Legends and, folklore, and poetry relating to long hair

[W. J. Maria]

In the old LHC I started a thread on this topic, which poeple enjoyed. I'd like to add to it here. I sure hope the old thread can be brought back as well!

Love, Maria

[W. J. Maria]

In Haida or Tlingit legend, there is a figure called Fog Woman, with long flowing hair, which appears to produce salmon, the main food of Northwest Coast indigenous people, by combing them out of her hair into the water. This is an interesting story, and I am going to track down the original texts where this is described. More on this later.

Love,

Maria

[Wavelength]

Helen Adam's "I Love My Love" (http://faculty.pittstate.edu/~knichols/lizzie.html#helen) is about a woman's hair, and how it rises from her grave to strangle her murderous lover. Kinda creepy, kinda cool.

Scroll down the page to read the poem.

[Elfling]

I always think of the various mermaid legends, and combing their hair in the waves.

[GlassEyes]

I'm remembering a poem about a river in Euope and a poem that gave it it's name. I know the woman's name in it was Lorelei, and the translation spoke of her flowing golden hair and voice, but can't remember details. D:

[florenonite]

What about the Lady Godiva story?

[rubyredslippers]

I remember a Chinese legend that I read in a children's book, but I can't remember what it was called. The gist was that there was a beautiful Chinese maiden with the longest, blackest, most beautiful hair in the world. Then an evil spirit (a dragon?) roosted in the mountain beside the stream that fed their village its water, and he dammed it up, demanding a sacrifice from the village. The maiden grew so worried that her long hair became white. The spirit then demanded that the maiden become his bride, but a benevolent character made a clay doll of her and cut off her hair, fastening it to the doll. The villagers tossed the doll into the stream and it lodged where the waterfall was; her hair became the white streaks in the waterfall. I can't remember what happened with the evil spirit, but he was vanquised or dealt with. I do remember that the maiden's hair grew in longer and blacker and brighter in the end.

I thought it was an interesting story, especially the bit about the waterfall.

[artemis]

From "The Highwayman" by Alfred Noyes:

He rose upright in the stirrups; he scarce could reach her hand,
But she loosened her hair i' the casement! His face burnt like a brand
As the black cascade of perfume came tumbling over his breast;
And he kissed its waves in the moonlight,
(Oh, sweet black waves in the moonlight!)
Then he tugged at his rein in the moonlight, and galloped away to the West.



I used to have a book of poems when I was a kid and it had an illustration of "The Highwayman," complete with Bess' long dark hair as she leaned out of a window.

[W. J. Maria]

Thanks to all, especially, Wavelength and Artemis for the contributions. Rubyredslippers, I had the text of that Chinese legend in my former thread on this topic. I will not post more about Lady Godiva, others have posted on this... I'll post something about the Lorelei as well.

[hrimfaxi]

There is a Norse myth involving the goddess Sif having her hair stolen by Loki, and he has to replace it, and has the dwarves make her shining locks of gold...

[Mitzy]

There is a Ray Bradbury (or was it Robert Heinlein) story about a girl in the future who has very long, natural hair while everyone else has short, odd colored hair. Some aliens land on earth and need fuel to return to their home. Turns out hair contains a vital ingredient for said fuel. She sacrifices her crowning glory which leads to fashions changing and all the girls on earth grow their hair out.

[EbonyCurls]

One of my most favorite tales of all is "The Gift of the Magi" by O'Henry in which a young poor couple who are deeply in love each make a sacrifice in order to buy a gift for the other. The woman, who has long, beautiful hair sells her hair in order to buy a new chain for his watch. However, unknown to her, he has sold his watch in order to buy an expensive hair-ornament for her long hair.

