/,ťr y

4V
5.00 (ctorb).
d YIII, vols.
.,)...
,
.
;1,
,and percep
pr):1 .j., .
-
'994. $lá.95
*i}sí:isc'ii
.;
.
.
řťair: is an object of intense elaboration and preoc.
cupation in many societies; seemingly the most superficial part of the.hunian, body, its meanings are
nevertheless deeply rooted in culture. Hairstňs. in
addition to the practices of obtaining onb, .onu"y
messages about people's beliefs and commitments.
How quickly we make.. inferences and. judgments
about a person's morality, sexual orientation, political.persuasion, and religious sentiments whin we
.95 (papcr).
n the press,
lrcss, 1994.'
95 (paper).
of modern
,
r94. $32.00
-
.'
:lusburCh,
Yess, 1994.
an issuě.about women and the exercise of'individual rights.
The questi;n' :,;;; v,omen,s
Introduction
994. S19.50
'rcss,1994.
:
reÍerenceJo include the meanings not jusi of women,s, hair
but alsá of men's harr,
I:r:,?Í
,''',' ol body.hair-as-well' as,head hair, a1! yLatment of_-.hair-ovgl.the.life cycle: This explora..:,..||,t!71,!",::u:,..!::rly'lh,e
sex,ual,religtous, and pálrttcal'meaningsof"hairare.intertwined
'"t'' 'n t u'rnsn society and how the focas on woments covering"has coniealed as well as, rein- ,'
.' ,., forced tra.ditionar gender definitions- [hair, gender, veiring,.Turkey,
IslamJ
994. $17.50
)rcss,1994.
StanfordUniversity
...;
.00 (papcr).
994.527.95
(cloth).
cago Press,
CAROL DELANEY
.:
.
3ortás..Nor.
;
'
see a particular hairstyle.l
Sometimes the meanings oť hair are transcul-
tural but more often they are culturally specific
and even then depend on the range of varňtions
that are permitted and expressed in that culture.
Abstract or general theories about hair are therefore not sufficient to interpret particular hairstyles
or practices relating to hair; one must know quite a
lot. about the
culture in order to do
Hair in the Turkish
so.
Univcrsity
Issues about
University
To the Western eye, the covering of women,s heads
in Turkey and other Muslim countries is surelv one
of th_e most noticeable and provocative practic;s re-
p. (paper).
n ecology.
94. 521.95
teights IL:
: National
p€ť).
Ú /,,
UNTANGLING THE MEANINGS OF HAIR
IT{ TURKISH SOCIETY
'Iondemely
lr t|roň).
/,ťr y
Contexr
lated to hair. Although this practice is often re_
ferred to as "veiling," which implies covering the
face as well as the hďr, what is usually meňt is
the covering of women's hair with scarves of vari_
ous kinds.r Westernerrhave ambivalent resDonses
to this practice-{onsidering it both exotic and
erotic or, in a more negative vein, as evidence for
the backwardness of Islam and the oppression of
women. Indigenous reformers, who wished to be
considered modern and for.whom ..modern" mcant
"Westem," often accepted these evaluations and
t59
spent a lot of,energy trying.to get women to un_
coler. That was surely the rationale and the goal of
Mustafa Kemal Atatiirk' the founder
fu,.
President of the Republic of Turkey.
"ná
The'issue of head covering goes back to the
beginning of the Republic and is intimatelv intertwined with irs history. Atatiirk felt that in order
for the defunct Ottoman Empire to be transformed
into a modern, Western type nation_state, .people
had not only to think differently, but also to dress
differently. The head was a prime target. He
banned the male headgear called the ..fez" and in-
stituted the use
of the brimmed hat. He
en_
couraged women to uncover; he felt it was both a
means to, as well as a symbol of, becoming modern
and Western. He went around the eountiy giving
lectures on the topic, accompanied by his ňcov.
ered wife and female assistants: Headscarves werc
banned for civil service employees including nurses
and teachers as well as for studcnts in aný public
scbools and universities.
Today, however, among certain Turks there is
a controversy raging both in Turkey and in Europe
with regard to women's right to wear a hea'd_
sg31f-16 school or university or when performing
civil service jobs, that is, the very píaces from
which it had traditionally been banned. For many,
the headscarf is a symbol of allegiance to Islam.
ín
Turkey tbat allegiance conflicts with nationalist
ideals and thus the wearing of the headscarf can be
interpretcd as a threat to the secular national gov_
ernment. In Europe, in contrast, the headscarfian
serve as a marker oť both national and religious
identity, at least among Sunni Turk.r
The headscarf debate has been cast in terms
of civil rigbts, especialty about the freedom of reli_
gion- The issue has divided women (and men)
in
.it
ÁNTHRoPoLoGICÁL
ťeminists a complete villager.
themšelves both inside and outside of
The significance of hair was further impressed
key. In'my. view,
debate is miscast; upon me during my first fcw days in tbe village.
-howeve:; lhe
the emphasis on the political and religious dimen- Before it was decided that I could live in a house
sions of thc headscarf has ieft the meanings of the
by myself, I was a guest of a family preparing for
Turkey and-Europe; it..has also divided
.aňong
:41
EŤ.{j
Tur-
.
+*;
bdy, sex' and gender:in place..The.contňporary the wedding of their.daughter;.
-debátei.as
wtrom. I'sball cail
I was hot thé only luest: rélatives who lived
.]:such..elementary questions"1s.])
tr'.
bad returned for the..wcdding
"il".
"iiňg.
it,women'sheadsthaťa.rgicovered!.1)
.'festivities.Sinceihe.whole'village.is.included
"
in i
I!y"i'
Yny
is,covering.a'.symbbl'of.,Musliň"and/or.Túrkishr"'-':.wedding.-aneventiwhich.spans'sc"erál'days-it
is
identity?.and.4) why'arewoňenls heads.the site of .. a'majoi undertaking.. Ilbecame an extra.pair of
political and religious.conflict?,It,cannot be re-' hands instead,of an extra burden; thus.my
intro_
duced to an either/or type.of issue--either,women duction.to village life was much more
as a particihave the right to ] wear headscaryes or they . pant than as an observer: At Ayge's requesť I be.
don.'t-because the meanings of bair in Turkish so-, came.her sa\diE_her helper and confidante:
and
...
well as Westcrnl.analyse&gf it, ignores
'
whr coy^e1p-].J)..
":::'
;l.'l1ffi"i#:
J
.Aysé.
...o1iona]rr
;:: jlJ:trjťi::.:': J"": T# *:?lil: Ť.T..fr:;
de- a parť of tbis process..' . '.' . : - .'
'.
pend on gender, age, class, political'commn..1lt:
one of -i nrr, tasks was to help her pluck out
and religious, sentiments. All of these faciors can *-- ,,:;:::'r:,
i*.'
j
"n
charged symbol.,with different.meanings
that
not1ll HJ'::.:"'Tjill;*i..lllíT:,l.:':":::ffi1
:::;;^;.: _:_ _;:^:'^_'^:,:::'^:_-::'
n.jj, :FilťJtTii:iil"ffá *i::.:::'.il::Ji:
:{
i:i'ri
bccome entangled in any given.context. r do
tend to approach the headscarf debate headon be' cause I believe that the covering of *o*.o,,
cannot be understood in isolation from a whole
range of meanings and practices related to hair ln
-Turkish society. In order to understand ttre meaning of women,s hair and its covering, it i, n..",,I,y
to analyze women,s hair ín relation to
hrť,
'.n',
head hair in relation to body hair, and the
ditre.eli
practices related to-hair over the life
en.innographic perspective becomes "y"t".
indispensauil.
kó b"d;-i;i;
removed throughout their adu|t
are expected to comply more
:t"_T.:1":i*-women
practice of removing bďy hair
ll.]"l'L-Ylllltbe Turkish society, many men of
P: :.]::91::::l'"
elite do not complv and
::::t:i: ^w_esternizod
unaware-of the history or the
,,---- -,^._'--_, --.-
::::,:"y^":-"^1.b" a hamam (public
lii,tj"i^;|^::t:,to
would acquaint them with it'
bathbouse)
Drawing upon my fieldwork in Turkey,' I attem;;
Saturday morning of the.wedding weekend be.
to untangle some of the sexual, politiát, and.reíi.
