Editing Tonsure (section)

==Hinduism==
{{main|Samskara (rite of passage)}}
[[File:Hindu baby first head shave choulopan chudakarana sanskara.jpg|thumb|A baby's first haircut, which is often a head shave, is a common rite of passage in Hinduism.<ref name=pandeytonsure/>]]

Tonsure is usually the part of three rites of passages in the life of the individual in Hinduism. The first is called [[chudakarana]] ([[IAST]]: Cūḍākaraṇa, Sanskrit: चूडाकरण; literally, "rite of tonsure"), also known as ''chaula'', ''chudakarma'', ''mundana'', or ''mundan'', marks the child's first haircut, typically the shaving of the head.<ref name=marynama>Mary McGee (2007), "Samskara", in ''The Hindu World'' (Editors: Mittal and Thursby), [[Routledge]], {{ISBN|978-0415772273}}, pp. 342–343.</ref> The mother dresses up, sometimes in her wedding [[sari]], and with the father present, the baby's head is shaven and nails trimmed, washed and dressed in new clothes.<ref name=kanechou/> Sometimes, a tuft of hair ([[Shikha (hairstyle)|shikha]]) is left to cover the soft spot near the top of the baby's head.<ref name=marynama/><ref name=kanechou/> Both boys and girls typically go through this ceremony, sometimes near a temple or a river, but it is not mandatory in Hinduism.<ref name=pandeytonsure>Rajbali Pandey (2013), ''Hindu Saṁskāras: Socio-religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments'', 2nd Edition, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120803961}}, pp. 94–100.</ref>

The significance of the chudakarana rite of passage is the baby's cyclical step to hygiene and cleanliness.<ref>Rajbali Pandey (2013), Hindu Saṁskāras: Socio-religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments, 2nd Edition, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120803961}}, pp. 94–95</ref> The ritual is typically done about the first birthday, but some texts recommend that it be completed before the third or the seventh year.<ref name=kanechou/> Sometimes, this ritual is combined with the rite of passage of ''[[Upanayana]]'', the initiation to formal schooling.<ref name=marynama/><ref name=kanechou>PV Kane, [https://archive.org/stream/historyofdharmas029210mbp#page/n317/mode/2up Samskara, Chapter VI], History of Dharmasastras, Vol. II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pp. 260–265</ref>
<!--<ref>Jörg Gengnagel and Ute Hüsken (2005), Words and Deeds: Hindu and Buddhist Rituals in South Asia, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3447051521}}, pp. 204–205.</ref>-->

Another rite of passage where tonsure is practiced by Hindus is after the death and completing the last rites of an immediate family member, that is father, mother, brother, sister, spouse, or child. This ritual is regionally found in India among male mourners, who shave their heads as a sign of bereavement.<ref>Deborah Weymont and Tina Rae (2006), Supporting Young People Coping with Grief, Loss and Death, SAGE Publications, {{ISBN|978-1412913126}}, p. 75</ref> Until a few decades ago, many Hindu communities, especially the upper castes, forced widows to undergo the ritual of tonsure and shun good clothes and ornaments, in order to make them unattractive to men.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Reddy|editor-first1=P. Adinarayana |title=Problems of widows in India|date=2004|publisher=Sarup & Sons|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-8176254793|pages=42, 119, 124–130|edition=1st}}</ref>

According to Jamanadas, tonsure was originally a [[Buddhist]] custom and was adopted by Hinduism.<ref>{{Cite book|author=K. Jamanadas |title=Tirupati Balaji was a Buddhist Shrine |year=1991 |publisher=Sanjivan Publications |quote=The traditional custom of tonsures performed at Tirumalai as religious ceremony can not be viewed upon as a custom of the Brahmanic [Hindu] religion.}}</ref> However, Pandey and others trace the practice to Sanskrit texts dated to have been composed before the birth of Buddha, which mention tonsure as a rite of passage.<ref name=pandeytonsure/><ref name=kanechou/>