[Shirlpunzel]

warning, mini-hijack, apologies in advance

Mitzy, I can't be positive, as I don't recall that particular story, but it sounds more like Bradbury than Heinlein to me(both a book worm and sf geek here :blushing: )
In general, Bradbury went for the fancier / fantasy like imagery while Heinlein was known more for hard SF. However, I can't put it past Heinlein either - he published so much, and such a variety. While his "boy scout books" were much better known, he also did juveniles targeted at girls as well. Also, despite the reputation for hard sf he did have some works that were nothing like that("Cliff and the Calories" for example). Anyways, from the description it sounds like a Bradbury story to me.

ps - any other time I would be able to think of plenty of contributions to this thread, but now I'm drawing a blank. As far as non-repeats, how about Medusa(ok, not the most positive, but very distinctive hair, nonetheless) or (this feels a little too obvious) Rapunzel?


eta: had thought of the O'Henry story but of course EbonyCurls beat me too it .... but futurama had a great little parody of that story on one of the christmas episodes :silly:

[W. J. Maria]

Oh, yes, I know about the O'Henry story. It is easy to find on the net, that's why I did not post it here. But thanks for reminding us of it here.

[Alaia]

I'm remembering a poem about a river in Euope and a poem that gave it it's name. I know the woman's name in it was Lorelei, and the translation spoke of her flowing golden hair and voice, but can't remember details. D:

She's one of the Rhine Maidens (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhine_Maidens), who were like the Greek Sirens in that they lured sailors to their doom.

Lorelei was in Wagner's Ring Cycle if that helps any. I can't remember the poem either.

[doodlesmart]

If slightly (ok really) creepy is your thing, there's always Robert Brownings Porphyria's Lover.

Ooh, and I love The Highwayman. The poem, and I also have two different versions of it set to music.

[starsaphire]

Let us not forget poor Samson, either. :)

And doesn't Pele (the Hawaiian goddess) always have long, flowing black hair like streams of lava flowing down the volcano?

- starsaphire

[Jaime]

How about this:


Perhaps no Cherokee legend has been more enduring than the belief in the Yunwi Tsunsdi’, the Little People.. About knee high to an adult, they were well shaped and handsome, with long hair, which reaches the ground. Considered to be wonder workers, like the Nunne’hi, they spent half their time drumming and dancing. Helpful and kind hearted; they were especially helpful to children, and frequently helped adults, unseen at night, at such things as gathering corn. Usually associated with a certain place or community, if they were offended, they would leave the place, never to be seen again!

8) Jim

[MemSahib]

Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuEzkuAu8ik&feature=related)

This is not exactly what you asked for, is it? I looked it up without realizing you had not included music in your request. Sorry.

[W. J. Maria]

Thank you all, I did not know about Pele, and about the Cherokee beings.

[curlylocks85]

I know a poem by William Butler Yeats that is about love and mentions hair as part of that love.

"Brown Penny"

I whispered, 'I am too young,'
And then, 'I am old enough';
Wherefore I threw a penny
To find out if I might love.
'Go and love, go and love, young man,
If the lady be young and fair.'
Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny,
I am looped in the loops of her hair.

O love is the crooked thing,
There is nobody wise enough
To find out all that is in it,
For he would be thinking of love
Till the stars had run away
And the shadows eaten the moon.
Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny,
One cannot begin it too soon.

I love this poem. I always picture long flowing curls when he describes his loves hair.

[Aer]

There is a Norse myth involving the goddess Sif having her hair stolen by Loki, and he has to replace it, and has the dwarves make her shining locks of gold...



This one of my favorite mythologies. I also like the old Yule story of the two newly weds. The guy has a pocket watch that's one of his prized possessions, and the wife has long beautiful hair. Anyway they are both broke and want to get their spouse something special. On Christmas morning the wife gives her husband a god chain for his watch, and he gives her a expensive hair barrette, but they can not use either because he sold his watch to a jeweler to get her gift, and she sold her hair to a wig maker to by his gift. It's sort of a sad story but it's sweet too.

