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HAIRstitious
https://vimeo.com/167088173
Installation
Brief and Response: HAIR SUPERSTITIONS
An investigation delving into the
relationship between superstition and hair and the impact of its cultural ideals on millenials. Many people carry good-luck charms or engage in simple acts, that they hope will ward off bad fortune and bring on good. Traditionally, hair is often linked with fate and fortune because it is believed that hair is a part of our body that grows outside one’s conscious control. In our scientifically advanced Western society, this behaviour seems paradoxical. Our understanding of the natural world tells us that these signs and gestures cannot possibly affect the events at which they are directed, yet superstition is extremely common, if not universal. A number of hair superstitions, although may not make much sense to our modern society, have continued to live on as they are passed from generation to generation. Hair plays not only an important role in our daily lives but also in the overall cultural fabric. So what is it about these hair superstitions, in its belief and disbelief, reveal about whom we identify as?
Japan, on exceptional case study for hair superstitions as it has been long considered one of the most superstitious places on earth. The Japanese culture is embedded in these superstitions. Tokyo-lites to those who reside in the outskirts, weigh in on how they’ve inherited these traditional hair customs from their ancestors and contrast the opinion of London based individuals who style hair as an occupation. Akino Kitafuku, 26, former hairdresser in Osaka, Japan. Are you a superstitious person? Do your family believe in superstitions? I think I am sort of superstitious, and my family as well. I don’t fully believe in superstitions because I think more practically. What sort of superstitions do you or your family believe in? My family and I aren’t strictly superstitious, in comparison to other Japanese families, but my grandparents are definitely. Some of the superstitious as a family that we
A turn-of-the-century image of a woman washing her hair 1930 Photograph by: Yumeji Takehisa
believe in, for example, is that you shouldn’t start wearing new shoes at night because if you do, a racoon dog follows you. I don’t believe in it but I don’t wear brand new-new shoes at night. Also, another one is that you shouldn’t whistle at night because if you do an ogre came to take your tongue. I don’t believe in it, but i think it’s good not to do for neighborhood you live in. Are so in Japan would you say that the older people are more superstitious than the younger people or it’s around the same? I think that older people, specifically my grandparents generation, are more superstitious. The younger people varies, but everyone carries superstition to a certain degree.
Do you think that in Japan it is very difficult for Japanese people to not be superstitious? It would really depend on the person. My friend told me that one Japanese girl was so superstitious and she was frightened every time she saw a black cat and always kept a lot of candles in her room to ward off spirits. It’d be difficult but it’s rare and some people don’t care at all. I guess those people who aren’t superstitious haven’t heard stories about superstition. How do you hear about these superstitions? Did you hear them growing up? Speaking and telling people mostly convey it. Yes, through my grandparents. It is my opinion, but I believe the stories were invented to scare/ educate children. Normally they are
Russia. Moscow. YAKOVLEV Family. 1994. Wig and shoes. Moscow 1994 Collection: Magnum Photos Image Courtesy of Lise Sarfati / Magnum Photos
horror stories, but I tend to do the opposite of what I should! Have you heard of the superstition “don’t cut your hair at night”? Yes, but it’s more closely linked towards cutting nails as well. It is said “if you cut your nails, you wouldn’t see your parents when they are dying.” Well, I still cut my nails at night though as I want to cut my nails after shower, and you need to cut your nails while you are alive. It’s not an event that happens once or twice, it’s something I need to do daily so I can’t follow it forever.
Mana Shimada, 21, currently studying Japanese Education and Culture Degree in Keio University in Tokyo, Japan I have heard quite a lot of superstition about hair in Japan. Do you believe in any superstition?
Well, I am not entirely superstitious but I remember my grandparents telling me few superstitions when I was younger. I remember my parents cutting my hair when I turned one year old to bring good luck. My grandparents’ even said, some Japanese parents use the baby’s hair to Do you think you would still cut hair at create a brush to keep for them. This night? is quite religious because it can only Hmmm, I don’t think so. I am a hair- be made at the temple. dresser so I couldn’t avoid it as we need to practice or cut on customers. What sort of superstitions does you or your family believe in? When you worked in your hair salon, were there any superstitions the salon Well, our family is not superstitious, had or your colleagues? but I think my grandparents are We didn’t have any superstitions superstitious because they are both that were strict, for more practical religious. But, I know my mom keeps reasons, but it was more a spirit and a lock of hair of my dad’s because she ethos that as a hair salon we needed said it is a symbol that keeps their to keep things clean and tidy. Which marriage forever. I know it is kind of is also another superstition but one creepy but I think keeping a lock of that has practical elements. hair is like a sentimental thing. Also, I just remembered! When I was at my primary school a lot of my
Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 1994 Trouser Detail, Nihilism Gray silk/wool Photographed by Sølve Sundsbø for Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
Do you think superstition is still important in Japanese culture today?
friends would wait at full moon night to brush their hair to make their hair ‘beautiful’. Which is completely nonsense but I think we all tried it because our teacher told us the story. I guess we just believed in everything when we were younger. Why do you think a lot of Japanese people believed in superstition at the past? In Japan, we have lots of myths and superstitions at the past. It is a way to teach moral lessons but it is also an entertainment for everyone.
