CAIRO: When Sahar Abdel Rahman decided to write her thesis about ancient Egyptian hairstyles, she was faced with a wave of sarcasm and objection from colleagues and professors.
But the young archeologist, who finished her master s degree earlier this year, proved that her choice of topic could be a step forward to better identifying the Pharaohs. It can also be a source of pride for Egyptians who can now credit their forefathers – or rather their Pharaonic grandmothers – for inspiring the stylish hairdos sported by women, and styles that live on to this very day.
Curly and wavy hair, short hair, the bob cut and even Marie Antoinette’s beehive can all be traced back to the Pharaohs. A simple overview of the statues and the pictures on temple walls and papyri easily confirm this theory, Abdel Rahman said.
It all started when Abdel Rahman joined a team assigned to scan an archaeological site. There they found a woman’s bust that they couldn’t trace to any particular era.
“There was no evidence other than the hairstyle. I took several photos of the bust and went to discuss the subject with the specialists, Abdel Rahman, also the archaeological researcher and coordinator at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, told Daily News Egypt.
Although she failed to reach any definite conclusion with regard to the era to which the bust belonged, the incident triggered her interest in the issue. A few months later, this interest had evolved into a nascent research that focused on Egyptian hairstyles between the 7th century BC and the 4th century AD.
“I found out that hairstyles were not a secondary matter for the ancient Egyptians, she explained. “The accessories of ancient Egyptian brides included a number of wigs that were placed on their heads as a sign of respectability.
“Besides hair irons and substances used for hairstyling revealed by excavations, a factory for manufacturing wigs out of natural hair or fibers was unearthed near El Deir El Bahari in Luxor.
She explained that in line with the hygienic standards of the time, the pharaohs used to shave their children’s heads, only leaving a lock to grow on one side to indicate that the child hasn’t reached puberty.
“Due to excessive shaving during childhood, the ancient Egyptians’ hair was densely wooly but never long, which was why they used wigs in religious ceremonies to emulate the deities that were depicted with long hair.
Abdel Rahman said that academics’ attention was never paid to ancient Egyptian hairstyles, but was rather directed towards fashion, accessories or jewelry.
“This remains a hardly-noticed aspect of the ancient Egyptians’ life, she added. And it probably needed a woman “with an eye for hair, as Abdel Rahman describes herself, to start a professional academic research in this neglected issue.
The period between the 7th century BC to the 4th century AD, the focus of Abdel Rahman’s thesis, encompasses the late Pharaonic period, the Greco-Roman period and the Byzantine era that witnessed that advent of Christianity.
Studying these eras, Abdel Rahman was able to correct misinformation about the dates of some of the antiquities and discover that, rather than an arbitrary matter, hairdos were a sincere representation of each period’s set of traditions and deities.
“For instance, focusing on hairstyles and other details, I’ve managed to argue that some statues that were believed to belong to Cleopatra VII could be those of Cleopatra the first, the second or the fourth. Soon I will devote an entire lecture to the subject.
The Pharaonic age was characterized by strict adherence to traditions, but during the rule of the Ptolemaists three types of hairdos can be seen: the traditional Egyptian style, fashions that fused Egyptian and Greek hairstyles and finally the pure Greek haircut that is seen on Alexandrian coins.
Abdel Rahman noted that just as certain hairstyles marked each period in modern time, the same sense of fashion was evident in ancient times.
“Presently hairstyles change every five years, but I noticed that in the late Pharaonic period the hair fashion changed every 50 years and every 25 years during the Greco-Roman period. After Christianity became the official religion in Egypt many women began to cover their hair in an attempt to emulate the Virgin Mary.
According to the researcher, the study of ancient hair forms revealed that the hair was styled in a way that was aimed at invoking the benediction of the gods.
“For example, the typical hairstyle of an ancient Egyptian woman, which was divided into three long equal parts that flowed on the two sides and the back, were symbolic of the trio of Isis, Osiris and Horus. The style also implied the sincere wish that the gods would preserve the hair and bless it.
The research that Abel Rahman aspires to publish in English is divided into five chapters: the first focuses on the royals’ hairstyles; the second on the goddesses, priestesses and mythological characters’; and the third on middle and working classes which could be distinguished from each other through the hairdo.
The fourth chapter was devoted to the tools used for hairstyling, and the fifth explained how the ancient Egyptians influenced invaders and got influenced by them to finally offer the world a wide range of hairstyles.
