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tonsure
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What is a tonsure?
A tonsure is a religious practice involving the cutting or shaving of hair from the head as a ritual marking entry into a new religious stage. It has been used in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches for dedication to God. Until its abolishment in 1973, the tonsure initiated men into the clerical state, making them eligible for priesthood ordination. There are three types of tonsure: Roman, Greek, and Celtic. Tonsure is also part of Buddhist and Jaina ceremonies, signifying renunciation of worldly life and entry into monkhood.
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Why do some religions use tonsure as a practice?
Tonsure is a religious practice involving the cutting or shaving of hair as a ceremony of initiation that marks entrance into a new stage of religious development or activity.
In Buddhism, tonsure is part of the ordination ceremony for novices and monks, who keep their heads shaven. Jaina monks cut their hair, traditionally by plucking, as a sign of renouncing worldly life and entering monkhood, imitating Mahāvīra and Gautama. In Hinduism, a boy's first tonsure marks his transition from infant to child, leaving a tuft of hair at the crown.
In the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, tonsure was used for personal dedication to God. Until abolished in 1973, it initiated men into the clerical state for priesthood eligibility.
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How is a tonsure performed?
Tonsure is a religious practice involving the clipping or shaving of hair from the head as a ritual of initiation into a new religious stage or activity. The term tonsure can also refer to the shaven crown or patch worn by monks and clerics.
There have been three tonsures in use in Christian churches:
* Roman (St. Peter’s): Shaving the whole head except for a fringe, or a small round area at the crown.
* Greek (Eastern, or St. Paul’s): Shaving the whole head, though recent practice sometimes considers close-shorn hair adequate.
* Celtic (St. John’s): Shaving all hair in front of a line drawn over the head from ear to ear.Tonsure is also part of ordination ceremonies for novices and monks in Buddhism, where they keep their heads and faces shaven. Jaina monks pluck their hair out to renounce worldly life, while in Hinduism, a boy's first tonsure marks his transition from infant to child, leaving a tuft of hair at the crown.
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Which religions or groups have used tonsure?
Tonsure, a religious practice involving hair clipping, signifies entering a new stage of religious development.
Religions and groups that have used tonsure:
* Christianity Tonsure has been used in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Three forms existed: Roman (shaving the head except for a fringe), Greek (shaving the whole head or close shorn), and Celtic (shaving all hair in front of a line from ear to ear).
* Buddhism Tonsure is part of ordination for novices and monks, who keep their heads shaven. In Myanmar and Thailand, young boys undergo tonsure as part of a ceremony and spend time in a monastery.
* Jainism Monks cut their hair, traditionally by plucking, to renounce worldly life.
* Hinduism The first tonsure for young boys marks their transition from infancy, leaving a tuft of hair. Full tonsure is part of initiation into Hindu ascetic orders.2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What does the tonsure symbolize in different religious traditions?
Tonsure, the practice of clipping or shaving hair, serves as an initiation rite in various religions, marking entry into a new phase of religious life.
In Christian traditions, the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches have used tonsure for solemn dedication to God. In Buddhism and Jainism, tonsure symbolizes renunciation of worldly life and entry into monkhood, imitating the actions of Mahāvīra and Gautama.
In Hinduism, the first tonsure for young boys, cūḍākaraṇa, is a sacrament marking the transition from infancy to childhood, leaving a tuft of hair at the crown.
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How has the practice of tonsure changed over time?
Tonsure is a religious practice involving the cutting or shaving of hair as a ceremony of initiation into a new religious stage.
Over time, the Christian churches have used three tonsures. The Roman, or St. Peter’s, tonsure involved shaving the whole head, except for a fringe symbolizing the crown of thorns, or a small round area at the head's crown. The Greek, or St. Paul’s, tonsure originally involved shaving the whole head, but current practice considers close shearing adequate. The Celtic tonsure, or tonsure of St. John, shaved all hair in front of a line drawn from ear to ear over the head.
Pope Paul VI abolished tonsure in 1973 as the ceremony for initiating a man into the clerical state.
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tonsure, in various religions, a ceremony of initiation in which hair is clipped from the head as part of the ritual marking one’s entrance into a new stage of religious development or activity.
Tonsure has been used in both the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox churches on occasions of solemn personal dedication to God. Until it was abolished by Pope Paul VI (effective in 1973), tonsure was the ceremony by which a man was initiated into the clerical state and became eligible for ordination to the priesthood. In the Eastern Orthodox church tonsure is part of the ordination of the lector (reader). In certain of the Eastern churches tonsure has also been a part of the ceremony admitting a man to the monastic life. The origins of the Christian use of this rite are not clear, but early Christian ascetics may have imitated the ancient religious practice among the Greeks and Semites that involved the cutting of some of the hair and offering it to a deity as a sign of dedication.
Three tonsures have been more or less in use in the Christian churches. The Roman, or St. Peter’s, tonsure involved the shaving either of the whole head, with the exception of a fringe of hair supposed to symbolize the crown of thorns, or of a small round area at the crown of the head. In the Greek (Eastern, or St. Paul’s) tonsure the whole head was shaved, but the more recent practice in the Eastern church has considered the tonsure adequate when the hair is merely shorn close. In the Celtic tonsure (tonsure of St. John, or, in contempt, of Simon Magus) all the hair in front of a line drawn over the top of the head from ear to ear was shaved.
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In Buddhism tonsure is performed as a part of the ceremony of ordination as a novice (pravrajyā ceremony) and as a monk (upasaṃpadā ceremony). Thereafter, the monk keeps his head and face clean-shaven. In Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand most male children undergo the pravrajyā ceremony at about the age of eight or older and spend a few days or months in a monastery; the rite of tonsure is a principal part of the ceremony.
Jaina monks also cut their hair as a sign of renouncing the worldly life and entering the monkhood, traditionally, by plucking out the hairs one by one. Both Jaina and Buddhist customs are theoretically in imitation of the act performed by their teachers Mahāvīra and Gautama, who cut off their hair upon leaving their households to embark on the spiritual life.
In Hinduism the first tonsure undergone by a young boy (the ceremony of cūḍākaraṇa) is one of the saṃskāras, or personal sacraments, that mark the boy’s transition from an infant to a child. It is usually performed when the boy is about two years old. The Hindu tonsure leaves a tuft of hair (the cūḍa) at the crown of the head. Tonsure formerly marked other rites of passage for the Hindu, such as the putting on of the sacred thread or the change of ritual status incurred by the death of the father (customs now largely observed only symbolically). Full tonsure is performed as part of the initiation rite into most Hindu ascetic orders.