Hair and the Construction of Identity in Ancient Egypt, c. 1480-1350 B.C.

Author(s): Gay Robins

Source: Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt , 1999, Vol. 36 (1999), pp. 55-
69
Published by: American Research Center in Egypt

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 Hair and the Construction of Identity in
Ancient Egypt, c. 1480-1350 B.C.1

Gay Robins

Introduction undesirable and carefully removed. Head hair

can be allowed to grow unrestricted; it can be
Beginning at birth, the identity of individuals,
shaved off; it can be cut to any length or lengths
an amalgam of age, gender, social statusbetween
and these two extremes. It can also be ar-
role, has to be constructed in accordance with ranged in more or less elaborate styles. Because
the norms of the social system they inhabit. This head hair is so visible, what is done with it can
identity changes over time not only in the transi-be used to display information about the wear-
tions from one life stage to the next, but also ers, but the forms these various messages take
with the various roles a person may play at any will vary from one society to another, because
given life stage. A number of means may be em- they are culturally specific. People will readily
ployed to construct identity and mark the shifts read the meaning of different hairstyles within
between life stages or between different roles.their own cultures, but will often be at a loss to
These can be verbal, as in modes of address; be-interpret correctly the hairstyles worn by people
havioral, as in the way individuals interact; or of other cultures. It follows, then, that anyone
displayed on the body, as in circumcision, scari- studying an unfamiliar society will have to set
fication or dress. out consciously to discover the significance of the
In many societies human hair too has been different hairstyles employed in that society.
and still is highly charged with meaning. Not My aim in this paper is to examine the ways in
only can it carry erotic, religious and magical which head hair was worn in ancient Egypt, and
significance, but the way in which it is worn of- to consider how it might have helped construct
ten encodes information about gender, age, and social identity. Because ancient Egyptian society,
social status.2 Since in many societies, although despite its more than 3000 years of cultural conti-
by no means all, the body is usually covered by nuity, was not unchanging, I shall restrict my en-
clothes, it is normally the head hair and the quiry to a period of approximately one hundred
beard that have been and are subject to most at- and thirty years from c. 1480-1350 B.C., in order
tention, although body hair may be considered to obtain a relatively coherent body of material.3

1 A version of this article was given as a paper at the 1996 P. Hershman, "Hair, Sex and Dirt," Man 9 (1974), 274-98;
ARCE annual meeting in St. Louis. I would like to thank Edmund Leach, "Magical Hair," Journal of the Royal Anthro-
Michelle Marcus for reading an earlier draft and for useful pological Institute 88 (1958), 147-64; Gananath Obeyesekere,
comments and suggestions. Medusa 's Head. An Essay on Personal Symbols and Religious Ex-
1 For hair in general, see Charles Berg, The Unconscious perience (Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1981); Marcia
Significance of Hair (London: Allen and Unwin, 1951); J. D. M. Pointon, "The Case of the Dirty Beau: Symmetry, Disorder
Derrett, "Religious Hair," Man 8 (1973), 100-103; Raymond and the Politics of Masculinity," in: Kathleen Adler and Mar-
Firth, "Hair as Private Asset and Public Symbol," in: Symbols cia Pointon (eds.), The Body Imaged (Cambridge: Cambridge
Public and Private (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, University Press, 1993), 175-89.
1975), 262-98; Christopher Hallpike, "Social Hair," Man 4 3 For aspects of hair in ancient Egypt, see Philippe Der-
(1969), 256-64; idem, "Hair," in: Mircea Eliade (ed.), The chain, "La perruque et le cristal," Studien zur altdgyptischen
Encyclopedia of Religion (New York: Macmillan, 1987), 154-57; Kultur2 (1975), 55-74; Joann Fletcher, "A Tale of Hair, Wigs

55

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 56 JARCE XXXVI (1999)

The structure stage to the next.