[Tapioca]

This one of my favorite mythologies. I also like the old Yule story of the two newly weds. The guy has a pocket watch that's one of his prized possessions, and the wife has long beautiful hair. Anyway they are both broke and want to get their spouse something special. On Christmas morning the wife gives her husband a god chain for his watch, and he gives her a expensive hair barrette, but they can not use either because he sold his watch to a jeweler to get her gift, and she sold her hair to a wig maker to by his gift. It's sort of a sad story but it's sweet too.


That's The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry. And I love it, too. Actually, I love most of his short stories.

[Keildra]

I'm remembering a poem about a river in Euope and a poem that gave it it's name. I know the woman's name in it was Lorelei, and the translation spoke of her flowing golden hair and voice, but can't remember details. D:
It's a german poem I know that much and Lorelei was basically a siren that lured sailors to their death.
The poem is called The Loerelei

The highest peak still gleaming
Reveals enthroned in the air,
A Siren lost in her dreaming
Combing her golden hair.
With golden combs she caresses
Her hair as she sings her song;
Echoing through the gloaming
Filled with a magic so strong.


Also Canterbury tales by Chaucer speaks of a nun plucking her hairs out to make her forehead bigger (which in turn at that time period made her look smart)
But certainly she had a fair forehead;
It was almost a full span broad, I own,
For, truth to tell, she was not undergrown

[Smokering]

Dudes. Rapunzel? :p

There's also Luthien from The Silmarillion. Most of Tolkien's heroines had the standard Gorgeous Long Flowing Locks - Galadriel's was particularly noteworthy - but Luthien's was special. Her father imprisoned her in a treehouse to prevent her running off with Beren, her mortal lover. Luthien cast a spell which caused her already impressive hair to grow longer, and then used it to climb out of the tree - I can't remember if she cut it off to do that or not. If she did it wasn't short, because she later danced a dance for Morgoth - THE Big Bad of Middle-Earth, way more uber than Sauron - to put him to sleep so she could rescue Beren, and her hair contained some kind of sleepiness spell and when it brushed over him he fell asleep.

Pretty heady stuff for Middle-Earth, come to think of it. And the character of Luthien was inspired by Tolkien's not-yet-wife dancing with dark hair in a forest, so.... aww. They had a somewhat stormy marriage, but when they died Tolkien's gravestone said "Beren" and Edith's said "Luthien". *sniff* OK, getting off-topic...

I read a fairy tale once - no idea who wrote it - about a bald princess, whose mother made a wish that her hair would grow twice as fast every time it was cut. Of course after a few haircuts it started growing at a phenomenal rate, and the cuttings were sold to make golden carpets as the prime export of the country. To put a stop to it the king offered the princess' hand in marriage to whoever could make her hair stop growing, but no-one could. Then one bright spark tied her up by her hair and cut HER off the hair, rather than cutting the hair off her. Sadly the princess started growing herself, and was only shrunk back to size by cutting her hair again. But then the prince had a brighter idea and put her in a set of scales with her hair on the other scale. As soon as the balance was perfect he used his sword to cut between them, so the... laws of physics?... couldn't tell whether she'd been cut off or the hair had been. So all was well and they got married. :)

Fairy tales are so weird...

[Nae]

As a child Longfellow's Wreck of the Hesperus" haunted me, especially the final few stanzas.

At daybreak, on the bleak sea-beach,
A fisherman stood aghast,
To see the form of a maiden fair,
Lashed close to a drifting mast.

The salt sea was frozen on her breast,
The salt tears in her eyes;
And he saw her hair, like the brown sea-weed,
On the billows fall and rise.

My dad read me this when I was about 9 and I couldn't get the image of the Captain's daughter out of my head, lashed to the mast and drowned. Her dad just trying to keep her safe......