*i:b
a ritually prescribcd bath that took place
, gious meánings of hair in Turkish society as I also 9.1,
in
the
laundry
house among Aygc's female friends.
weave in and out of theoretical discussions of tie
No
one:lkP.t
bath alone-I would help her and
topic. with that background, I shall return at the
she would help me. Ayge advised me to take my
end to the debate about headscarves.
bath first so the other women would not see me
kegi gibi-like a goat. It was a refercnce to pubic
Ethnographic Evídence
hair, but the association was rcdolent of animality
and the wanton sexuality that goats symbolize.
My own hair became a subject of immediate con- Was the removal of pubic hair an attempt to recem as I sought permission to live in a partícular move those associations?
village in central Ariatoliqin order to conduct my
It is expected thatmen control the sexuality of
anthropological rescarch. I was. told that it would "their" women (wives, sisters, daughters) as well as
bs difficult for villagers to aciept me if I did not that of their animals; One of the sites of control is
coveÍ my hair. I didn't want my prescnce to be a
hair. It is a male prerogative to initiate sex, and
continual irritant so I adopted the headscarf. I aiso they decide when animals will be bred and oversee
wore thc baggy, comfortable troúsers called qa/var the process. Men also shear thc hair of goats and
and the rubbers used for footwear, which are easy the wool of sheep and give it to women who then
to slip off and on as one enters and exits a house. transform it into social uses. Wool is used to stuff
When I put on their clothes, I also put on a new mattesscs and quilts, and goat hair is spun and
social body and became, in their words, tam ki)ylii, knitted into socks and sweaters. The word for knit-
."
pi
UNTANGLING THE MEANING9 oF HÁIR
npressed
:
village.
a house
lring for
hall call
'ho lived
wedding..
dcd in a
ys-it is
pair of
ry intro'
partici-
st I
be-
nte and
)
process
ry much
luck out
stomary
om that
lhe time
ected to
ir
adult
úy more
Éyhair
men of
ply and
, or the
hhouse)
:end berk place
friends.
her and
ake my
sec me
o pubic
rimality
nbolize.
I to reality of
well as
'ntrol is
:x, and
oversee
rts and
ro thcn
to stuff
un and
lr knit-
.
ting (Órmek) is also used for the braiding of
women's hair.
- AySe washed my head hair and I hers. We
used soap rather than shampoo even though I offered the ]atter'ó Her hair was long and luxuriant
for it had not been cut since puberty. Long hair is
both the glory'and symbol of womanhood and yer
the saying, sacr uzutt; akh kisa (long hair, short
intelligence or;wisdom),-.implies that-women .lack
something El€D' hav€;: Símultaneously; what women
are thought to have,.a loose and rampant sexuality,
must now be tamed and'brought under further control. This is symbolized by braiding the hair for the
wedding.s After the bath and hair washing we went
to the house of a relative where her female friends
had gathered for dancing and the ritual.oť hair
braiding.
Braids were considered an essential part of the
bride's costume and the braiding party an essential
part of the wedding ceremonies. These braids are
not simply two plaits but consist of twenty to thirty
narrow braids, each of which is woven with silver
tinsel. It is necessary for the. braids to reach her
feet, but since a girl's hair is rarely that long, black
yarn is woven in to make up for the difference. At
the end of one of the braids a blue bead is artached. This implies that the braids are an object
of desire and the blue bead is there to ward off the
evíl eye of those who would covet them.
The hair braiding was accompanied with stories, jokes and remembrances-each woman weaving her story and memories into a braid. The pro.
cess was clearly an ordeal for Ayge and she cried
intermittently. The hair combing was rough and no
doubt it sometimes hurt. More painful perhaps was
the awareness that their multi-stranded playful re-
lationships would be woven into an orderly pattern
through marriage. Their relationships would be irreparably changed as she too was being irreparably
changed into a bride, wife, daughter-in-law, and
would soon be a mother, and eventually a motherin-law, herself.
Saturday evening is the traditional time for
festivity and celebration; although women and men
celebrate separately. Kna gecesi, henna night, as it
is called, ends with the application oť.henna to the
bride's hands and feet; a small amount is taken to
the groom's house and smcared in a complementary way on his palms. But the nigbt begins witb
the bride, replete with braids, wedding dress, and
veil, being introduced to all the guests and dancing
a number of rounds with her friends. The erotic
tól
and gendered meanings of hair were dramatized at
one wedding. In the dim light one could yet feel
something stirring the huge crowd of women: a
"man" was presentj It was even more surprising to
me since "he" looked exactly like a fcllow student
at tbe University of Chicago! It turned out to be a
woman dressed like a man; she had attached a
mustache and had pulled ber hair back so that it
secmcd short.. The contrast \rdth the other women
was
striking.
:
Sunday morning the bride, again in her wed-
ding drcss and heavily veiled, was taken.to the
groom's house where shc would sit ..in statc" all
day to be viewed by his relatives and friends. However, the right to lift the veil was his alone and
'would be done in the privacy of their room.
Tbeoretically, her braids would be kept for
forty days after the wedding, at wbich time they
would be cut; in practice they would be cut sooner
indicating that "forty" should be take symbolically
not literally.T Forty days symbolizes a transitional
period that is both auspicious and dangerous and is
employed on a number of occasions: for example,
the forty days gestation before the soul opens, the
forty days after birth when life is betd in the balance, and forty days after death when the fate of
the soul is being decided, at which time a commemorative service called a Mevlud is held. Forty
'days after a wedding the bride is expected to be
initiated into ber new role and duties (cf. Hirschon
l 978).
My own intense initiation into some practices
related to hair sensitized me and made me curious.
Over the next twenty months I was able to observe
and ask questions about the treatment and meaning of bair in a variety of contexts. V/hy all this
attention to hair and what did it mean? I have
since learned I am not the only one to notice. One
Muslim scholar has noted that "[t]here is an undeniable fetishism of hair in Islam, the significance of
which
is both sexual and religious"
(Bouhdiba
1985: 35). In Islam the relation between sexualitv
and religion is vcry stáng; hair is but on.
of this relation.
Ant
h
ropo lo gica
I
T heo ri
z i
,y.bol
ng
The connection between sex, religion, and hair has
wide distribution cross-culturally and has
been
noted in the anthropological literature since the
nineteenth century. But dcspite the widespread
connection, is there any legitimacy in assuming
t62
ANTHROPOLOCTCAL QUARTERLY
that the motivation ánd meaníng of various hair
practices are everywhere the same? This is the
question that occupied Edmund Leach in his pivotal article, "Magical Hair" (1958), pivotal because it draws on earlier attempts to theorize this
material especially psychoanalytic theories, and
sets the direction of argument on this topic for
years to come.'Although the relation has usually
not been |úlly articulated, interpretations have fo.
cused on three distinct but interrelated issues: l)
the; relátion 661B,9gIi: public expression and priváte
motivation, 2) the use of sexuality for religious/ritual ends, and 3) the phallíc character of hair.
Leach's paper deals with all three, though it is
expressly concerned with the relation between public, social ritual and private, personal meaning, and
hís paper directly engages the psychoanalytic argu.
ment expressed by Charles Berg in his l95l book,
The unconscious significance of hair. Berg's argument is that hair cutting and other practíces related to hair represent an intrapsychic struggle between "instinct drives (genital and pre-genital) and
the castrating efforts of the repressive forces.
The whole conflict has been dísplaced upwards to
the socially visible hair of the head and face" (Berg
1951: 94, 149). In other words, there is a cause and
effect'relation proceeding from the personal, in-
trapsychic motivation
to its public
expression.
Leach argues against this view and against ttre corollary psychoanalytic move to conflate psychoneurotic behavior with public ritual, a conflation that
is often cast as a distinction between.the civilized
and primitives. That is, the private rituals of neurotic but civilized people are seen as equivalent to,
and say the same,things as, the public rituals of
primitives. In addition, as we shall see, Leach is es-
pecially critical of the concept of repression with
regard to explanations of hair dressing behavior.
