Читать книгу Introducing Anthropology - Laura Pountney - Страница 138

The removal of facial and bodily hair, including eyebrows and eyelashes, transforms the skin from a mere physical body part into a sort of social filter. The length of hair signifies an individual’s bodily participation with others in reproductive processes. The wearing of long and short hair ties into Kayapo ideas about the nature of family relations. Different Kayapo groups have their own distinctive hairstyles, which stand as symbols of their own group culture.

Certain types of people in Kayapo society are allowed to wear long hair, including women who have given birth to children and adult men who have been through initiation rites and received their penis sheaths. The cutting of the hair on the head represents a distinct social code that communicates information about the individual’s stage of development. Those who must keep their hair short include children and adolescents of both sexes. The child’s hair remains short as a sign of its biological separation from its parents.