Hair: The Symbolic Currency of Mourning (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781916622067)

Why is hair so news worthy? Historically, people believed in the power of hair rituals to transform an existing emotional state. Today, people are more skeptical. Certainly, responses to life crises do change over time, raising legitimate questions. In this study, I explore three current hair rituals that focus on this remarkable body part. By turning the lens, I discover how the symbolic use of hair to mourn is a rite of passage that marks real or symbolic death. In each case, a hair ritual is usefully reconfigured to meet the demands of a changing society while remaining connected to our vanished past through this stable conduit ― hair.