Although Leach acknowledges the convergence between ethnographic material and psychoanalytic theory, he disputes the relevance of the
latter and takes a Durkheimian position that "public ritual symbols are given potency by society and
not by individuals" (Leach 1958: 159). In other
words, Leacb would dispute the, personal and prior
motivation. Even if one admits.that there may have
been a connection once upon a time,- that does not
mean that. each enactment of the practice is intrapsychically motivated; rather it is socially expected
behavior and generally marks thc transition from
one social state to anotheÍ.
Obeyesekere (1981) attempts to bridge tbe
two positions and argues for a reevaluation by an;
thropologists of the unconscious motivation of public symbols. He, like Leach, is concerned primariry
with hair practices that havc specifically religious
significance, and also, like Leach, he discusses the
meanings of hair of Hindu ascetics and Buddhist
monks-those who either let their hair go so tbat it
becomes matted (supposedly indicating their letting
go of sexuality), or who cut or shave their hair (to
indicate cutting off of sexual life for rcligious
ends).-He wants to show..not only that these, represent different kinds of asceticism and therefore
different psycbological motivations, but also, quite
rightly, tbat it is not just anyone who takes up an
ascetic mode of life. Nevertheless, his argument
ploceeds from the acceptance of psycboanalytic
concepts sucb as "unconscious," "id, ego, super-
ego," "repression," "castration anxiety" and the
notion of the sublimation of sexuality for religious
ends.
Obeyesekere's argument seems to cut off the
discussion prematurely, Ieaving unanswered, even
unaddressed, the question about the relation between the relígious and tbe secular uses and mean.
ings of bair.8 That is, how are meanings of hair engaged and construed by ordinary people in their
ordinary life contexts, whether these be secular
contexts, ritual contexts, or specifically religious
contexts. The relation between the sacred and secular. needs to be studied empirically to see if they
are separate and mutually exclusive domains or intimateiy entwined. In Turkey, at least, I suggest
that tbc meanings of hair are simultaneously religious and sexual, and that these.meanings have political implications.
Tbat hair has sexual significance seems not to
be in dispute; what is open to dispute is the characterization of sexuality as phallic' Leach íully agrces
with Berg that "when head hair becomes the focus
of ritual attention this is very commonly because
the head is being used as a symbol for the phallus
and head hair as a symbol for semen" (Leach
1958: 157). Are they implying rhat tbe head is always a symbol for the phallus, even for women, or
that only men's heads are ttre object of ritual attention? Hallpike (l9ó9) and Hershman (1974) ob.'
jected to this focus and so, seemingly, did
Obeyesekere when he cbose to concentrate on the
ways six femalc Hindu ascetics treated their hair.
But
despite centering
his study on
women,
Obeyesekere interpreted the sexual.significance of
their hair in phallic terms. For example, the matted
UNTANGLING THE MEÁNINGS oF HAIR
locks that emerge from
,n by an-
of pub'
]ÍimariIy
1
,
religious
[sses the
Buddhist
io that it
ir letting
hair (to
religious
.hese re-'
.herefore
so, quite
rs up an
rgument
ranalytic
,, super-
and the
religious
off the
rd, even
tion be-
í mean.
hair en-
in
their
secular
eligious
td secu-
if
they
s or insuggest
;/y reliave Po-
i not !o
characagrees
e focus
)ecause
phallus
(Leach
I is alnen, or
atten-
4) ob
y,
did
on the
r hair.
/omen,
nce oť
natted
-
a
woman's head are
thought to represent the sublated penis of the god
(Obeyesekere l98l: 33); in this way tre says she is
able to retain, not let go of, the phallus. The shaven
heads of Buddhist monks, on the other hand, symbolize castration, the renunciation of sexuality for
religious ends:
::: All three.theorists.aPPeať to.accePt the psy.
cboanalytic theory tbat sexuality is itself phallic by
definition-9 For Leach the bone of contention is not
so muchr,whethec sexuality is"pballic; but whether
tbe.
phallic origin of the symbolism is
repressed
(1958: 155). Sexual symbols, he argues, may be taboo, but that does not mean that they are unconscious: "the reason for the taboo is well known;
these phallic symbols arc 'sacred' because of their
.sexual significance" and.that "when we meet with
thie use of phallic symbolism in religious rituals and
in drama, the meaning is usually consciously understood by the performers and consciously conveyed
to the audience" (p. 155).ro
i
But how does such a framework help us to understand the covering. and binding of women's
hair? And what would it make of a Turkish married woman wbose hair cutting signified just the
opposite of sexual renunciation-signified her initi-
ation into sexual life? I cannot go so far as
Hallpike wbo asserted ttrat "there is no frequent
association of head hair and male genitals" but I
do go a long way in following his suggestion that
the "symbolism is 'about' the world, rather than
'about'the subconscious . . . for it makes it possible
to evaluate different explanations oť a particular
piece of symbolism in terms of how well they fit the
facts" (1968: 263). Tbe "world" of Turks includes
a strong connection'between sex and hair symbolism, but the meaning is specific to each gender. To
understand the gendered meaning oí bair' we need
to understand something about the qeanings of
gender.
Meanings of Gender
In Turkish society, as in many others including our
own, the meanings ofrmale and female are felt to
derive from their role in procreation. Yet understandings of this process vary cross-culturally as
well as historically; the meanings are not naturally
given but are culturally informed,u and within
Turkish culture caÍ vary somewhat between edu.
cated city people and villagers. Nevertheless, there
are significant commonalities. I have discussed the
163
Turkisb mat€rial
at length elsewherer'; here I can
give only an intimation.
Tbe man begets, the woman gives birth. The
male is tbought to provide the generative, creative
spark of life that bestows spccifrc identity to persons and, if it is renewed in each gencration of
males, is theoretically eternal. The production of
semen, therefore, signifies more than a sexual or
physiological process; it is endowed with creativity
and agency and is symbolically associated with divine activity.re I do not:mean that God procreates,
rather that buman men in procreating emulate
God's creative ability. Semen carries the soul and
the essential identity of a child which is why children are thought to belong to the man in a way
they do not belong to the woman. The ancient notion that semen originates in the brainr. was alive
and well in rural Turkey. The pridc that is attrib.
uted to the male organ of generation is also conferred on men's heads or, more accurately, the two
are seen as intimately conneoted.
Thc definition of maleness is not confined to
bodiliness; it overflows its physical meaning and becomes generalized. For example, seminal production is also associated with intellectual production--expressed quite explicitly in the notion of
..seminď
idea''_a generative, creative idea. Men
can produce brain children as well as physical ones;
they can inseminate minds as we|l as bďies, estab.
lish intellectual lineages as wcll as biological
ones.r6 In contrast, womcn are imagined primarily
as bodies and as providing the matcrial that nourisbes and sustains life. Thus, they become defined
by and even more restricted to their physical roles.
Maie genitals are associated with the creative di-
vine element and become
a
source
of
p.ridc,
whereas female genitals are tbougbt to lack that el-
ement and are, tberefore, felt to be a source of
sbame (cf. Delaney 1987; Hoffman-Ladd 1987).
Unlike the penis, whicb receives a great deal of attention especially throughout childhood, female
genitals are strictly taboo and are rarely mentioned. A woman's honor consists in keeping them
under wraps so to speak, keeping them for tbe use
of only one man. Tbese specific meanings, I suggest, are displaced to the female head, wbere they
become integrally related to the symbolism of hair.
Girls and boys, in rural Turkey at least, are
relatively neuter as children; as infants, both are
fully swaddled with their heads covered and as toddlers they are dressed in the same kind of pants
and tops. And both are given the freedom to run in
ANI'HROPOLOGICAL
and out of people's houscs. Nevertheless, gender
differences become focused on hair. Around the
age of two a baby boy's hair is cut short and will
be regularly trimmed. Aťter that even playing with
the headscarf can call upon his head a string of
shaming comments..For. example, an older sister
teased her baby-brother who had put on the head-
during the circumcision ccremonies, and it is thc
object of much attention (Orga 1950; pierce 1964;
Roper 1974) Thereafter the sight of the genitals is
taboo and they are covered by clothes.rr The geni-
tals are the pre-eminent site of gender but since
they must be hidden, their meanings are displaced
to the head where they can be publicly displayed.