of ancient Textual and representational
Egyptian society wa
organized by status, gender
evidence and, almost
suggests that circumcision may have sig- cer
tainly, age. Broadly speaking nified the transition from
the childhood for at leasthierarch
social
divided into the king, some boys.6elite,
the Evidence forand an equivalent
the non-el opera-
who formed the greatest tion performedpart of asthe
on girls, such popul
clitoridectomy,
tion. The elite group consisted
is lacking in texts and, if ofit hadthe literat
been performed,
male officials who formed the administration, unlike circumcision, it would not be apparent in
together with their families. The non-elite com-the art.7 For both sexes, the biological effects of
prised the semi-literate and non-literate pro- puberty in themselves denote the passage from
fessionals, who provided goods and services forchildhood.
the elite; and the farmers, tenant farmers, and Physical evidence of hair, both natural and in
laborers who worked the fields and harvested the form of wigs made of human hair, survives
the abundance of the marshes. from ancient Egypt. It shows that elite women
Organization by gender dictated different roleswear either their own long hair, sometimes
could
for men and women within society. Among supplemented
the by additional tresses,8 or a wig
elite, only men could hold government office, placed over their long hair,9 whereas men kept
whereas women ran the household, bore and their hair short or shaven,10 so that complex
reared children, made music to accompany tem- male hairstyles had to be achieved through wigs.11
Nevertheless, such material fails to show the full
ple ritual, and sometimes held positions at court.4
Non-elite men and women were both employed range of hairstyles found in art; relates only to
by the elite as household servants and musicians,
the elite group; and does not help us understand
but women ideally played a far smaller role theinway hairstyles were correlated with different
outdoor labor.5 social roles. Fortunately, far more information is
Organization by age divided the population
provided by representational evidence, which
into different age groups through which indi- shows interactions among figures of different
viduals would pass as they moved from one lifeage, gender, and social status. Our main visual
stage to the next. The most obvious of such stages
in any society are birth, puberty, adulthood, mar-
6 Constant de Wit, "La circoncision chez les anciens
riage, parenthood and death. Unfortunately,Egyptiens,"
ex- Zeitschrift fur dgyptische Sprache und Altertums-
cept for the passage through death to the next
kunde 99 (1972), 41-48; Wolfhart Westendorf, "Beschnei-
life, there is little evidence of how the ancient dung," LA 1 (1975), 727-29 with bibliography; Rosalind
Egyptians marked the transference from one lifeand Jac. Janssen, Growing up in Ancient Egypt (London: The
Rubicon Press, 1990), 90-97.
1 For the possibility of such an operation in Ptolemaic
and Lice ," Egyptian Archaeology 5 (1994), 31-33; Joyce Haynes, Egypt, see John Baines, "Society, Morality, and Religious
"The Development of Women's Hairstyles in Dynasty Eigh- Practice," in: Byron E. Shafer (ed.), Religion in Ancient Egypt,
teen," Journal of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities 8 Gods, Myths, and personal Practice (Ithaca and London: Cor-
(1977), 18-24; C. Miiller, "Friseur," Lexikon der Agyptologie 2 nell University Press), 144 n. 59.
(Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1977), 331-32; idem, "Haar," 8 E.g., H. E. Winlock, The Tomb of Queen Meryet-Amun at
Lexikon der Agyptologie 2, 924; idem, "Kahlkopfigkeit," Lexikon Thebes (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1932), 9-10,
der Agyptologie 3 (1980), 291-92; idem, "Periicke," Lexikon der pls. 13, 33; G. Elliot Smith, The Royal Mummies (Cairo: Insti-
Agyptologie A (1982), 988-90; Saphinaz-Amal Naguib, "Hair in tut Francais d'Archeologie Orientale, 1912), nos. 60153-54,
Ancient Egypt," Acta Orientalia 51 (1990), 7-26; Georges 61061, 61088, 61095; Iwataro Morimoto, The Human Mummies
Posener, "La legende de la tresse d'Hathor," in: Leonard from the 1983 Excavations at Qurna, Egypt, Studies in Egyptian
Lesko (ed.), Egyptological Studies in Honor of Richard A. Parker Culture No. 2 (Tokyo: Waseda University, 1985), heads B, D-F.
(1986), 111-17; Elizabeth Riefstahl, "An Ancient Egyptian 9 Female mummies with wigs: e.g., Smith, Royal Mum-
Hairdresser," Brooklyn Museum Bulletin 13 (1952), 7-16, "Two mies, nos. 61062, 61087, 61090.
Hairdressers of the Eleventh Dynasty," Journal of Near East- 10 Shaven heads: e.g., Smith, Royal Mummies, no. 61065;
ern Studies 15 (1956), 10-17; Elisabeth Staehelin, "Bart," Morimoto, Human Mummies, head A; short hair: e.g., Smith,
Lexikon der Agyptologie 1 (1975), 627-28. For a wig workshop, Royal Mummies, nos. 61066-67, 61069, 61073; Iwataro Mori-
see Ewa Laskowska-Kusztal, "Un atelier der perruquier a Deir moto et al., Ancient Egyptian Mummies from Qurna, Egypt II,
el-Bahari," Etudes et Travaux 10 (1978), 83-120. Studies in Egyptian Culture no. 7 (Tokyo: Waseda University,
4 Gay Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt (Cambridge: Har- 1988), 2, fiffs. 1-5.
vard University Press, 1993). 11 Surviving male wigs: e.g., Fletcher, Egyptian Archaeology
5 Ibid., 120-24. 5 (1994), 32.

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 HAIR AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF IDENTITY IN ANCIENT EGYPT 57

