History Main / BraidsOfBarbarism

In such cultures, a man's hair, and often its elaborate presentation, is a matter of pride, and may it may even be treated as an integral part of his masculinity, with the braiding of a boy's hair being part of the rite of passage between boyhood to manhood, or being properly blooded as a warrior. In some cultures the number, style and/or pattern of braids might signify rank, number of kills or children, or something else. Cutting a warrior's braids off is a symbolic castration, [[TraumaticHaircut done to humiliate a prisoner]] one has no respect for or to signify casting the shorn one from the brotherhood of warriors, for crimes or lack of honor. Cutting one's own braids off signifies rejection of warrior-hood, either giving up the sword or a symbol of abandoning the rules of honor, for instance after one has sworn revenge by any means necessary.

* [[{{Asterix}} Obelix's pigtails]] are only one of the many braids sported by the inhabitants of the Gaul village.

[[caption-width-right:350:We shall pillage and plunder...then braid each other's hair while painting our nails!]]

* Not really braids, but Kenpachi the resident BloodKnight in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' does his hair in very long points, each one having a bell at the tip. Nor because RealMenWearPink, it's so his enemies can hear him coming and be ready to fight.

* In P.C. Hodgell's ''ChroniclesOfTheKencyrath'', the Merikit tribesmen wear their hair braided, with one braid on the left-hand side for every man killed, and one on the right for every child fathered. When heroine Jame is adopted into the tribe, Gran Cyd braids her hair as a warrior woman and smears it in the blood of her kills.

A related important hairstyle was the {{Samurai}} style in feudal Japan, with the top-knot only permitted to their caste.

While professional armies today and even going back to ancient times prefer a short haircut for practical reasons, less organized and regimented warriors often preferred long hair, generally in a braided style. This is especially common on the ProudWarriorRaceGuy, the kind of barbarian to wear a BeardOfBarbarism, and the BraidsBeadsAndBuckskins Native American or his FantasyCounterpartCulture equivalent.

* In TheLordOfTheRings, the Rohirrim wear their hair in long plaits. At least some other cultures seem to have long-haired men too, though, so there may not be any particular cultural implication.

* Reversed in the ''[[HeraldsOfValdemar Vows and Honor]]'' books by MercedesLackey. When the Goddess takes Tarma into the ranks of the Swordsworn, She cuts Tarma's braids off. Later in the series, Tarma's hair has grown back, but when Tarma is about to engage in ritual combat part of her preparations is cutting the braids.

Compare WildHair.

* In Creator/CJCherryh's ''MorgaineCycle'', Vanye's father cuts off his braids when he casts him out as an outlaw ''ilin''. Morgaine much later braids Vanye's hair in warrior style again, as a symbol that she believes his debt repaid and his status restored.

* In TheElderScrollsVSkyrim, the nords are big on their braids. It's not uncommon to see men sporting them.

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[[quoteright:350:[[{{Asterix}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_asterix_vikings_7050.jpg]]]]

** In the movie ShanghaiNoon, this is why Chong Wang is so freaked out by Roy's offer to cut off his "ponytail". When Lo Fong cuts it and says, "Now you can never return to China", this is what he's referring to.

* The High Elves in ''[[{{Warhammer}} Warhammer Fantasy Battles]]'' consider long hair to be a sign of virility, and all their folk heroes are described as long-haired. When going into battle, the High Elves will typically braid and tie their hair back, securing it with various ornate rings and clips to prevent it from being damaged. This is ultimately a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]] though, as High Elves are generally considered to be one of the most "civilized" races in the setting.

* The Orcs, Vrykul, Dwarves, and Tauren of the {{Warcraft}} universe are often seen with braided hairstyles, usually with their facial hair.

* [[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas Ullyses]], the other Courier, sports dreadlocks and is the last member of a tribe called The Twisted Hairs. One of his audiologs implies that the braids were indicative of the wearer's accomplishments.

* [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Klingons]] [[Series/StarTrek frequently]] [[StarTrekTheNextGeneration sport]] [[StarTrekDeepSpaceNine long]] [[StarTrekEnterprise hair]].

* [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Klingons]] [[Series/StarTrek frequently]] [[StarTrekTheNextGeneration sport]] [[StarTrekDeepSpaceNine long]] hair.

* The Tau in ''Warhammer40K'' usually wear helmets, but some characters are seen with just a lock of hair.

While professional armies today and even going back to ancient times prefer a short haircut for practical reasons, less organized and regimented warriors often preferred long hair, generally in a braided style. This is especially common on the ProudWarriorRaceGuy, the kind of barbarian to wear a BeardOfBarbarism, and the BraidsBeadsAndBuckskins Native American or his FantasyCounterpartCulture equivalent.

* Not really braids, but Kenpachi the resident BloodKnight in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' does his hair in very long points, each one having a bell at the tip. Nor because RealMenWearPink, it's so his enemies can hear him coming and be ready to fight.

* On ''{{Andromeda}}'', the original ProudWarriorRaceGuy had long dreadlocks.

* The High Elves in ''[[{{Warhammer}} Warhammer Fantasy Battles]]'' consider long hair to be a sign of virility, and all their folk heroes are described as long-haired. When going into battle, the High Elves will typically braid and tie their hair back, securing it with various ornate rings and clips to prevent it from being damaged. This is ultimately a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]] though, as High Elves are generally considered to be one of the most "civilized" races in the setting.

* In the ''Shards of Alara'' block of ''[[MagicTheGathering Magic: The Gathering]]'', the human warriors of Jund wear a braid for each major victory in battle. The legendary [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=174876 Kresh the Bloodbraided]] is renowned for possessing the most braids.

* Kimahri in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' has these.
* Subtly implied in ''[[NintendoWars Advance Wars Days Of Ruin]]'', the Lazurius [=COs=] have a strand of hair with several beads on it.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', Water Tribe warriors wear [[strike:pony]]wolftails but have several braids tied off with beads framing their faces. The Fire Nation prefers topknots for both men and women, which Zuko and Iroh cut off when declared traitors.

* In the Qing dynasty, all men were required to shave their forehead and wear the rest of their hair in a braid down their back. Cutting the braid was considered an act of treason and punishable by death. (A famous edict early in the Qing dynasty was: "keep the braid or lose your head".) Even before then, Han people ''never'' cut their hair: they believed their hair and body was a gift to them from their parents, so purposely harming their body was an insult to them.
** In the movie ShanghaiNoon, this is why Chong Wang is so freaked out by Roy's offer to cut off his "ponytail". When Lo Fong cuts it and says, "Now you can never return to China", this is what he's referring to.

* [[FalloutNewVegas Ullyses]], the other Courier, sports dreadlocks and is the last member of a tribe called The Twisted Hairs. One of his audiologs implies that the braids were indicative of the wearer's accomplishments.

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