Well, I think Japanese superstition will last because it is also a part of our traditions. I think superstition is a story that keeps us entertained at times but it is also like a religion. If you believe it, you will believe in it. If not, you don’t. Simple as that. Also, a lot of our ancestors believed in superstitions because it keeps the demons away and keep our luck to ourselves. A lot of people believed in superstition because it makes them feel stronger and more confident. I think nowadays we have changed the way we teach moral lessons and also find our confidence. Silvio Hauke, 29, Session Stylist in London. As your fashion wigs are pretty abstract, do you think that you are giving hair its own meaning and/or significance? All the wigs I create carry a layer of meaning to them. My wigs are inspired by the surroundings I observe and through my wigs, I try to represent different faces of nature. It might seem simple, but nature is the inspiration and foun-
Studio Portrait of the Artist 2001 Collection: Mattress Factory Exhibited 10/28/01 - 12/08/01 Image Courtesy of Dennis Bergevin
dation of my wigs, thus I develop this through different colours, textures and shapes. What is your perspective/thoughts on the act or custom of giving meaning to hair as a society, the act of creating hair customs / superstitions? What do you make of it? I personally feel as if it carries no logical sense, though it does show that hair carries a big impact on a person. For me, it’s the aesthetic and style of hair that really draws me in. Do you believe in any hair superstitions of your own or that you picked up in your life? I don’t really believe in superstitions, though there are some common, more luck related ideals I somewhat carry. I believe that superstitions are made up by society and personally, am a more scientific person, I need to see facts. When did you start wig making? I started wig making around 2010, so I’d say that I’ve been doing this professionally for around six years. How did you decide that this was what you were interested in? One of my good friends was an art
director and was working on a presentation. He needed a wig and knew that I was starting to make them so he asked me to help him with the preparation. After that, I found that creating wigs, especially for artistic or more fashionable purposes was something I really wanted to pursue full time and professionally. What’s been one of the more challenging wigs you’ve worked on? I got a request from a German magazine to shoot a beauty editorial but instead of using hair we decided to use latex as a medium. After the idea was established, I decided to spend time assisting a couple of weeks in a studio where they produce rubber clothes. They taught me how to understand the material and also how to work with it, so that I could create a wig out of latex. However, to be honest, every wig that I’ve worked on so far is a big challenge because every wig is an unique and there isn’t really a handbook to tell you how to create each one.. It’s through failing and trying again that I can create a successful wig.
The Psychology Superstitions are socially shared and we are introduced to them through our culture. Generations of families pass down these superstitions as a method of bestowing knowledge and understanding of cultural ideals. These “acts” are carried out in the hopes of attaining luck and leading a more fulfilling life. As Stuart Vyse confirms in his ‘Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition’, this behaviour is indeed ‘paradoxical’ for our ‘scientifically advanced Western society’. Superstitions however are still extremely common today and universal. This unusual behaviour can be explained as our meek attempt to understand and control our lives. The same can be used to explain our devotion to religion. Magic and religion have always been closely associated to one another from the very beginning of time. Spiritual leaders were once very important figures in primitive societies. Vyse reminds us that
these primitive cultures ‘possessed a psychology that was less highly evolved’ which led to the development of ‘less-reasoned responses to a bewildering world’ thus the formation of superstition. Fast forward to the 21st century, we can conclude that why these beliefs remain despite conflicting evidence is due to the psychological benefits one achieves by engaging in these customs. We still try our luck, although we know our gestures cannot possibly affect events and the course of the natural world. We want to believe that we can make a difference and by being superstitious, our performance can improve on some occasions, as we believe that we have successfully intervened in our fate. One of the most significant 20th century anthropologists, Bronislaw Malinowski perfectly encapsulates superstitions as ‘self-contained acts, the aim of which is achieved in their very performance’.
behind SUPERSTITIONS Through our interviews and analysis into our psychological states, it is clear that despite adamant dismissal or devoted belief, there is an inadvertent charm to superstition. It’s relation to hair is another sign that we place our beliefs into tangible items that represent what we hold closest to us, be it family, strength and identity. The mythological element in superstition may not be delivered in what they promise us, but in how they affect our perception of reality and its longevity though time, proves the constant fascination in the value of our beliefs. Whether hair superstition is satirised or emphasised through imagery, it is undeniably a mechanism for us to express the authenticity in how we view ourselves, and the world we live in.