sources are the monuments produced for the

below-the-elbow circlets that among adults are
elite: their tomb chapels, stelae, and only worn by women,14 so that the construction
statues.
of gender
In this paper, I shall concentrate mainly on for
rep- boys is somewhat ambivalent. Thus,
resentations from tomb chapels. Althoughmale gender built
seems to become fully constructed
only by high-ranking male officials, onlysuch
with the transition to adulthood, when nu-
tomb
chapels incorporated images of both dity andmale
femaleandjewelry are abandoned, and hair-
female family members, as well as imagesstyles andof clothes
non- become gender specific. Since
elite individuals, who left no monumentsimages ofoftheir
male children show them to be uncir-
own; the scenes feature agricultural activities,
cumcised, circumcision may also have occurred
animal husbandry, work in the marshes, as part of work-
this same symbolic system to mark the
shops, and some household activities. transition
Sincefrom theone life stage to another.15
images on these monuments were manipulated
Although girls share nudity and hairstyles with
to fit the elite world view, they may boys,notthey are represented with certain other
always
have coincided with actual practice. traits
They that are characteristic of adult female gen-
should,
nevertheless, conform to prevailing der, such asabout
ideals earrings, below-the-elbow circlets,
social identities and hierarchies. hip girdles and light skin color. It seems to be
the adoption of specific female hairstyles and
Children dress that marks the transition from girlhood to
womanhood.
Several visual indicators, not all of which need Status differentiation is also less marked among
be present at once, distinguish prepubescent chil- children than among adults. Although the king
dren from adults.12 Children are depicted on a and his female relatives are clearly distinguished
smaller scale; they are usually nude; they suck from members of the elite class by the wearing
their index fingers; and most important for the of royal insignia, their offspring, when shown as
purposes of this paper, their heads are shaved prepubescent children, appear to be represented
apart from a lock of hair that falls from the right- little differently from the offspring of the elite.
hand side. This sidelock, worn by both girls and Although children of the non-elite are usually
boys, occurs in several styles, either as a single shown with a shaven head only, without a side-
braid or as a series of braids or curls.13 lock, royal and elite children can also be shown
Since children are conventionally represented in this way, so they are not clearly distinguished
as naked, boys and girls lack the differentiation in from the non-elite. Although non-elite children
dress that distinguishes gender in adults. Never-
theless, boys are usually depicted with the darker
statuettes de rois et de particuliers II (Cairo: Institut Francais
skin that is the marker of adult male status, and
d'Archeologie Orientale, 1909), no. 42171 (girl); series of
girls with the lighter skin of adult females. In braids/curls: TT 52, Abdel Ghaffar Shedid and Matthias
some images, however, boys wear earrings and Seidel, Das Grab des Nacht (Mainz am Rhein: Philipp von Za-
bern, 1991), 60 (boy), 61 (girl); tomb of "Nebamun," Nina
M. Davies, Ancient Egyptian Paintings (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1936), pl. 65 (girl?); Pierre Lacau, Steles du
12 Because scale indicates importance, adult offspring
and other figures of less importance than the tombNouv ownerel Empire (Cairo: Institut Francais d'Archeologie Orien-
may be shown on a small scale. However, as adults, tale, 1909), no. 34095 (two girls); Ludwig Borchardt, Statuen
these
figures are clothed and wear adult hairstyles. und Statuetten von Konigen und Privatleuten im Museum von
16 Braid with curled end: tomb of "Nebamun,"Kairo Arpag (Berlin: Reichsdruckerei, 1930), no. 800 (girl); Arielle
Makhitarian, La misere des tombes thebains (Brussels: Kozloff
Fonda- and Betsy Bryan, Egypt's Dazzling Sun: Amenhotep III
and his
tion egyptologique reine Elisabeth, 1994), pl. 8 (boy); tombWorld (Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art,
1992), 292
of Paheri, J. J. Tylor and F. LI. Griffith, The Tomb ofPaheri at(boy). For the mummy of a boy, probably a prince,
ElKab (London: Egypt Exploration Fund, 1894), pl.with a shaven head and long flowing sidelock, see Smith,
4 (boy),
pl. 10 (sex unclear, no inscription); Boston MFA 1981.2, Sue
Royal Mummies, no. 61071.
D'Auria et al., Mummies and Magic (Boston: Museum of 14 Fine
E.g., TT 52, Shedid and Seidel, Das Grab des Nacht, 60;
Arts, 1988), no. 80 (boy); Bologna KS 1917, Silvio Curto TT 226, Norman de Garis Davies, The Tombs of Menkheperra-
et al.,
II Senso delVArte nelVantico Egitto (Milan: Electa, 1990),sonb,
103,Amenmose
105 and Another (London: Egypt Exploration So-
no. 52 (boy); statue of Senenmut and Neferura, Janssen ciety,and1933), pl. 30E (naked with earrings, boys); tomb of
Janssen, Growing up in Ancient Egypt, 127 fig. 45 (girl);"Nebamun,"
statue Mekhitarian, La misere, pl. 8.
of Benermerut and Meritamun, Georges Legrain, Statues 15 Seeetn. 6.

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 58 JARCE XXXVI (1999)