While the.head can symbolize tbe genirals, it is not
just a symbol of.the'.phallus. Asdífferent meanings
scarf, l'\e1v youlve become a girl." Their mother
got.angry anďshouteď at him,.:iYou are male' you
' are.male;:take,,that off.".Although both boys and
girls.,are, indulged and spoiled, girls seem to be
more spoiled and less tame. Their hair, too, is free
and often tangled. Hallpike's notion that unruly
hair oan symbolize a state of being outside society
is useful here; while girls are not exactly outside of
society, they will not enter it to the'same extenr
tbat- boys will, thus Hallpike's view that hair cut-
ting, indicates entrance into society requires a
gendered analysis.. In Turkey his notion applies
only to boys. Boys are'expected to show by their
demeanor their recognition, and thus internalization, of their more exalted status. They are being
groomed to enter into the public society of men,
whereas girls will soon be confined to the private
world of the home. More convincing perhaps is
Fírth's suggestion that ratber than indicating a re.
lation'between inside/outside society, hair cutting
may symbolize a transition from one type of social
control to another (Firth 1973). Boys begin to
learn that they must control themselves, whereas
girls will be controlled externally.
Upon entering school boys bave their heads almost shaved as they do,when they enter the army
or; for that matter, prison; and so it does seem to
signify entrance into a disciplined regime. Girls
or may not have their hair cut at this time: it
is believed that girls cannot become quite so disciplined.rs Nevertheless, even though children do
have their bair cut occasionally they do not reaily
become social beings until puberty and not fully
adult until marriage. Since women must always be
under the mantle of some man; it could be argued
that they never really achiev.e full adult status.rt
For boys there is a traŇtional stage before
puberty. Sometime before the age of twelve, and
generally after- the age of five, boys are circummay.
cised. They become socially gendercd.beings by the
of a covering-the "veil of the,penis"
(Boddy 1988:5), while girls become socially
removal
gendered when they are."veiled" by thc.headscarf.
Girls cover the site of their shame; boys reveal the
locus of their pride. The boy's penis is displayed
are attributed to the genitďs of.each gende1 so too
are the heads of men and women differently
treated.
I
Puberty is the time when gender meanings become- inscribed in bodily practices, and in Turkey
practicés*relating to hair are-prominent. The ab.
stract notion of puberty as merely sexual maturity
gives no indication of the specific cultural meanings, nor of the differences in meaning for girls and
boys, nor finally of any implications beyond the
physiological. For a boy, puberty is demonstrated
by. the ability to ejaculate and is interpreted as a
sign that he can produce living "seed." puberty is
also exhibited by the emergence of both pubic and
facial hair, an event that further associates the
genitals with the head. Pubic hair should be neither
seen nor mentioned and in Turkey, as noted, it is
often removed. Nevertheless, the mustache sprouting above a boy's mouth is the emblem he can display to proudly proclaim his virility.
Women remove their pubic hair and cover
their bead hair. The fact tbat.the removal of pubic
hair is rationalized in terms of cleanlincss sujgests
that it caries meanings of dirt and dank sexuality
that might entrap men with its cloying tendrils.
Women's sexuality is not allowed to run rampant,
or to be displayed; instead it is covered and
our
under strict control. Women's hair, it would seern,
comes to symbolize the physical entangiements by
which men'are ensnared, and thus must be keot out
of sight. Women's sexuality is meant for
men's
pleasure; and while men are meant to cnjoy sex,
they should not become enmeshed in it. They are
supposed to keep their emotional distance and their
minds free (cf. Sabbah 1984: ll7). The hcadscarf
and other coverings are meant to ťacilitate that
repose-
The sight of women's head hair, cspecially of
unrelated women, is felt to trigger uncontrollable
sexual desire in men, perhaps because of the connection between head hair and female genitals. As
several men told me, "A woman's hair is the ruination of families." They meant not only tbat a wo-
:^
.-u;iu,
_
--.-l_:
UNTANGLING THE MEÁNINGS oF HAIR
it is the
'ce 1964;
enitals is
'he genirut since
lisplaced
isplayed.
it is not
man with uncovered hair would arouse a married
man and cause him to commit adultery at least in
his mind, but also that even within the house too
much loose hair creates disturbance.
-- 'Hair may also evoke tbe image of Sirat, the
bridge over which souls of the déad must walk' It is
said to be tbe thickness of only one strand of hair;
it slices tbe wicked like a razor and they fall into
hell; but for the righteous it widens out into a path
leading. to heaven; The more pious men avowed
tbllfor every.strandre of hair that a woman shows,
she.iš.said toiburn one dav in''hell" This is' reitcr-
neanings.
rr, so too
fferentlp:
áteďin.Muslim scholarly texts, which may be why
images of Muslim. hell are full of women (Smith
and.'Haddah 1975). Women's hair is a highly
charged symbol of the power of female sexuality;
rings be-
Turkey
The
aL
na!urity
I mean;irls and
ond the
nstrated
:ed as a
.berty is
rbic and
rtes the
neither
ed, it is
sproutcan dis,
I
cover
rf pubic
iugSests
:xuality
;endrils.
rmPanr,
rnd put
í seem,
ents by
:ePt out
' mcn's
oy
sex,
rey are.
rd their
adscarf
te that
ially oť
'ollable
re conals. As
ruina-
.awo-
.
ments attempts to control the latter may be symbolized by tbeir attempts to control the former.
. Women's hair and heads are covered in a
number-of ways (see Figures 1, 2, and 3), and
there are a number of terms used to.refer to these
coverings. In other words, there is nót one canoni.
cal form of head covering nor one cover term. The
most common term was garsaf (literally, bed lin-
ens), which could function almost as
a
generic
term, but also refers to a large outer scarf that covers the upper body. Yemeni refers to the small,
square, pastel-colored, and printed gauze scarves
that women trim with beads and tatting. These can
be tied
in
back or draped under the chin and
tucked into the sides so that the face is surrounded.
These were worn at all times regardless of what
other coverings might be added. In our village
these were worn even in the house, though they
might be more loosely tíed; allegedly tbese scarves
were even worn to bed! In other villages I have
heard that some tvomen may remove the scarves at
home among family. When a woman goes out to
the street or visiting, she will add a larger, printed
cotton scarť called a yasmak over the yemeni.
Often the patterns of these scarves are specific to
particular regions (for the pattern in our region,
see Figure 2), and although tbere are a number of
ways to drape them, they should cover not only the
hair but also the shoulders and breasts. Viilagers
also used tbe term-dil/Ďent ťoÍ a plain white scarf
with or without trimmíng' and. basÓrtil for West-
165
"silk" square that is tied like a
kerchief under the chin. Normally this would be
ern-type printed
used for trips to the city. An atkr is a large woolen
square that.is used in the winter. Neither in village,
town, or city did I hear the word "tiirban," nor is it
in my 1979 edition of the Redhouse Turkish Dic-
..TÍirban''
tíonary.
refers to the headcovering fa.
vored by the urban Islamic groups, but its recent
use underscores-the-fact that the so-called Islamic
headcovering is not a traditional. type of covering
but is; instead, a relatively recent phenomeno!:
-
:,..Small girls in:.tbe' village..played at covering
themselves but tbe;headscarf became obligatory at
puberty. Puberty for a girl is signaled by menstruation-an indication that she is sexually open, that
she is fertile. Her fertility, like tbat of the soil,
must be enclosed in order that a man may know
that the seed sowed there belongs to him. Wben a
woman puts on tbe beadscarf, she is referred to as
kapalt--canered, closed. A woman who gocs about
bareheaded is referred to as aqk; she is open and
tbis implies that she is available and open to tbe
advances of men. The headscarf is a sign that everyone can read and it says, "I am a proper woman, I am under the protective mantle of my fatber." He is guarantor of her sexuality until he
transfers it to her husband upon marriage. By
means of the headcovering she indicates that her
fertile field is not free for the planting; it has
boundaries and belongs to some man. These boundaries, like those of a field, cannot be transgressed
without dire consequences.
Regardless of the actual physiological onset of
puberty, for girls its social recognition (cf. Van
Gennep 1909) is at.tbe end o[primary school when
they are about twelve years old; at this time they
must covcÍ. Schools are state supported and secu.
lar, and during the time I was in Turkey neither
female teachers nor students were pcrmitted to
wear headscarves.ro The wearing of headscarves is
not just a violation of the dress code but could be
considered almost as treason. Sucb behavior could
easily be interpreted as expressing a commitment
to Islam that is over and above tbe allegiance ex-
pected toward the secular state that Atatiirk
worked so hard to establish.
