Alright, I know what you’re thinking — this isn’t a history blog, then why the heck is he posting something as boring as the monastic tonsure for christ sake (pun intended, of course)! Listen, I bumped into this while going through my feeds and simply got hooked! And you know what happens next… I explored.
So, I thought of sharing this fascinating history about the monastic tonsure. Here’s a few things you should absolutely know:
- Started in the 5th century
- It’s a sign of religious devotion
- Originated from Catholicism but was banned in 1972 by the Papal
- But definitely not limited to the Catholics. It’s been practiced by the Buddhists, Hindus, Islamists, Jews, and other religious practitioners as well.
- You can think of the tonsures as the modern day Buzz Cut. You’ll see variations of it according to one’s (religious) beliefs, fashion, convenience, cult or simply aesthetics.
While there’s a lot about Tonsure on the internet, most of the information is scattered. There’s one on Wikipedia, but I’m sharing the best version I could find below. It’s worth 5 minutes of your time:
Fascinating, right? Who knew?