are not shown wearingbut thejewelry, not

clothes they wear serve all the
to mark royal
wearer an
for gender (figs.
elite children wear jewelry 1-3). To reinforce
either in theirthe message
depi
tions. Thus images of children
conveyed that
by clothes, the types ofclearly mar
hairstyles worn
a prepubescent stage fromof life
puberty differ
onwards from
are also strongly marked adu
for gender.
images in that they are only Gone are the unisex styles
lightly of child-
marked fo
gender and status. hood, to be replaced by adult styles appropriate
Infant and childhood only to mortality
men or to women. were both
high in ancient Egypt, as in most pre-mode
societies.16 Burials of babies and Men very young ch
dren tended to be poor in content, with old jar
baskets and chests reused Adult hairstyles, therefore, function
as coffins. As both they to b
came older, childrensignal seem gradually
a new life to have
stage, and to help establish gen- r
ceived more elaborate derburials
identity. In art, elite men,
with when depicted
purpose-mad
coffins and an increasing without a wig, and amount
male householdof funera
servants both
equipment. This trend have probably
shaven heads.18 The reflects
former, however,the usu- fa
that as they grow, children ally cover their acquire
heads with wigs, a which may be
personalit
getting to be recognizable elaborately dressed, but which do not comeand
as individuals, be- be
come socialized, gradually low shoulderlearning
level. By contrast,to elite fulfil
women and the
allotted role within the female household
family servants
and are represented
eventually with
society as a whole. long The more
hair falling below integrated
the shoulders, often to int
family and society a breast child level. has become
This difference in length by the
applies also tim
of its death, the more to the care
non-elite, is likely
although to be take
they are distinguished
over its burial. Children who survived to reach from the elite, in part, by their rather unkempt
puberty, the age when a person becomes hair. capable
of reproduction, would have left childhoodInbe- addition to distinguishing gender, adult
hind, passing into the next stage of life as male
an hairstyles
in- also helped to display and rein-
tegrated member of society. force social status and hierarchies among men.
Puberty marks a point when men and women For elite men, the most prestigious hairstyle was
are distinguished biologically to a far greater the shoulder-length
de- wig, in which the hair is
gree than as children. For boys, body hair oftenbe-elaborately arranged in strands, curls or
comes more prolific, growing on the chin, braids.19
under It is worn by the high officials who
the arms, and on the torso and pubic region. ownedAt tomb chapels, stelae and statues, as well
the same time, seminal emissions begin to occur
as by their high-ranking male relatives, including
and bring the possibility of fathering children.
For girls, body hair grows under the arms and on
the pubic triangle, and menstruation begins, a
18 Figures with shaven heads are often shown with a line
sign that conception is now possible. Elitemarking
adults,the boundary between the face and the shaved part
unlike children, are not shown nude, forofonly
the head. Sometimes the upper part of the head is the
same color as the rest of the skin and sometimes paler,
non-elite adults are unclothed, and in adult-
perhaps to indicate that this area was normally protected
hood, nudity carries a connotation of lack of the
from sun by a wig. In Old and Middle Kingdom art male
status.17 Not only are adults clothed, however,
figures are not shown with shaven heads but with a cap of
close-cut hair outlined and painted black. In line drawings
where the cap of hair and the shaven head are both ren-
16 Gay Robins, "Women and Children in Peril: Pregnancy, dered by outline only, the results often look very similar.
Birth and Infant Mortality in Ancient Egypt," KMT, A Modern 19 E.g., TT 38, Nina Davies, Scenes from Some Theban Tombs
Journal of Ancient Egypt 5 no. 5 (Winter 1994-95), 27-28. See (Oxford: Griffith Institute, 1963), pls. 1-5 (all figures of tomb
also Lynn Meskell, "Dying Young: The Experience of Death owner); TT 39, Norman de G. Davies, The Tomb ofPuyemre at
at Deir el Medina," Archaeological Review from Cambridge 1 3 Thebes I- II (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1922-
(1994), 35-45. 23); TT 45, Norman de Garis Davies, Seven Private Tombs at
Kurnah
17 Gay Robins, "Dress, Undress and the Representation of (London: Egypt Exploration Society, 1948), pls. 2, 4;
Fertility and Potency in New Kingdom Egyptian Art," TT in:
52, Shedid and Seidel, Das Grab des Nacht, 18, 34-35, 56-
N. Kampen (ed.), Sexuality in Ancient Art (Cambridge: Cam-
57, 74, 77 (nine out of ten surviving figures of tomb owner);
bridge University Press, 1996), 27-40. TT 82, Nina Davies, The Tomb ofAmenemhet (No. 82) (London:

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 HAIR AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF IDENTITY IN ANCIENT EGYPT 59

Fig. 1. The tomb owner Djeserkaraseneb makes a ritual offering followed by his wife an
the upper register. The other figures are not labelled; the two men in the middle register m
in the bottom register are probably daughters. TT 38, Davies, Scenes from Some Th
kind permission of the Griffith Institute.

their fathers.20 Adult sons, who

in were
their not onlytomb chapels with either
fathers'
members of a younger generationround
butwig
whoorwere
a shaven head (fig. 1).
also likely to be junior to theirOne
fathers in most
of the the common scene typ
tomb chapels
bureaucratic hierarchy, most frequently shows the deceased own
appear
most important figure in the decorative
seated before a table of offerings; one o
or 35;
Egypt Exploration Society, 1915), pls. 4, 14, 24, 27, less TT
often another male relative stands on the
100, Norman de G. Davies, The Tomb of Rekh-mi-re other at Thebes
side of the table, performing the offering
(New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1953), pls. 51, 63,
ritual. This figure is usually depicted with a
70, 73, 75, 77, 85, 95, 97, 103 (all surviving figures of tomb
owner); TT 343, Heike Guksch, Das Grab des Benja, gen. Pa-
round wig or shaven head, whereas the chapel
heqamen. Theben Nr. 343 (Mainz am Rhein: Philippowner von Za-frequently wears the shoulder-length wig
bern, 1978), pls. 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 21, 24, 25 (all figures(fig. 2).21 This difference in hairstyle signifies
of tomb
owner); El Kab, Tylor and Griffith, The Tomb of Paheri the at El
relative status and roles of the figures. Be-
Kab, pls. 2, 4, 6, 9-10; Kozloff and Bryan, Egypt's Dazzling
cause the performer of the ritual was ideally the
Sun, 38, 40, 41,43-44, 47.
20 E.g., TT 82, Davies, The Tomb of Amenemhet, pl. 3 (vi-
deceased's son, any male who enacted the part
zier), pl. 7 (father, father's father, father's mother, wife's also undertook a filial (and hence junior) role in
father(?), father of wife's father(?), brother of wife's fa- relationship to the deceased. In other words, the
ther(?)); TT 100, Davies, The Tomb of Rekh-mi-re, pl. 109 (ban-
quet guests); TT 181, Norman de Garis Davies, The Tomb of 21 E.g., TT 38, Davies, Scenes from Some Theban Tombs, pl. 3;
Two Sculptors at Thebes (New York: The Metropolitan Museum TT 45, Davies, Seven Private Tombs, pl. 2; TT 82, Davies,
of Art, 1925), pl. 5 (banquet guests), pl. 17 (father); TT 343, The Tomb of Amenemhet, pl. 35; TT 100, Davies, The Tomb of
Guksch, Das Grab des Benja, frontispiece (father); El Kab,Rekh-mi-re, pl. 70; TT 112, Davies, The Tombs of Menkheper-
Tylor and Griffith, The Tomb of Paheri, pl. 7 (father, mother's rasonb, pl. 24; TT 343, Guksch, Das Grab des Benja, pl. 12; El
father) . Kab, Tylor and Griffith, The Tomb of Paheri, pl. 6.