Figure
l. A Bridc with
Braids.
Figure 2. Woman Wcaring Scarf.
Figure 3. Girls Having a Tea PartY.
(See outer scarves in tree.)
UNTÁNGLING THE MEÁNINGS oF HAIR
ffifri+
li'$*|:ť.x
r'"--: ;_: -i:r.;
iř]:]:.:.:;.*
Currently, school attendance is obligatory only
until the end of primary school or fifth
grade.
While the emphasis on the education of girls may
Ýáry,between.regions and between' Sunni and Alevi
villages; nevertheless; thejmajoritý of' villagc girls
did not (and probably still do not) attend school
beyond the- primary ]evel. Thereíore; the law ban] plng heaQs.9áňes.in
school was acceptable to most
villagersjaňd-.the.čonfliót between religious custom
and' sentiňent, on the: one. hand' anď nationalist
.ideologyi aňd': allegiance,: on the. other;: was accom. modátéd,3 ;Sorhei of.:.the. meánings.-ofisexuality and
haíi covering emerge. in the' case of girls who might
like to continue school-beyond fifth grade. Since a
father's permission is:necessaryr for a girl to continue in,school,ra'girl who,wished to do so,would
first have to.convince her father to support her in
this'struggle; in going to school she would have to
:
flaunt custom. .-,
The few fathers I knew who did give permission for their daughters.to attend middle school
were called "communists.'l This had nothing to do
with their political sentiments nor with what was
being taught.in séhool but had everything to do
:
with "covering." Because these girls would
be
mingling freely with boys without the curtain of
protection between them, it was as if their bodily
boundaries were being compromised; metaphorically, it was as if they were common land.
Formerly, uncovered female heads were associated with the loose immorality of the West; during the time I was in Turkey, people invoked the
association either to the West or to the Communist
world,. depending on context. In either case, however, it was interpreted as a capitulation to the material world rather than submission to the religious
order of Islam. At the same time. it must be noted
that women of the urban elite classes. have long
been oriented towards the West and many have
been educated in the West. Women from tbese
-classes do go uncovered and have done so for some
time. AtatiiÍk considered Westernization a necessary aspect of modernization, and a major sign of
modernity was, for him,.uncovered women. In today's climate of antagonism to the V/€st, some of
these women havě begun to adopt the tiirban.
to that issue, there is yet one kind
. Before r€turning
of hair to be addressed.
. Although we have briefly touched upon the
meaning ' of thg mustaché, we have not yet
broached the toPic oí the beard; Since children,
women, and eunuchs are beardless, the beard can
167
be utilized as a significant symbol of masculinity
(Firth 1973: 285), but such an observation doeš not
take us very far. While the beard can distinguish
between age groups, and between men and women,
it can also distinguish between different groups of
men.21 So we need to ask what sort of masculinity
does it symbolize? In traditional Islam the beard is
l'a mark-of authority and piety".(Gaffney
1982:
56). Traditionally in Turkey, it is only'older meu;
especially those who.have, made the hajj (pilgrimaie). to:,.Mecca,'.who: are:.permitted to let their
,beards grow':..A.man..who bas made the hajj has
completed the five; conditions of faith, and having
fulfilled his'pious duties.can legitimately wear a
beard.
In Mecca,. as men and women enter the. sacred
--precinct, they are required to abstain from sexual
activity for, the period
of the hajj. But
since
women's sexuality is at the command of men, the
injunction is really directed to men. The symbolic
association between sexuality, religion, and hair is
furtber strengtbened by the fact that during the
hajj men let their hair and beards grow like the
asc€tics so much discussed in the anthropological
literature about hair. Hair grooming would imply
that tbeir minds were still focused on worldly
things when they should be focused on Gď. After
the hajj rituals and the sacrifice that commemorates Abraham's ordeal have been completed, the
hajj proper comes to an end and pilgrims re-enter
- the mundane world- Men cut tbeir hair and shave
theř facial bair, women cut off a lock of hair" In
this context hair cutting does not symbolize a cutting off of sexuality or a commirment to celibacy,
in fact, just the reverse. It does mean, bowever, a
renewal of commitment to a socially prescribed
control and use of it. The theoretical implications
of this hair behavior make it clear that while hair
cutting may be used cross-culturally to symbolize
some relation to sexuality, the actual meaning of
tbat relation cannot be deduceď from universal
"facts," but must be empirically investigated in
specific cultural contexts.
Upon return home from Mecca, the male pilgrims may again let their beards grow. Since they
have fulfilled life's purposes, they are free to let
their beard grow as they turn tbeir minds to more
At the same !ime, they
must neither devote too much attention to the care
of the bcard nor ignore it to the extenr thar it becomes disheveled.2r A properly kept beard implies
lofty religious matters.
not just authority conferred by age as well as by
*r,
.
religion, but also connotes
the wisdom i; ;irr*.
balance.in the Lse of
lhat authorl|lio,.řr,","
;'.ff:'J:
nationa.lists. Mustaches
o"*r,o_,,
1r,.
"r.
but tbey
i,'..ň'i'i.uelieuea *. ;;;;;;.""ed..In
'a:.y,.;;,,T
"Á:..rs,
any .","' tb.|-must
prerogative.to:;;
be thin
sons; tbe.ólder men in the
ýirr"g"
it was their
..rightist,,
,."'"
tolerated
in
,
Ioá;;:í;eithe
"-i."'ů"o.r'.y
upper tip noi,exteno beyond
are not permitted
í."ůl''"niř'.j'..'ffŤ"*'m'lx*Ílll''rii#.1,'jry]"'however'
such:behayior-as:.a'dřrect]th'."ii'.r,ai'':.;u,r,oii.y.
. ó;;;
Noi.]súiprišingly,no_youth.1'
t|9.|snificance of hair
on"","ňJ]*ligious'.and political, in Turkey is at.
9ry 'irr."s*.1a9.á'
beard:.And yet it is not'so
.
it oecomes en.'
simple..
.,"inJ].o-jiÁcrent ways in
;;':iln.óther.Muslim;countri!ýlror'eiample;.:the
different contcxts' for
l*;;-*;ir...rra1n.,.gr.",ty, n""".tn.ioo*n:.is..'
*i,n i"r, ií",... áh..",
i,"",
' l'T.i;T::!T*:l#:uf#*;;ixťÍg1;*
miliflp:
il::t,"::i:t.J,,o'i!'?..o";^:".ňi'ňd men'.
autt,o.it1tt,ai;;-"{;;fi;':jJÍlff:.:1'1".*
this phenomenon was not so p..".r""i]"
key during the late l970s.and
bearded youth was.morE.oftén
u,'.u-.J iá. u"
member of a leftist, Marxist
i".;.i'l;ň;.#.;";
i"..i.l'; ;; "
it is clear that a young.man e."p
wearing
i"-,
seen as a threat. to authority.
"ru"..a
wr,irJ.r."
ň.-oil
'ever;
..1i."ř,ff1
women,s
ť
""J'.."i"}lil.i.":i
i:r-"Jq:l':"i::*"!1.#'T::ai":'Tť,.ffi*
from
i, is
for urban
women,
urban
,"o*.o"1"i.
ll" hardly unifi.ed over this and.
issue. Thc
meaning or tne teaas"",r'l,
oiř",.". depend..
"r,"
i"€' T-"h.ň.. tt" .ont.*i ;;".;;ř", Turkey
a-nddiffereniior.theAlevi
minority as opposed to
the Sunni .":o.ity. Class
differences may be in.
volved but .i"*, i, not the
decisive ino""to..
:lTÍsi"ůl.;,'oíi3'u-.*i".i;lil;;;ň;
rr,"
1'..*i,.;;.ffi;#:'"'";]:"T.,1'l."'ilí#T#,
ference'
il"{ii^;.#'.Ttfi*:#"élť*.:ffl.Íj;
refigious
,"i'i-"nu and commitments. Whether
"i;il;#;]ň;:
urbanrvomen express tt,"i,..u,oi,io.Lu".lng
,"t,i"i_in.l.ň
submission not just to
God o". .r'".."..*"].
