The Lock of Hair

Hair carries with it rich symbolism, and just as it's fun to play with hair, it's fun to play with the symbolism of hair.

In sympathetic magic, hair is used as a stand-in for the essence of a person. Hair's mystical attributes may have come from the fact that it appears to grow after death.

A gift of a lock of hair often denotes romantic intent -- except for that stage I went through in college, when I would introduce myself to guys with long hair by asking for a lock of it. I got a surprising number of locks of hair from that. They're safe in a box somewhere, and I have vowed not to do voodoo with them.

In Prodigies, Greg of the long red hair cuts his hair and hands the hank of hair off to Ayana, his girlfriend. Ayana cries. This scene is full of impact for a reason:

1) Greg needs to cut his hair for the upcoming mission at United Nations so that he blends in. It took nothing short of life and death for him to cut his hair;
2) Ayana didn't believe he would commit to the current plan, seeing him as a "drifter".
3) In Japanese opera, giving up one's hair is a symbol of making a great break with something,
4) In handing it to Ayana, he is either saying "I did this for you" or "I am in your hands" -- or both.

There are different ways to give a lock of hair. Greg's was almost brutal in its delivery, which fits the contentious relationship he has with Ayana. Most people who gave me locks of hair had no subtlety -- just "snip, snip, here!" Miguel was an exception. After teasing him for a year with "Can I have a lock of hair," he related to me how he'd gone home and washed his hair, flipped it over his head, and took a lock from the back of his neck. It smelled of shampoo and incense. He gave me an impromptu concert with the lock of hair, barefoot and in a rasta cap. It was one of the best gifts I'd ever gotten, not only the lock of hair, but the story.