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 60 JARCE XXXVI (1999)

Fig. 2. The tomb owner Paheri and his wife Henuterneheh

Tylor and Griffith, The Tomb of Paheri, pl. 6. Reprodu

head to mark
shoulder-length wig establishes the his now
senior jun
statu
of the deceased, while the
tion toround wig or
the senior shave
figure o
head marks the junior words,
statusritual context,
of the relati
performe
of the ritual. This relationship is also embodie
all highly interrelated in t
in the posture of the Theparticipants: visual
so-called round wig,an
textual evidence indicates
tory inthat sitting
ancient (here th
Egyptian a
position of the deceased)
its usewas
thanmore prestigio
the shoulder-
than standing when right),
it came and in convention
to the many way
of hierarchy.22 all-purpose adult male wig
The tomb chapel ownerby the
may tomb
not chapel
be the owner
only
recipient of ritual inder-length
the chapel.wig),24
Sometimes
as well
he
gives up his primary status to honor his parent
in which case they are the ones shown sitti
before the table of offering,
23 E.g., TT 39, Davies, The Tomb while
of Puyemre, pl. 6; he
TT 82, stands
Davies, The Tomb of Amenemhet,
perform the ritual before them. pl. 7 (owner
The offers to se-
identity o
nior family members including father,
the tomb owner has therefore shiftedfather's father andfrom bei
mother's father); TT 112, Davies, The Tombs of Menkheperra-
the recipient to the sonb,
enactor of the ritual. Inte
pl. 26; TT C4, Lise Manniche, Los Tombs: A Study of
estingly, this new identity
Certain Eighteenth Dynastyis often
Monuments accompanie
in the Theban Necropolis
by a change in wig style:
(London and NewwhileYork: KPI, 1988), pl. the seated
27 no. 45; Tylor and fath
wears the shoulder-length wig,
Griffith, The Tomb of Paheri, pl. 10. the tomb own
may be represented with ^ E.g., TT 52, the
Shedid and Seidel,
short Das Grab des wig
Nacht, 60 or shav
(1 example only); TT 81, E. Dziobek, Das Grab des Ineni The-
benNr. 81 (Mainz: Philipp von Zabern, 1992), pls. 2-3, 7, 17;
11 Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient
El Kab, Tylor and
Egyptian
Griffith, The Tomb of Literature
Paheri, pls. 1,3-4, 8. II (Berke
ley, Los Angeles, London: University
1 E.g., of
TT 181, Davies, The Tomb of Two California
Sculptors, pl. 5; Pre
1976), 139. El Kab, Tylor and Griffith, The Tomb of Paheri, pls. 6, 10 upper.

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 HAIR AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF IDENTITY IN ANCIENT EGYPT 61

Fig. 3. The tomb owner Rekhmira and his wife Merit are offered sistra and m
their daughters. TT 100, Davies, The Tomb of Rekh-mi-re, pl. 63. Reprodu
mission of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

and other male relatives. In the first half of the

that for a priest it may have encoded a message
eighteenth dynasty it is depicted on figuresofof
ritual purity rather than strict social hierar-
offering bearers and various kinds of priests.
chy. Since priests were government officials and
By the end of our period, however, the rep-
part of the bureaucratic hierarchy, their identi-
resentation of priests changed so that wetiesfind
could shift between an official and a priestly
them more often with a shaven head. Shavingone. High-ranking priests, therefore, could com-
the head solves the problem of keeping themission
hair images with the shoulder-length wig to
clean and free from headlice and their indicate
eggs their status, or with a shaven head to
(nits), for lice do not infest wigs.27 Therefore,
emphasize their priestly function.28 Similarly,
a shaven head guaranteed cleanliness andwhen
per- the tomb chapel owner is shown per-
haps became associated with ritual purity, so
forming a ritual action, the ritual context - and

26 E.g., TT 343, Guksch, Das Grab des Benja, pl. 13 (ban- Compare, for instance, the statues of Taitai, high priest
of Hebenu with a shaven head and Anen, second prophet of
quet guests); TT 100, Davies, The Tomb of Rekh-mi-re, pls. 66-
67 (banquet guests). Amun with a shoulder-length wig, Kozloff and Bryan, Egypt's
11 Fletcher, Egyptian Archaeology 5 (1994), 31-33. Dazzling' Sun, nos. 42-43.

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 62 JARCE XXXVI (1999)