[Balenciaga]

I read a fairy tale once - no idea who wrote it - about a bald princess, whose mother made a wish that her hair would grow twice as fast every time it was cut. Of course after a few haircuts it started growing at a phenomenal rate, and the cuttings were sold to make golden carpets as the prime export of the country. To put a stop to it the king offered the princess' hand in marriage to whoever could make her hair stop growing, but no-one could. Then one bright spark tied her up by her hair and cut HER off the hair, rather than cutting the hair off her. Sadly the princess started growing herself, and was only shrunk back to size by cutting her hair again. But then the prince had a brighter idea and put her in a set of scales with her hair on the other scale. As soon as the balance was perfect he used his sword to cut between them, so the... laws of physics?... couldn't tell whether she'd been cut off or the hair had been. So all was well and they got married. :)

Fairy tales are so weird...

The one you're thinking of is Melisande by E. Nesbit. I used to love it when I was a little girl and it's conveniently hosted here; http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/rapunzel/shortstories/melisande.html

[spidermom]

I love this one:
Early In The Morning by Li-Young Lee

While the long grain is softening
in the water; gurgling
over a low stove flame, before
the salted Winter Vegetable is sliced
for breakfast, before the birds,
my mother glides an ivory comb
through her hair, heavy
and black as calligrapher's ink.

She sits at the foot of the bed.
My father watches, listens for
the music of comb
against hair.

My mother combs, pulls her hair back
tight, rolls it
around two fingers, pins it
in a bun to the back of her head.
For half a hundred years she has done this.
My father likes to see it like this.
He says it is kempt.

But I know
it is because of the way
my mother's hair falls
when he pulls the pins out.
Easily, like the curtains
when they untie them in the evening.

[GuinevereMay]

It was believed that a witch could bring about a storm by sitting on the beach with loose hair. (That might have come about by someone observing static electricity while someone combed their hair.)

Braiding is supposed to help control a specified situation.

(The above came from a classic Wiccan text, but the name escapes me. I'll have to figure out what it is, because there's a whole list including cut hair, burned hair, etc.)

Pele's Hair is volcanic glass strands that resemble hair. (Just an interesting tidbit.)

Mom always told me if I ate my bread crusts, my hair would curl. I still eat my crusts and I have nary a curl on my head.

[clairenewcastle]

Thanks for posting "Brown Penny" curlylocks85 :)

Reading it reminded me of another poem by William Butler Yeats -

He gives his Beloved certain Rhymes

Fasten your hair with a golden pin,
And bind up every wandering tress;
I bade my heart build these poor rhymes:
It worked at them, day out, day in,
Building a sorrowful loveliness
Out of the battles of old times.

You need but lift a pearl-pale hand,
And bind up your long hair and sigh;
And all men’s hearts must burn and beat;
And candle-like foam on the dim sand,
And stars climbing the dew-dropping sky,
Live but to light your passing feet.

There's also these beautiful lines from other poems by the same poet:

"But know your hair was bound and wound
Among the stars and moon and sun:
Oh would, beloved, that you lay
Under the dock-leaves in the ground,
While lights were paling one by one."

"A woman of so shining lovliness
That men threshed corn at midnight by a tress,
A little stolen tress."

"The winds awaken, the leaves whirl round,
Our cheeks are pale, our hair is unbound"......

[Lia_Vaumont]

In early European lore, there was a clan of nobles who valued their long hair, and refused to cut it. They were the Merovingian kings (who ruled from the 5th to the 8th century, anno domini), aptly dubbed the 'Long Haired Monarchs', or 'Sorcerer Kings' due to their alleged magical powers, such as the ability to transmute water into liquour and to heal by the laying of hands. There are varying explanations as to whether the Merovingians refused to cut their hair. One of the reasons, and this is the most popular assumption, was that the Merovingians were perpetual 'Nazarites', and it is due to this that they would never shorn their hair nor beards. Nazarites were a select few (people of Judaic race) who took vows of sanctity and separation for God, and part of their vow involved growing out their hair. Some sources later state that the Nazarites became a separate sect of Judaism, and that Yeshua Bar Yoshef (Jesus son of Joseph) was one of them Their trademark was the middle-parting of their hair. Furthermore, the controversial book Holy Blood and the Holy Grail (Baigent, Leigh, Lincoln) proposed that the Merovingian bloodline was in the direct line of descent from Yeshua Bar Yoshef's union with Mariam Migdal (Mary Madgalene). This theory was later adapted into Dan Brown's infamous Da Vinci Code. Still, another reason states that it was customary for Frankish kings to not cut their hair to thus identify themselves from the Romans and the tonsured clergy.