The SUPERSTITIONS
MULAN ‘Glückssträhne’ When someone shares good news, people will say, ‘you have a lucky strand of hair’ as an expression in Germany.
FIX YOUR ROOT, HARRIET ‘後ろ髪を引かれる’ Being pulled by the back of your hair: It is about not letting go of your past. Something always pulls you back. It makes you remember things in the past. For example; guilt.
IDENTITY
JAPAN
Being pulled by the back of your hair: It is about not letting go of your past. Something always pulls you back. It makes you remember things in the past for example, guilt. Hair as imprint of memory: to show different chapters of your life : (youth, adulthood, pregnancy) Cutting hair means letting go of the past. Black hair is pretty like a crow’s wet wing.
BRITAIN Take a strand of hair off and pull it tightly between the nails of your index finger and your thumb, if it curls up when you release, that it is a sign of pride. With hair below the knee never a bride will she be. If a person’s hair, burns brightly in the fire, it is a sign that the individual will have a longer hair.
LUCK
ASIA
CHINA A fringe would block your luck: The forehand is the portion of the body that contains knowledge so a fringe would hinder the amount of success coming towards you. This superstition is for man and excludes children as they have not experienced life yet. THAILAND Never cut your hair at night. Otherwise, the spirits will come and haunt you. Don’t step on your hair. Never cut or clean your hair on Wednesdays.
JAPAN When you cut your hair, you need to burn it. You can’t abandon your hair. (Or else the soul will be released and haunt you) During the wars, many Japanese wives and girlfriends offered locks of their hair to shrines and temples for the safe return of a soldier.
SALON O’CLOCK
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Never cut your hair after the sun has set. Otherwise, you will be visited by spirits.
SNAP THIS. ‘髪は、 メモリのインプリントです。’ Hair is an imprint of memory recording different chapters of your life.
ELSEWHERE EUROPE When someone shares a good news, people will say, ‘you found a lucky strand of hair’ as an expression in German Britain: Never cut a baby’s hair before they are speaking as it will affect their speech, they will stutter. In Wales, A child with double crown hairline will be lucky in money matters. AFRICA A red string may be tied around a new-born’s hair. This is to ward off evil spirits and jealous thoughts from others
VITAMIN PILI
‘治療の髪’ Japanese people drink medicine with their own hair. They believed hair has the ability to stop blood and negative energy.
STRENGTH
JAPAN
Hair is strength: Sumo wrestlers wear their hair long and tied up in a special knot. When a grand champion retires, his hair is shorn in a special public ritual. Japanese people drink medicine with their own hair. They believed hair has the ability to stop blood and negative energy. To begin with, the ancient Japanese believe that even after the rest of one’s body had ceased to grow, one’s hair, like fingernails and toenails, continued to grow by, itself, outside one’s conscious control. This may be one reason why hair is associated positively with life force and energy, but at the same time holds the negative valence of wile and untamed energy.
ELSEWHERE CHINA Broken Comb: The first sign of a bad omen to happen to you. BRITAIN A hairy chest or luxurious facial hair is widely held to be a sign of strength and is therefore lucky. This is why in ancient times victorious soldiers sometimes hacked the beards off their enemies. Black hair suggests great strength and virility and is also lucky.
GREY GARDEN
‘梳到斷梳’ Broken Comb: The first sign of a bad omen that will happen to you.
EMOTION
ASIA
In the Genji era, Japanese people believed that hair has feelings. In Thailand, Curly hair guys are most likely to cheat, and you might as well never trust a bald guy; they are smart and also very sneaky. In Korea, by having erotic thoughts you can actually make your hair grow faster.
BRITAIN Any woman who suddenly develops curls at the temples where her hair was previously straight is warned to look to her husband’s health because it’s a sign that he doesn’t have long to live. Sudden loss of hair is a prognostic of the loss of children, health, or property.
MISS PIGGY BANK ‘頭髮覆蓋前額 - 擋運’ A fringe would block your luck: The forehead is the portion of the head that contains knowledge and fortune, as its nearest the brain, a fringe would hinder the amount of success coming towards you. This superstition is specific to men and excludes children as they have not experienced life yet.
Do you believe in superstition?
We are a little stitious… VISUALS Jeffrey Pangputhipong Alena Hoeldrich Marc Tommy Wiesener WRITTEN Natalie Chui Carolyn Kang Juliana Norza Rahél Watson Special Thanks To Lou Stoppard Silvio Hauke Akino Kitafuku Mana Shimada
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