| The
word "barber"
comes from the Latin word "barba,"
meaning beard. It may surprise you to know
that the earliest records of barbers show
that they were the foremost men of their tribe.
They were the medicine men and the priests.
But primitive man was very superstitious and
the early tribes believed that both good and
bad spirits, which entered the body through
the hairs on the head, inhabited every individual.
The bad spirits could only be driven out of
the individual by cutting the hair, so various
fashions of hair cutting were practiced by
the different tribes and this made the barber
the most important man in the community.
In fact, the barbers in
these tribal days arranged all marriages
and baptized all children. They were the
chief figures in the religious ceremonies.
During these ceremonies, the hair was allowed
to hang loosely over the shoulders so that
the evil spirits could come out. After the
dancing, the long hair was cut in the prevailing
fashion by the barbers and combed back tightly
so that the evil spirits could not get in
or the good spirits get out.
This rule by barbers
was a common thing in ancient Asia. In fact,
wherever there were legends and superstitions
about the hair, the barbers flourished.
To this day in India, the veneration of
the hair continues and those who cut and
dress the hair are important characters.
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