In regards to long hair and mermaids/sea-creatures there also seems to be some connection between these legends and that of the Merovingian bloodline. According to the 7th century 'Frankish Chronicle of Fredegar', the creature known as a 'Quinotaur' ('bestea Neptuni Quinotauri similis', 'the beast of Neptune who resembles a Quinotaur') was the alleged father of Merovius/Merovee/Merovin/Merovech/Merowig (varying spelling of names) after raping the legendary King Chlodius's wife. Mervius later became the founder of the Merovingian bloodline, and subsequent descendants have called themselves 'Merovingians' meaning descendants of Merovin. (Some sources credit Clovis I as the founder of the dynasty).

In regards to the mermaid legend, the King of Jerusalem and Defender of the Holy Sepulcher, Godfroi de Boullion's (also of Merovingian descent) daughter, Melusine, was supposed to have been half-fish/serpent, and half human. According to legend, Fulk the Black, of the Angevin dynasty, married Godfroi’s daughter, the mythical Melusine. As the story goes, upon her betrothal to Fulk, Melusine made a very unusual request. She agreed to marry him, but only upon this strange condition: that one night per week, on the Sabbath, she was to be allowed absolute solitude and privacy. On this night her husband was neither to speak to her, nor to enter her bedchambers. Fulk agreed to the bizarre codicil, and by all reports they shared a very happy union for the first several years.

In time, however, Fulk’s curiosity began to get the best of him. He wondered why his lovely bride required time apart from him, and what exactly she did on those nights. Unable to resist the temptation, Fulk burst into her bedroom one of these nights, only to be confronted by a terrifying visage. His wife had transformed herself into a figure that was half-serpent. The entirety of her lower extremities took on the appearance of a massive, bluish-white colored snake. Melusine was so horrified at being discovered that she keeled over dead. It was said that her ghost (in half-serpent form) haunted the site thereafter, and could be heard late at night, slithering about behind the locked door.

In a variation on this tale, Fulk was said instead to have peered through the keyhole of his wife’s chambers on one of her private nights. Inside he saw Melusine sitting in a bath, her body covered with scales from the waist down, her legs having turned into the tail of a fish. Deeply disturbed by what he had seen, Fulk was eventually compelled to question his wife. Upon learning that her trust had been violated, Melusine departed, never to be seen again. (Source: http://forum.alexanderpalace.org/index.php?topic=3646.5;wap2)

Many of the artistic descriptions of Melusine picture her as a flaxen haired lady with long, classically cascading hair; with the lower part of her body either that of a fish or that of a sepent/dragon.

Some sources also suggest that the Merovingians were part of the Tribe of Israel that Samson belonged to, (the Tribe of Dan). Still, others say they were the 'exiled tribe' of Benjamin, to which, according to Dan Brown, Mariam Migdal belonged to. Other sources attest that the Merovingian dynasty was descended from the Trojan line of Kings. It is worthy to note that in 751, Childeric III, the last Merovingian, was deposed. He was allowed to live, but his long hair was cut and he was sent to a monastery. It would indeed seem in of itself harmless enough, but for the fact that other Kings were deposed before him, but were killed. Why was Childeric III not killed, like all the others before him? True, Childeric III was indeed spared, but was it really necessary to cut his hair? If we take into consideration that his hair was a symbol of his nobility, then perhaps they were symbolically shearing it off of him. However, if we recall the story of Samson, when his hair was shorn by Delilah, his strength left him. Perhaps it was this same emasculation or neutering that they intended to induce, especially to a line of royals who placed great value in their hair.

