Tonsure

Tonsure.  Have you ever heard of it?  Me neither.

Anu & Pulva (from Gymnastics) came to our apartment for a play date this week.  Anu told me that they shaved Pulva's head when she was one year old.  Of course, I said "why?"  She said it is a Hindu custom to shave the baby's head when they are one year old.  This is done as a celebration.  Pulva's ears were also pierced at this time.  She said they also did this to their son (who is now 3?) and pierced his ears too - which she said the holes have closed up now.

Interesting: sounds like a good blog entry =)  Time for some internet research.  Here is what I have found:

Tonsure is defined as a haircut or head shaving.  This term does not necessarily mean it is for religious purposes, but that is often the case.  In the Hindu religion, it can be called Chudakarana, which means arrangement of the hair tuft, b/c sometimes a tuft of hair at the crown of the head is not shaved.  It can also be called Mundana, which translates to tonsure.

This customs, in which a child receives his/her first haircut, is the 8th of 16 Hindu sacraments.  This should take place at the end of the first year or before the end of the 3rd year.  The hair from birth is associated with undesirable traits from past lives. Thus at the time of the mundan, the child is freshly shaven to signify freedom from the past and moving into the future. The rite is performed as a special ceremony in most homes, for young girls and boys.  There appear to be some variations to the tradition based on location and things that have changed over time, but the general description here seems to be somewhat uniform across India. 

I am still trying to find some reliable websites for information.  I have found various different reason on why they keep the tuft of hair and even one site that says they don't keep the tuft on the crown anymore.  I also haven't been able to locate information on the ear piercing - I'll keep you posted if I do.

A future 'hair' blog entry: The Wig Industry in India