hence his proper role vis-d-vis

wearer's his
actual adult status. It is less parents
clear why a
deities - could be reinforced
the high priest of Ptahby should showing
have worn a hi
with a shaven head.29braided sidelock, but he may likewise have been
As already mentioned,
regarded as shaven heads
playing a filial role are no
toward the god
thatIn
confined to the elite. he served.
fact, it is the only sty
depicted for indoor It
male servants
is interesting that the only and musi
male figures
cians, who are never shown shown wearing wearing
their own hair arewigs.30
of non-elite Th
may relate to theirstatus: sphere of working
mostly laborers work inside
outdoors in the t
house, since they would not
fields or marshes, and need
occasionally protection
workshop per-
against the sun, a practical sonnel. In some cases they are shown
benefit from with heads
wearin
a wig, or it may indicate a hair,33
of thick, black concern with
but often they clean
appear bald-
ness. It is even tempting ing, with
toshort, unkempt hair
suggest a at the back.34
link Un-
between
the shaven heads of male household servants like the wigs of the elite, which are almost always
black,35
who served the elite, and those of elite this natural hair may be rendered as
priests
who served the gods and the dead. reddish-brown36 or as graying.37 In addition, non-
In some tombs, male guests at banquets are
shown without wigs and with shaven heads, some-
times alternating with guests wearing wigs. Since
33 E.g., TT 52, Shedid and Seidel, Das Grab des Nacht, 38-
these guests must belong to the elite class,
39; TT 38,itDavies,
is Scenes from Some Theban Tombs, pl. 2; TT 69,
possible that we should understand them asAncient
Davies, rep-Egyptian Paintings, pls. 50-51.
E.g., outdoor laborers: TT 38, Davies, Scenes from Some
resenting holders of priestly office, or simply as
Theban Tombs, pl. 2; TT 39, Davies, The Tomb ofPuyemre I, pls.
being marked as inferior in status to the tomb
12, 15; TT 52, Shedid and Seidel, Das Grab des Nacht, 35, 39,
chapel owner who wears a wig. However, other
41, 57, 68-69, 71; TT 69, Davies, Ancient Egyptian Paintings,
explanations are possible. It may have
pl. been ac-
51; TT 78, Annelies and Artur Brack, Das Grab des Harem-
heb. Theben
ceptable to remove one's wig when indoors and Nr. 78 (Mainz am Rhein: Philipp von Zabern,
1980), pl. 24; TT 100, Davies, The Tomb of Rekh-mi-re, pls. 45-
out of the sun. Further, the artist may have wished
46, 48, 50; TT 261, Davies, Ancient Egyptian Paintings, pl. 28;
to introduce variation among the male tomb
guests by
of "Nebamun," ibid., pl. 68; workshop personnel: TT
mixing wigs and shaven heads. 39, Davies, The Tomb ofPuyemrel, pl. 23; TT 100, Davies, The
Two particular types of priest, the Iunmutef
Tomb of Rekh-mi-re, pls. 52, 54-55; TT 181, Davies, The Tomb of
priest31 and the high priest of PtahTwo
atSculptors,
Mem- pl. 13.

phis,32 are associated with a unique type 35ofIn the art, hair and wigs are almost always represented
hair-
as black. Surviving hair, however, can be black, Smith, Royal
style: a round wig with the braided sidelock
Mummies,of nos.a61063, 61067; brown to dark brown, ibid.,
child. The Iunmutef priest performed nos.the61057,
ritual61066, 61069-70; reddish-brown, Smith, Royal
in the funerary cults of the king and members
Mummies, nos. of61080, 61097; Fletcher, "A Tale of Hair, Wigs
and Lice,"
the royal family, and sometimes in private 32; or, in older mummies, gray, Smith, Royal Mum-
funer-
mies, nos. 61062, 61068-69, 61078-79, 61087. The embalm-
ary cults, where he played the part of the de-
ing process may have affected hair color, Morimoto, Ancient
ceased's eldest son. Thus, the attached sidelock
Egyptian Mummies, 2. Wigs could also be made of brown
identifies the filial role adopted for the perfor-
rather than black hair, Fletcher, "A Tale of Hair, Wigs and
mance of the ritual, whereas the wig denotes theLice," 32. That brown hair was not usually shown in the art
may be purely a matter of convention. Since human skin was
represented by various shades of brown, black, rather than
brown, may have been chosen as the conventional hair color
29 E.g, TT 139, Cyril Aldred et al., L'Empire des Conquerants
(Paris: Editions Gallimard, 1979), fig. 68. in order to provide a clear contrast between hair and skin.
30 E.g., TT 38, Davies, Scenes from Some Theban Tombs,The convention may have been deliberately ignored for
pl. 6;
TT 52, Shedid and Seidel, Das Grab des Nacht, 46; TT 79; TT
non-elite figures to signal their low status.
80; TT 82, Davies, The Tomb ofAmenemhet, pl. 15; TT 85; TT E.g., TT 69, Davies, Ancient Egyptian Paintings, pl. 51; TT
100, Davies, The Tomb of Rekh-mi-re, pls. 66-67. 78, Brack and Brack, Das Grab des Haremheb, pl. 24; TT 82,
31 E.g., Kozloff and Bryan, Egypt's Dazzling Sun, 254 fig.Mekhitarian, Egyptian Painting (Geneva: Editions d'Art
Arpag
46b. For the Iunmutef, see Hermann Te Velde, "Iunmutef," Albert Skira, 1954, reprinted 1978), 42; TT 261, Davies, An-
Lexikon der Agyptologie 3 (1980), 212-13. cient Egyptian Paintings, pl. 28.
32 Kozloff and Bryan, Egypt's Dazzling Sun, 241 no. 37. 37 TT 52, Shedid and Seidel, Das Grab des Nacht, 68-69.

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 HAIR AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF IDENTITY IN ANCIENT EGYPT 63

