The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (921 page)

(Jap.), The frontmost building in a Shinto shrine complex, used as an oratory or hall of worship.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

Hai Gaon
:

see
HAI BEN SHERIRA
.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

(Jap.). A verse form consisting of three lines: five, seven, and five syllables in length. Traditionally, each poem also contains an image or reference associated with one of the seasons in the year. Originally conceived as a form of amusement verse, the haikai utilized colloquialisms and words derived from Chinese, terms expressly forbidden in the more formal, high form of verse called
waka
. Only in the early 16th cent. did haikai come to be viewed as a legitimate poetic genre in its own right.
Mainly through the impact of Matsuo Bash
(1644–94) and his successors, the literary form assumed religious, specifically
Zen Buddhist
, dimensions.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

(tr. of Lat.,
Ave Maria
). A prayer to the Virgin
Mary
as follows:

(a) Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
(b) Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and in the hour of our death.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

Hair
.

Hair is a visible and continuous sign of growth (or, in its cessation, of the approach of death), and as an indication of vigour, it lends itself to various statements of relationship to God or to other goals—e.g., the
Nazirite
vow in Judaism. Christianity adopted a sign of dedication in the opposite direction, by introducing the tonsure, the shaving of the top of the head of priests and monks. Tonsure has taken different forms, from the shaving of the whole head to only a part, often leaving a fringe to draw out the symbolism of the crown of thorns.
In E. religions, comparable contrasts can be found. Thus among Hindus,
ke
ntah
, the first shaving of the beard, is one of the
sa
sk
ras
; but a Hindu
ascetic
will leave his hair long and matted (
ju
):
iva
, in particular, displays his contrasted modes of activity through the style of his hair. Among Sikhs, a
Kh
ls
Sikh is prohibited from cutting hair from any part of his body, and
ke
is one of the
Five Ks
. Among
Rastafarians
, a similar message of identity is sent through hairstyle, but this may be by ‘dreadlocks’ or by careful cutting (for the long locks of Jews see
PEOT
). A further extension can be seen in care taken to cover the head—for example, in the custom for some Jewish women of wearing a wig (
shaytl/sheitel
) in public (see
HEAD, COVERING OF
).
To bring order into this diversity, E. Leach (‘Magical Hair’),
Journ. of the R. Anth. Inst
. 1958) argued that the treatment of hair denotes social responses related to ideal social categories. Thus long hair is related to unrestrained sexuality, short or tightly bound hair is related to restricted sexuality, closely shaved hair is related to celibacy. C. R. Hallpike (‘Social Hair’,
Man
, 1969) argued that hair rituals cannot be mapped on to sexual opportunity alone. In his view, the treatment indicates relation to the acceptance or rejection of social control.