I hope I haven't made this too long. :o

[mellie]

In the book "Vurt", there is a couple who have long, long dreads which have grown together over the years, so they are never more than 6 feet apart from each other.

[Svenja]

I'm remembering a poem about a river in Euope and a poem that gave it it's name. I know the woman's name in it was Lorelei, and the translation spoke of her flowing golden hair and voice, but can't remember details. D:
There's a figure of Loreley at the Rhine :)

http://www.ariva.de/loreley_a143296

[mellie]

What a pretty sculpture!

[clairenewcastle]

[quote=Lia_Vaumont;
I hope I haven't made this too long. :o
[/quote]

Not at all. :)
Thanks for an extremely interesting post, I enjoyed reading it. :flower:

[Lia_Vaumont]

Not at all. :)
Thanks for an extremely interesting post, I enjoyed reading it. :flower:
You're welcome. And thank you. :)

[peronella]

Theres a story in The Just So Stories By Rudyard Kipling called The Cat That Walked By Himself. Its about how some animals became Domesticated. In it "The Man" and "The Woman" live in a cave and while The Man is sleeping, The Woman Lets her hair down and combs it, and "makes Magic" that make the animals come to their cave and she makes Bargains with them. I loved this story as a kid. I love how she can do magic when her hair is loose.

[Aleria]

In my First Nations culture (Wuikinuxv and Heiltsuk, of the Northern Northwest Coast), it's traditional to grow your hair out, and cut it when you're in mourning. The closer you were to the person, the more you cut.

[irishlady]

I'll post as I think of stuff :)

One that comes to mind right now, is a real woman who lived many many years ago, when the Romans occupied Britain.

She was the wife of a Celtic chief, who led a rebellion against the Romans after they did terrible things to her and her daughters.

She was well noted by writers of the time for her fearlessness, and her red/auburn hair that reached her hips (some say it was as long as knee length, but most accounts I have read say hip-length).

Her legacy lives on, though some people have not heard of her.

Her name was Boudicca (spelling varies on accounts as well).

[MindBeforeMouth]

I forgot the name of the story. But, In english we read a book about a girl with really long hair and her husband and for christmas they wanted to get each other something. The girl decided to sell her hair to get her husband a chain for his pocket watch. The husband sold his pocket watch to buy her a hair comb. In the end they couldn't use the thing they bought each other. It was a story for irony.

[Lippytoes]

I'll post as I think of stuff :)

One that comes to mind right now, is a real woman who lived many many years ago, when the Romans occupied Britain.

She was the wife of a Celtic chief, who led a rebellion against the Romans after they did terrible things to her and her daughters.

She was well noted by writers of the time for her fearlessness, and her red/auburn hair that reached her hips (some say it was as long as knee length, but most accounts I have read say hip-length).

Her legacy lives on, though some people have not heard of her.

Her name was Boudicca (spelling varies on accounts as well).

I totally used to fangirl Boudicca (although I knew her as Boadicea) when I was a child. :D

[TheMechaGinger]

In Haida or Tlingit legend, there is a figure called Fog Woman, with long flowing hair, which appears to produce salmon, the main food of Northwest Coast indigenous people, by combing them out of her hair into the water. This is an interesting story, and I am going to track down the original texts where this is described. More on this later.

Love,

Maria

The day care I went to as a kid had this book! I used to read it all the time only I can't remember how it ends any more

[Wanderer09]

"Porphyria's Lover" by Robert Browning. It's really morbid though. The narrator strangles her with her own hair!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porphyria%27s_Lover

I had an English professor who said she swore never to have long hair again after reading the poem. :p

[peronella]

I forgot the name of the story. But, In english we read a book about a girl with really long hair and her husband and for christmas they wanted to get each other something. The girl decided to sell her hair to get her husband a chain for his pocket watch. The husband sold his pocket watch to buy her a hair comb. In the end they couldn't use the thing they bought each other. It was a story for irony.

That's "The Gift Of The Magi" by O. Henry :)