ňi: .!: male gaze, devotion to Is.",
_ _
authority.
:T":j'i.;
Iam,
or more politically
*"r,,
The dress code that prohibited
.
"
jf^t-::"al, religious, u"a "r;].J;*..,,J.i0"
pori,i."i*."ninr,
univer'". ^-^r,.,.-. female
sit)r students from'wearini
no,
r'*á'*J";'H;- separate. . .. l
"."
fied in 198.0 to. prohibit "
il"r.
lrom- wearing beards; botb ""ň...i.' .i*"u
were ini.ip.-"'ň
The Headscarf Debate.
threats to the authority or
".
tle seiura.''i"í..
uniÝersity context whether
.r'" t"..j''"' j".!1]
'"".o"
n. t.
preted as tytuot oil"r,i.,
discussion-should
A woman's
"dopiion
cates a return to traditional
u"tu..
or rigbtist r"no.n"lll- .The,foregoing
make it clear that
'the
"
it was nevertheless
headscarf d.b"t. is r".
interpreted as a symbo| ó,.n,"''
.o...ffiil"..o
.n"n
who sabotage tbe order
it hashitherto ber
of the state. ln ,ti,
r'". u.* * n";*bŤ.l":il.;"'..'"."ffiJ::'i:|j::
stance tbe secular,."i",".,',,
ironically to l'ave
llt
í.':
#
"i."t'* ffi']:
J
inilnff él.l:. jT.'
rltjn*'liťI }Í:
iitiona|e
ii!:.i
'!'i.#i;:'j':"i':1
behind the differentiar;;;;
íi.n"
he
returrts
.o
."Íi u"tuo
Tu,k."'l.
:::-|Ťd-.|i.
shaves offhis "u".y
and female uooi.., oi.,.""ii'ů,.and
beaá *."".1* n. *";,,*.o.".";7J:
of
social consequences of io ,n."oi"gr.'J*',1
;:"ffii.
..aju.ing
A
*.
||11
became a
ti'q€zo',n",.".í"'
number of
tt,"t p.oi_iiit,-loJ,n1i*"i'ffi.|*.:i:||:.:TJ".:
symboíic uiage or po[tical
iaentitjl
(starr l99l: xviii-xix).
certain styres of n,urr""t{l ::h*lt' cspecially to the uniu.is'i,r;:.
argue
that they have a right.to o"
were. c|assifiea as ..teftist',-cspecially .tlose
."
ii.'"o.o,..
ttr.s
.i::
were bushy:
tu.n"J down on tt,. ,ia. or
:f this rigňt is a restriction""á]ň". i..á"*
tfj
"na
'".ř"#l
-.::=
il;
"rii"
"r
ť'::l*"'ll'Ť.r*
ť;!.lT";:',;:T"*"J'.iL:,ť,'L;,ťi,.!xi:ii!illT"i:iilTff
curved
up'recalled the styles
ói.*--"""T
were, at least in the l960s,"ri''"
.-ur".n",i"loř ir'.
iT4fff":"".*'ťl{ř:,r*j:.r.rnu
port
tbeir right to wear Islamic
scaryes' will thev
,!i
.,,.1
,
----..-
UNTANGIJNG THE MEANINGS
oF IIÁIR
re occasionally
lcers, but tbey
'must be thin
extend beyond
not permitted
i*-r
j j-*
n Turkey is at
t becomes cn-:.
T!?
t contexts foi:'
'---l
thcir own,is_.
'=,1
different from;,
,'meaningi-of_,
telated; j1 1s.,
r
uniform in.
,
and u1!3n.
rrural woslen
s
]
r69
tolerate my mini-skirt?"r8 The ironies
of the debate ing advertises
their entire
have been obscured by this rhetoric,-f;;
t.ň," *t,o aň*g i".ňn Muslims body as an erotic object.
demand thc right to wear the
that seems to be behind
scarf are using what th. ňi;;;overing:
are essentially Western liberal
arguments to protest
against the west' Tbeir portrait
or tn. w..l higlrKcy conccpts rclating to the Islamic
idcotogy of fcmalc
lights stereotypic images of women
contained in thc yords ,awra,
t*,.,
i*.
'úog
"i.
ftna; and
moral, and scantily clad beings.
".
N"itr'..-t-i"y
ijr..Il1liiiťT,'#.H#"*:lt'.',.1TŤ*í
their' western sympathizers'l-"u"
*notr ui- i"r"ur",.j* objcct that ,nurt
ston/version of western women- "tttJl
r" *"",J to avoid cmis being used?
uu.r"*."ni,"na shame; Eycn the
why'is there-so'little. awareness.tha!
a woman is
'awra
"oiccror
these*images
and shoutd not bc heard (Hoffman-t-add
--t987:
have been painted primariry uy
l:1..
*.i uoií;"ůilIim countries and in,the west?
.,
,:,:,
^
..
...
and ;-r-;e;t;_ -:
wby has tt,"'" ú".o no counter.protes.
mouth is symbolically
r."- #ij'.]
no,
.?T1I: i'o"sed
orn women' many'of whom are well
aware
.:i"i5t
issue. Tbě..
ii:t:
:rent depend_.
te or. Turkey
,s opposed to
ma/ be indícator. The
women who
about theř
s. Wtrether
covering as
for *or.n to sffi "*togou.
thar ::_"^-:t*"d."1sin1,
openty is
almost equivatint to exposing
r"'it-.' l..i'nřJ
themselves."" Not
and exploited by the advertising
"." tt'at ii
is thc equation t"t*..i]irJ.ř.''"i" head,
;#;;;
in
T,']
to increase the dcmand for all
ki-nds
;;;"dň;
::'j Ťse 'the mouth, and the g*itJ, ,"i,,r*".a,
that support We'stern economies.
"f
what th-;;" ú;;
P "q:."li:" has specific g.na-..J*ioning.
As
lim women. do not secm. to reatize is
..secd,,,
túi
.-h. ;'fu
so' too
1e|,call 'thinss.into being with their
of women they reject is.also;"-*;;;.ř*.;
have1h. po'", to cal| things into
being.
:'o:.Lth:J
women reject and struggle against.
the'wold. It is their
nut,ro. w..tl
ň;"gatl;; to initiate
:.':h
ero women to counter
these images of womanbood
these stereotypic and
:
ing images by covering..themselves
damag-
"ttd;;;";
a'.*''
*áutí-i*l .,ll:.:":en
is--that their
tt,",t.,-.iiffi
""..pt
something equivalent to...Islamic
ply that at some level they
otion to IsI the West,
ngs are not
well as sex) and ň a.Á". the
situincluding what is Islam. This
does not mean
...,:n,
do not speak, but tne culiu.ar
''..ver;atio1.(as
overrooked in the debate is
its
1o1a1
9anr'n;;*a;. ň;
wisdom
are not
iiT:i:lf il.i.T:,i:il::1,:"fr,",,T":,lS;:l;
..LJt
a woman learn in all submissive.
"o*-"ná,
j:H:.*i:i".'..xé;},iTlT''",j?:ff :: j#T:l"{!:#J!::THť1Ť;iijť*?
",o"i*:T,J1:tor
who
have *",iJ.;;ň?..T:;","'il:š.'J:.*
i.i;'iJi1I
..fundamentďis.,']-io
ties prove to ue tru",
clear that
ated than
,'.". tťjrbans to the univeT
ttr"i..",.oiti]i.';;
ffi::;
i"i.':J'J#:".n:.il;.,:nilL|1;1'*Ť:
of women who are not
he debate
cal issues
", '.'* .-
*;ffi:f
i#f:;.."*'ll;:"j:l.$:"*ffir$Ť:''.Tť
on, there
;ic or ra-
ously, this passage occurs immediatety
Á"r
a oe-
aTffi::řiffli,H:::Ji:Irl;il':T:Jl1:
"...pe"king out b:. ,|:I struggle against a cul.
H:il'"JÍJ.[T":,l1...1""";:::i.:ruťn:rr
joi;i
tbcy thriaten the social order
"". 'ffil'y,
legitimated
by those traditions'
Even among ,ň. u.u"n..Ii,e, tbis pressur.
