Hat Heir: Chinese tradition sees women wear helmets made of HAIR from their dead ancestors

Women in China's Long-horn Miao minority save strands of ancestors' hair

They use them to create spectacular headdresses for special occasions

Owners of headdresses claim some hair goes back hundreds of years



A Chinese tradition which sees women wear headdresses made from the hair of their dead ancestors appears to be going strong in this part of the country.



Instead of throwing away their hair when they comb it, women who are part of China's Long-horn Miao minority instead save the strands and add them to their collection of hair that allows them to create spectacular headdresses.

The hairpieces are brought out for special occasions and carefully woven around horn-shaped headdresses fitted to the heads of the young women and girls.



Instead of throwing away their hair when they comb it, women who are part of China's Long-horn Miao minority save the strands and add them to the collection that allows them to create spectacular headdresses

The special hairpieces are brought out for special occasions and carefully woven around horn-shaped headdresses fitted to the heads of young women and girls

Every wig is passed down from mother to daughter and includes not just yarn and twine but also the hair from a line of female ancestors which the owners of the headdresses claim go back hundreds of years

The tradition is believed to have originated with the wearing of the horns as the cow was a sacred animal in the past for people in this rural area, a Chinese expert in minority cultures has said

Although there are now less than 5,000 people in the Miao minority, the strong tradition carries on, as revealed by these pictures taken in the village of Suojia, in Liupanshui city in southwest China's Guizhou province.

Every wig is passed down from mother to daughter and includes not just yarn and twine but also the hair from a line of female ancestors which the owners of the headdresses claim go back hundreds of years.

It is dyed and carefully maintained to keep it shiny and healthy.

Shu Tu, 27, a Chinese expert in minority cultures said: 'The wigs are worn on all sorts of big occasions from weddings through to feast days, and traditionally they also used to be worn by the men but it seems as if it was at the end of the day too much effort for the menfolk - and they gradually dropped the tradition.



Although there are now less than 5,000 people in the Miao minority, the strong tradition carries on

The headdresses are worn for a range of big occasions, including weddings and feast days

The headdress traditionally also used to be worn by men, but the custom has only been carried on by women

Shu Tu, 27, a Chinese expert in minority cultures, said: 'It's regarded as a living way for them to honour their ancestors'

'But it continued among the women and the hairdos that they have now include hair not only from the mother and grandmother but probably even the great-grandmother and even older - all woven together.

'It's regarded as a living way for them to honour their ancestors. Every time a woman combs her hair, she collects it, and she hands it to her daughter when her daughter marries.

'It probably originated with the wearing of the horns as the cow was a sacred animal in the past for people in this rural area, but this no doubt developed from a desire to decorate the horns and to honour not only the animal itself but also ancestors.'