elite men sometimes appear withwigs is not clear

straggly from the available visual depic-
beards
or stubble on their cheeks and tions;
chins,38 in con-
they may perhaps have been distinguished
trast to the clean-shaven faces of from
most the
male
skilfully
Egyp-made wigs of human hair worn
by the
tians or the very short, square-cut elite by
beard poorer
worn oncraftsmanship or by the
materials
the point of the chin by some elite used, such as animal hair or vegetable
figures.
fiber.
These non-elite fashions are dramatically dif-
ferent from those conferred upon images of elite
men, who are almost always shown with Women their
natural hair removed, or with it replaced by an
artificial wig constructed from the Femalehair of an-
hairstyles differed fundamentally from
other person. Thus, if hairstyle wasofintimately
those men; as already seen, women wore their
connected to identity, elite males hair longer,
may haveandbeen
are never shown with shaved
rebuilding their identities, overlaying heads. Even when a
nature by wig was worn, the natural
culture. By shaving their heads and hair remained
wearingunderneath,
wigs,as is demonstrated
they were able to hide visiblebysigns of aging:
some female statues on which the natural hair
baldness or gray hair. The wearing of wigs
is represented also from under the wig at
emerging
indicates the power of the elitethe toforehead.39
command the
hair of others for their own use. The intricate Elite women wear hairstyles equally elaborate
styling of the wigs, with their carefully arranged as those of men, but they are totally different in
strands, curls and braids, shows that their wear- style from male wigs, reinforcing the gender dis-
ers had the resources to acquire and maintain tinction inherent in Egyptian society. The most
them. All this is in contrast to the unkempt, bald- striking difference is in length, for while male
ing and sometimes graying natural hair of the styles at this period rarely reach below the shoul-
non-elite laborer who worked closer to nature in der, women's hair usually falls to the level of the
the fields and marshes and had none of the arti- breasts. Further, although elite men may be
ficial overlay of high culture or elite status. shown without their wigs, revealing their shaven
Although household servants were notheads,
partit is not clear how elite women wore their
of the elite group, they lived in the same homes hair under their wigs. Since a number of female
as the elite and hence shared the same space. mummies have been found with long hair under-
Thus, their working context removed them neath fromwigs, while others were buried with their
the natural world and brought them into elite own hair elaborately dressed, it may be that in life
spheres. Although their natural hair wassome re-women wore wigs over their own long hair,
moved, it was not artificially replaced by awhereas wig; others wore their own hair arranged in
hence, their participation in elite behavioralthe required style. In either case, women would
pat-
terns went only so far. It is more difficult to explain not have been protected against lice.
why some workshop personnel and peasant labor- Although texts provide relatively little infor-
ers seem to have had shaven heads or round mation wigs. about hair, the available references sug-
Possibly, their heads were not deliberately shaven, gest that women's hair had erotic significance,
but were naturally bald, while the structure ofhelping the to mark women as icons of sexuality and
fertility.40 There are no comparable references
to suggest that male sexuality was linked to hair.
38 E.g., TT 39, Davies, The Tomb ofPuyemre, pls. 12, 15, 28;
One might posit, therefore, that women, in con-
TT 73, Charles Wilkinson, Egyptian Wall Paintings (New York: trast to men, kept their natural hair and kept it
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1983), 75; TT 78, Brack long, even if they wore a wig over it, because it
and Brack, Das Grab des Haremheb, pl. 24; TT 100, Davies, The
Tomb of Rekh-mi-re, pls. 48, 58; TT 181, Davies, Tomb of Two
Sculptors, pl. 12 = Mekhitarian, Egyptian Painting, 125; TT 261,
Davies, Ancient Egyptian Paintings, pl. 28; Karl-Heinz Preise 39 Kozloff and Bryan, Egypt's Dazzling Sun, 171.
(ed.), Agyptisches Museum (Mainz: Philipp von Zabern, 1991), 40 Derchain, "La perruque et le cristal," Studien zur alt-
85 no. 52. dgyptischen Kultur2 (1975), 55-74.

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 64 JARCE XXXVI (1999)