.*i,*.l'i
can be subtle and is more.reflexive
i"Jg."""a Conclusion
and peer group, and sometimes
"f il "i";"is oyert.
lages the sentiment and weigbt
ď
munity @mes to u"". on women,s
Notions. of gender are decp|y
'b;;;;;;..
entang|ed with mean.
r,."as. ď.
women demanding the right.o
ings
of trair in Turkish,"}íy.
*."'.r'.-i."á.á]ř
íiJ""-"o."rriog
a.nd tbeir westerD supporters
rarely consider how for their right to wear the headscarf and their
th.cir actions maý atr;;t the thousánds
sympathizers seem not to realizc
;il;J
that
.Yj^:.n
who arc not privy to this debarc
whcther women wear the scarf
or n*, ň"in.,
rd values
and of
the law
scarf to
y argue
abroga-
dom of
,""
rights.
united
-rhe, arsumcnt roi. covering, and ..rsrami.c
iltrJ.#:.,l.i,Xl,.Jii;ffi1.;::t#:rdenned
dress'' known in the'Arab world
a-s
tserya-
ii,t
".,i^ii:
and
sexual objects (Sherif 1987i and
d*iiild*s
provide that kind of shelter.
a. "o,r,"
howeve1 one could just as easily
arlue '"'...i.",
th;i **;.
removes women from being perceived
ás erotic
I sup
I they
I
Í
!
ir'. ňňj"j"n
between covering or
not cov.
..ing not ;;řffi":. women but
in the proccss ob.
scures the much larger issue-how
to transform
the meanings ořlr,. r".^r"
body and sexuality. Fi.
nally, I ,"g!.,, .í"i urban Muslim
women are do.
ANTIIRo!g!p!iICÁL
ing exactly what
they acr
sisters of á"r"g:'..iff!.":..:"T. of their Western
rng to speak for
those who
Acknowledgmenr An
l,o
4gTERLY
:o,
NOTES
ahh,-,,:^.-. .
have a voice
unorce whether
or not
lf-{,u*ff{ť:*l':,l;:l'llffifi,'ffi
anr
never had a
,"1:l_o.1.:".
cover their hair-
#r*.é....'.... i"i!*,"Jff:':
,ffiffi'mffiruru*ffffi
r*{rfiff*ť*t.l:m
n*nlt**Ť*r:n'...-'."''-*i
ffirl$:'flffiffité.iffiffitffi
jffi
ilij'ťjo*i#['"
ffi;*,T.ff
'i"é*:i''ťÍ;r,}.i:{i{.*dil*{iŤiffi
iÍi'i$" he
*.;il..řTi
;:#"*ir'i*trďr;"lb ";;' ; il
';li*
ffi
i':.;in
".
i:-'.':.á;li
{+.ísá:;
a.'lJi.,.|J':
;
"
r
:
wor|d'
'.,":ffiffiTť.t..* nr**ťff,5ffi
ffi*
n**'*;rybÍ;:****ii;;l*.ll**ť:''ff};#**;115*:"'*:Tť.t',,il.*
o
Scc
",*
o"á*.íííi]Íťtril;.ťé:ťfltťi,ťjTď
r.l
-c.
::- I
1t
t.Í
.-.
j -| 9{9iť.
i
.,'.
'.;''Ér' -.''
I
---.
UNTANGLINC THE MEANINGS OF HAIR
had a
relates to the story in which Zeus ,.givcs
birth,, to Athene from
his head. Little known is the fact that hc
first a*""."a n*
pregnant mother, Metis, wisest of all
thc gods.
tnd Sikhs. Hc
o explain why
control" and
It the lubcon_
yhen it comcs
ItiÍt8 rites, hc
:olism of bair
:oiy has bcen
rddition, thcy
:malc scxual-
pccia.lly Lucc
nbols arc saaÍticulaíthc.
) procťcation
s what alties
rocrcation is
cular social,
cd ovcr thc
thc world.
rcory which
during thc
both male
r ofa ncw
t.
magcs and
plants thc
tal father'eed, but a
wairing"
ragility of
rhs in rhc
r song by
rving my
nay havc
thc idca
ter, Furthc w3y
f. Tuana
Martin
I to no-
y
1986,
Turkcy
c Wcst
mplicit
/cstgrn
to thc
istotlc
lagcrs
'le, in
him.
I also
trFor cxamplc,
a beard can bc used to disringuish
bcrwccn
prlests and othcÍ men and even
bctwccn
diffeient kinds of
pnests, but the meaning cannot
bc known a priori. ..ln E r,"rn
Christianity beards have traditional|y
uecn ircto
r",
priests, but this has not been
"|o.ooň."
thc view of thc W"r,.rn
whcrc thcrc has been considerablc divcrgcncc
"iu,"rr,
of opinion_
wel| as custom (Firth 1973: 285).
",
Firth gJo on
.i,".
t.In a Christian
context it is perhaps no coincidencc that
schools cstablished to study the sacred
i"rt, th". s"miiai *oro
of God (/ogos spermarikos) yere called seminarics-
>logical analydtscusses cvc_
r.Aftcr
reading a draft of ihis paper,
wrote to mc about thc following practice:
a Turkish
.,í,,.,.
frrcnd
with the iustom of taking young git|s as besleme
Íot
househelp (which means that the giil will
thcn bcgin to
live iri the ncw housebold), one of ihc first
things uiuatty
done to the young girl is to have hcr changc
. r and also ro.cur hcr hair.really short-.Tberels ř..]n"*",
nygi"nic
explanation often given.to thc baírcutting (thc "
.
iirí;oÍnes
into a middle or upper-class famity from:a
rurjo, *o*-,
ing.class cnvironmcnť'.'and ít is assumed
she -ay c",,y
áil (|ice)' but I think the hair cutting must
i"""
idcntity imPlications for thc girl in qucstíon. "i'o
ItA divorced woman
would usually return to hcr father,s
house but a widow would stay in the bomc
of her deal husbana
and.come under thc protcction and control
of ni, f"'t-fro
the wcaring of bcards by Easrern
Orthodox Cf,rirtl]i pri..a
may have the connotation that thcy
are morc rn"nty Ul, .r"
also of lower stalus sincc they are
also permitted ,o fr""" *i"o.
. Yet, it is not quíte so simp|c, bccausc cven: ir western-pricss
go beardless and arc unmarried
and even if it is acccptá that
they are of higher and more sacred
status, an.uncomfortablc
contradiction looms- It would sccm to
imply that f,igi"., *or"
sacrcd statuš is closer to fcmininity
.t'"n io
una
that s€cms to fly in the face of all thc
cultural'","u-tini.y
.
-
"'ia"n*.
''Sec tbe trcatisc by AI.Makki (d' 99ó) 1978: |ol.
'
,3The Turkish
TÍmes' Dccembcr l4' l9E9. The
argumcnt
'
from "individual rights" seems misplaced
sincc it docs nJ, r""rn
to work both ways. Nor docs it take
into accaunt thc f"o-,t",
womcn in a number of Islamic countries
havc been kittci tor
yearín8
not
the veil. For examplc, two young womcn
waiting at
a bus sration in Algeria were killcd
attcgcatfUccausc,i", ,
unvciled. See The New York Times,
Marěh 3\ |9g4. ""."
bÍothers. Althou8h several women in the
".
villagc teft ttrcir ius.
bands for pcriods of time, tbc couples wcrc
evňtually ..*r."a.
There wcre no divorced women in thc village
ana no Ai"o.""
while I was rhere. (Cf. Starr l9g5 for very
h
ditrerent
T.uT"d
srruarlon rn the area around Bodrum.)
Urban, highly educatcd
womcn told.me how difficult it was to
livc alone ďtci a divorcc
bccausc.they wcre presumed to be scxually p,o*i."uoo..-úhil"
i: Turkey have many righs
io."n, . i"n *",
l:rn"n
ao|c lo deterÍnine domicile and had "qu.i
to givc permission for his
daughter or wife to work, at least until thc
l9g9 Constitution.
Legal rights, in any case, do not guarantee
social equity; this is
as truc in the United States as in Turkey.
r.Neverthcless,
some Turkish men, particularly in urban
arcas, continue to draw attention to th; genitals
by wearing
tight pants and/or by touching thc gcnitJ"r."
