for making jewelry - such as pins or necklaces - or for decorations like wreaths or floral designs. These creations may seem unnerving to us, but at the time they were incredibly meaningful to folks as reminders of loved ones who had passed on.
They were often supremely intricate and quite beautiful, and gained quite a bit of popularity during the 19th century - with even Queen Victoria herself having many pieces made from the hair of the Royal Family. Death wasn’t the only context in which hair was saved as a memento, however. Lovers would sometimes gift locks of hair - usually a female to a male - as a token of devotion.
Mercifully, not all of the traditions surrounding hair are matters of love and death. Some are our more usual superstitious fare. If you would like curly hair instead of straight hair, for example, you could try eating the gizzard of a turkey. And if a feather blows into your hair, the Encyclopedia of Superstitions quaintly informs us that "it means an angry day before you." Finding a hairpin in the street may mean a social invitation is on its way - or that you may fall in the street - or that one of your friends is harboring jealousy towards you.
When it comes to purely aesthetic trends for hair, the evolving world of fashion is certainly nothing new. And while the 19th century may feel like a long time ago, folks were worrying about their hairstyles long before then.
In ancient Greece, long hair was considered a sign of importance and class, often worn in a top knot. Beards were likewise considered very dignified and fashionable. Over time, however, the trends swung the other way and clean-shaven faces became most popular - with only philosophers sporting long full beards. Ancient Rome, too, saw periods of beards and shaved faces gaining popularity over one another - historians can guestimate at these trends by checking out coins from the period in question. Womens' popular hairstyles also varied significantly, though hair ornaments such as nets or intricately decorated fasteners were frequently incorporated.
Hair dye became very popular in the later years of the Roman empire, though hair coloring methods had existed in Greece and ancient Egypt as well. The Romans went wild for blonde hair and had a lot of methods for hair lightening - including corrosive soaps, bird poop, Sulphur, and wine. Some wealthy Romans - including the emperor Commodus, son of Marcus Aurelius, who ruled from 180 to 192 CE, would powder their hair with gold dust - though pollen was available for those with a more limited hair powder budget.
Wigs and hairpieces began to increase in popularity, too - in part because many hair dyeing and lightening methods could be toxic and even fatal. From the Renaissance to the late 19th century, keeping hair styled and free of pests were folks’ biggest priorities - washing your hair (and the rest of you, for that matter) happened a lot less often than today. By the 1800s aesthetics called for thick, healthy, youthful hair - and hair care began to change. Frequent brushing ensured that natural oils were distributed evenly throughout the hair resulting in actually very healthy and relatively clean tresses.
The turn of the century saw huge improvements in hygiene, largely in response to outbreaks of disease and advancements in medicine. More frequent hair washing led to the popularity of shorter hair cuts - and pop culture icons like early film stars encouraged others to dye their hair - especially blonde.
Unfortunately, poor regulation meant that many hair - and beard - dyes, elixirs, and tonics were incredibly toxic and unregulated. This continued until brands like L'Oréal and Clairol began introducing safer and more regulated chemicals for home dyeing use.
In the notes for this episode, you'll find a link to a great article published on the Smithsonian website which - after some history of styling methods - includes photographs of 29th and early 20th century hair dyes and other hair care products. The Smithsonian is an incredible resource - definitely check it out!
That will do it for us this evening friends, and thank you from the bottom of my heart - as always - for listening.
You can find my bibliography in the show notes, as well as a link to my website - www.ursaminorcreations.com - and my email.
Things will be a little hairy - pun intended - this coming month for me, so thank you in advance for your patience. I have lots of fun new ideas waiting for the fall and I can’t wait for them to take shape - I will keep you posted!
Be safe, have a beautiful week, and I look forward to learning with you again next Friday.