., it.y,,.,
down. the. srrcet. I do not know whcthcr
this bchavior i"
unconscious sincc it goes unnoticed by
"trn*,
most Turks, or whcthcr
it is done specifically to provokc foreign womcn.
I; ;". ;;-"r_
Pcct.of my own cxpcricncc and a nttmber of foreigi ňcn
have commcnted about this to me' It *"'
no., t,o*.ň
pcrience in the villagc.
'y "".
. .r.Firth (1973 267-268)
singlc strand
to,
suggesr rhat thc power of evcn a
of female hair to movc men is a thcmc not
uniquc
Turkcy or lslam bur also conrainca in *,e Iit"raru."
oii,c
\ťcst.
toSince that
timc and because of thc protests of somc
womcn and their malc supportcrs about
thcir right to wcar thc
ncaoscaÍt' a number of confficting |aws
havc becn passed. Ap
parcntly thc 8ovcrnment pcrmítted hcadcovering
in.uni"".sirio
by spccial bill in l98E; but thcn prcsidenr
f"rJn unnul.j'J.
bill rhrough rhe Anayasa Makcmcsi (Consritutional
Co"itl"
1989. Meanwhile, Turkey's Highcr
Educatio" C";;"i|, L;;"
as YOK lifted thc hcadscarf ban in Deccmbcr
I9g9 and rhe
then néw Prcsidcnt Turgut Ózal approved.
No*, uni"|.,irL
arc caught bcrwcen thc Consritutional Couri
and thc Higner
Education Council and each ur
own dccision on rrre matra. šjjT;:'.;"jffi.},.}J1T"Í";
17, t990.
t7t
..It
also seems ironic, if not rragic, that
as the socioDolitical boundaries and walls dividing pcoplcs
of tnc *orla arLming down, the sexual barriers betwcen
men and womcn as wcll
as tbosc crcadng divisions among women
arc going up- For
forty-thrcc ycars, bctween t9:9 ana
1979, thc ,nri.7 *'*
cially ourlawcd in lran. For a similar amount
"nof time, though
bcginning and cnding a few ycars latcr,
a wall divided East anO
Wcst. And just as pcace in the Middle
r"'.
.o
think about, uncovered Palcstinian womcn '"",*-Ňňr"
in ď," wot s"nt
and Gaza have bcen harasscd by paint-slinging,
n"rn"-""lting
male youths who políce the strects. Thcsc youthJ
arc catIin3 for
womcn to adopt thc head covcring
and evcn
facc vcil in o-rdcr
kccp our mora|s and traditions intact'' (Iáe
ruo i*
Iirnes, August 22, l99l). Not only are
thcs; young Murlim
men asscrting their dominancc over womcn,
thcy arc also help,
ing to kccp rhc divisions betwccn Muslims
and Jews in"iJ",".
..to
'oHoffman-Ladd also defincs thc words: byra as weak
lrna as tcmptation, chaos, discord, and zrna as
adonmenq bcauty, The zina ,.that may
bc shown i" p"ifia i,
the facc and hands, whercas the
hiddcn zÍna is thc
body'' (l987: 29). She makcs a very intcťcsting
'o."iir,.
and
aÍgument that what is considercd Íslaňic
"on"incing
drcss ot hijab
is actually contemporary and not at all traditional
Islamic drcss.
She also goes on to discuss rhe way in which
the women wcaring hijab arc in Íact perccivcd as a thÍcatcning
th","fo..
somcwhat aggrcssive prcscncc in modcrn
"na
Egyptian
,o"i"t". u
pcrcepdon ar odds with thc rarionalc
to. *."rini ltt Is aaoFing
tbc master's symbols ever a way to frccdom?
spot, pudenda;
r'The surrcalist painter
Magrittc sccmcd to givc cxpresidcas in his painting..Lc Viol.,, It f,
f"."L
:ion.to llesc
hcad witb ffowing hair, ycr tbc facc
is a nuac" tcmatc
torso-brcasts for eycs. gcnital arca for
mouth. e *orn"nt
-
hcad is crotic, but she is mutc: a woman
should bc s€€n
hcard.
and nor
tš
Abu-Lughod'
L,a'
rgg6'
y^eiled
senlimerus.
Berkcrey: University
california prcss.
Al.Makki' Abu Talib. l978."Thc
u*i.-ři" iiiiii" ||torld 68(2):of |0O-I|O.
Arat' Ycsím. l990. Islamic r*a"'"."ňi..."ííiJl'Í..i.'.;",k",'
.ůiisttn
i;;
wo,uE'(l):
l7.23.
ffi':'til''J:.'r;r:;r::::xir:. j;iť*:.:*k.Cambrídgeúe.-H.í.,íuniversityPress.
& Unwin.for contcmporary ce|l biology.
|n Femininsm and
Gcorgc Altcn
Thc Biology and Gcndďstudy
Grcup. l989' The ,;*,o,,.London:
.1i1'eu"
*.i.]lfr?".iiljj:3íJ::1 ;ň;;;'.ffi;Tt'""ffi:if#::1
1.,+*,'1n11,.J.rt.:i;:fi:.:"o.'"'..";'
".""n"1
i:.;;l;;il.1ii1"*;y
orn*,"11ioo
"nii,'t,^n"".
a_",i,onEthnorogist
B:'"'l'1l].ltr"?:1x3i';":,:;'Ť;::1;;;;:,ii,;',l-"Ť*1i:l';"*.x#:,Ť:l;ffious|y.published
ín French, l975.J
Delaney, Carol- 1986. Th
I987. Sceds
zi.i:l: +s+sr:.
i"Tř,"'iioť'Ji[H.l ffi1o'.''n'or"r'-á"i"i"l,,'nshame and the unity of the
washington DC: ",
Ámerican aň'"p.řj."riffj:,i.ro
M"di,",,o,"o,,ed. David Gilmorc.
|99|. The seed and the soil:
Gendě,^;;;;;
-:-.
in'Turkish'village sociery,'
Dinnetstein' o*o,Ái.-lón..rt,"
Bcrkeley: Univcrsity of California
nermaid ,,d ,h,
hcss.
^i,,olo?
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]]]'*-"-"*;"ť..ii'$;*il
Fírth,
Raymond. |973..Svmbik:
]"lř.'i$l,éi'ú"".,::l-"
Public and private.Ithaca NY:
Cornell Universiry
,o,"
iil;;;;."ú":j,.á.''fn.
Press.
"r,i"'i*j,i,ř',éJ,..".n",
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Man 4: 256-264.
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;'!'
il:;511';"T};'],,,];ťtr-,,:::i;,;:";;j:;;jsr2le.London:Metbuen.
rri.'"no,'. n"""". l;;;.
York: John wit*
:$.
ii'j; ffi;i.1"1[
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of women in society,cd. Shirley
ďson,.
Ardcncr' Ncw
Hoffman-Ladd'
'
valerie' tggz. p-oremics on the
modcsry
..--*., and
..': segregation
scgre8atton of
or women in contcmporary
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NY: Cornell Univcrsity Press.
r-.Li',Ěa,n""i.' i;:':,:', ;;:' .rh!',u:
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iH:T."'"'J."H""'ffi"*"ťr.*.":,i,**::lrurul
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]Í
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'u.*,í"1,.hair..lourna|'of.the.Roya|
:.'3,.;i'"''';i,',*il.JT'T:,ř]il"*i
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Julic- t9E4. Islam, women
\'.-'* ?:I:
and pollurion in Turkcv
j!,!"{:::i;11í1,1.;;;;;;;.i,;:,";,;;,,"!I:Í;.,,::,:::"Í,1:,r:.*.:
i;",1íi" ii"1,l1,:'rÍ:::::::i:il::::;
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Hadith.Journat of
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í*
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m
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"ia ilii".,á
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'Tu.rktsi
u s ti
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7 7 (
3. a
)
l
5 | - tó
I.,;;tr7:,:;:ii:,:Iiii,i,;#;,:,::;.,,::;;:,:,i:il"Í;,ll?:3
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r!e' York
rer Prcss.
Bri',
ř'il"::il'":i tlť;!Ii;},,i2,l;,,i!i,:,,,:i,;:::tr,
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,,,fT*.lL:.
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ňopkins
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)