more directly embodied their

partite sexuality
or enveloping and
style often wear hence
an opaque
female gender identity.41dress, those with the alternative tripartite style
The mothers, wivesareand daughters
frequently represented nude,45 of tomb
or wearing a
chapel owners are usually depicted
transparent garment (figs. wearing
4, 5).46 Although one
we
of two general hairstyles:
know fromthe so-called
indications of pubic hairtripartite
that the lat-
ter group of
style, common in the first womenof
part are post-pubescent,47
the eighteenth their
dynasty, or the enveloping style,
bodies, nevertheless, stillwhich replaced
appear to have the soft
flesh andhalf
the tripartite in the second plumpnessof of the
extremeperiod.42
youth. This evi- In
the first style, the hairdenceis divided
suggests, therefore, into three
that different bun-
hairstyles
dles, two falling on either side
may have of the
distinguished face,
adolescent and
girls from one
fully
down the back, leaving the and
adult women, shoulders exposed
unmarried or marriageable
(figs. 2-3). In the enveloping style,
girls from married women.the hair corre-
Interestingly, is ar-
ranged in a single mass,sponding life stages do not
covering the seem to have been
shoulders
(fig. 1). Detailed renderings
marked on the maleshow
head. the hair ar-
ranged in masses of braidsYounger orfemale servants and musicians may
ringlets.
Daughters of the elite also be may
shown with also be of
a variety depicted
"non-standard"
hairstyles style,
with an alternative tripartite that are usually
in whichfairly elaborately
thick
arranged.48
tresses or ringlets frame the The erotic context
face, while of the banquet
a thin
bunch of hair at the back, like
scenes in which a occur
they ponytail,
suggests thatleaves
the pur-
the rear part of the head pose is more
to heighten the sexuality (fig.
exposed of the wearers.
3).43
Since this alternative tripartite Some servants waiting
styleon guests,
is not however, wear
gen-
erally worn by wives, mothers, short, round wigs that end above
or those the shoulder
daughters
who are specifically called (figs. 4,"mistress
5). This type of wig
of can
the be found worn
house,"
a title that indicates a married woman, one by elite women in the Old and Middle Kingdoms
might imagine that the style marked a particular
and again in the Late Period, but at the time un-
stage in a young woman's life, when she wasderno study, the style seems to be confined to ser-
longer a child but still not married. This vants;
hy- its significance is unclear.
pothesis is strengthened by representationsIn ofcontrast to what happens with men,
female household servants who share similar hair- women's hairstyles and identities do not seem
styles.44 While servants with the common tri- to change from one social context to another.
Although elite women - mostly wives and daugh-
41 A female mummy found in the tomb of Amenhotep II ters - could, like men, perform rituals for the
had hair that had been cut very short or had perhaps beendeceased, this junior role does not affect their
shaved, Smith, Royal Mummies, no. 61072, but this seems to
hairstyle. Thus, we do not find wives wearing the
have been exceptional.
Haynes, "The Development of Women's Hairstyles,"
more junior alternative tripartite style, in con-
18-24. trast to the way in which adult men took on junior
hair
43 E.g., TT 38, Davies, Scenes from Some Theban Tombs, pl.styles
6; in this context. In other words, elite
TT 75, Norman de Garis Davies, The Tombs of Two Officials of
Tuthmosis the Fourth (Nos. 75 and 90) (London: Egypt Explora-
tion Society, 1923), pl. 14; TT 100, Davies, The Tomb of45 Rekh-
E.g., TT 38, Davies, Scenes from Some Theban Tombs, pl. 6.
mi-re, pls. 70-71; Kozloff and Bryan, Egypt's Dazzling Sun, 286, TT 22, Davies, Ancient Egyptian Painting, pl. 26; TT
46 E.g.,
296. E.g., TT 75, Davies, The Tombs of Two Officials, pl. 14;Kazimierz
100, TT Michalowski, Art of Ancient Egypt (New York:
100, Davies, The Tomb of Rekh-mi-re, pl. 63. H. N. Abrams, 1969), 93.
E.g., tripartite: TT 100, Davies, The Tomb ofRekhmire, E.g.,
pls. TT 38, Mekhitarian, Egyptian Painting, 67; idem,
64-67; enveloping: TT 38, Davies, Scenes from Some La Theban
mis ere, pl. 9.
48 E.g.,
Tombs, pl. 6; TT 75, Davies, The Tombs of Two Officials, pls. 5-6; TT 52, Shedid and Seidel, Das Grab des Nacht, 52;
tomb of "Nebamun," Miriam Stead, Egyptian Life (London:
alternate tripartite: TT 22, Davies, Ancient Egyptian Paintings,
pl. 26; TT 38, Davies, Scenes from Some Theban Tombs, British
pl. 6; TTMuseum Publications, 1986), fig. 82 (lower register
and
45, Mekhitarian, Egyptian Painting, 64; TT 78, Brack and upper register right; the figure on the left in the upper
Brack,
Das Grab des Haremheb, pl. 3; TT 100, Davies, The Tomb register
of Rekh-wears a version of the alternative tripartite style);
mi-re, pls. 64-67; tomb of "Nebamun," Davies, Ancient T. G. H. James, Egyptian Painting (London: British Museum
Egyptian
Publications, 1985), cover (dancing girls).
Paintings, pl. 70; Manniche, Lost Tombs, pl. 46 nos. 65-66.

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 HAIR AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF IDENTITY IN ANCIENT EGYPT 65

Fig. 4. Part of a banquet scene showing female guests, musicians and servants. TT 100,
pl. 64. Reproduced by kind permission of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

female hairstyles appear to define absolute

Two of agewear the enveloping hair-
his daughters
or social status, rather than relative hierarchies style, which they share with his wife, but the third
that may shift with movement from one contextdaughter wears the alternative tripartite style.
to another. This difference in hair may indicate a difference
A scene in the tomb chapel of Djeserkaraseneb
in age and/ or marital status among the sisters.
at Thebes illustrates this difference in style and
A similar relationship between the female life
significance between male and female hairstyles
cycle and hairstyle may be seen in a few tomb
(fig. 1). The owner, Djeserkaraseneb, makes a
chapels dating to the reign of Amenhotep III.
ritual offering together with his wife and In these cases, we find the mothers of the tomb
son.
Behind this group are three registers of figures
owners wearing tripartite-style wigs, which oth-
erwise were by now out of fashion.49 Although
on a smaller scale: on top, three more sons bring-
uncommon, the intention was surely to mark
ing offerings; in the middle, two servants run-
ning with offerings; and at the bottom, threethese women as belonging to an older genera-
female figures (almost certainly daughters) tion
alsothan that of the tomb owner.
bringing offerings. Most important here is the
uniformity of hairstyle among Djeserkaraseneb 's
49 yx 45, Davies, Seven Private Tombs, pl. 2; TT 55, Norman
four sons and servants (in contrast to Djeser-
de Garis Davies, The Tomb of the Vizier Ramose (London: The
karaseneb's shoulder length wig) compared with
Egyptian Exploration Society, 1941), pls. 10, 11, 16; TT 181,
the differentiation of styles among his daughters.
Davies, The Tomb of Two Sculptors, pl. 17.

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 66 JARCE XXXVI (1999)

Fig. 5. Part of a banquet scene showing female guests,

Tombs, pl. 6. Reproduced by kind permission of the Grif

they
As already discussed, had the leisure
there is in to expend
the on art
having a
their
clear
distinction between hair
the groomed
hairstyles
and the resources ofto command
highan- ma
other's services
officials and their male for the task.
household servants. By
contrast, there is far less distinction between the The differences in the treatment of the hair

hairstyles of elite women and their female house- throw some light on gender ideologies and hier-
hold servants, although possibly only elite women archies current at this time. The identity and
wore wigs over their natural hair. Wigs would status of elite men depended mainly on their po-
have had the same social significance for women sition in the government bureaucracy; on their
as for men: to hide thinning and graying hair, monuments, men constructed their identity tex-
and to demonstrate the ability to appropriate tually by listing all their titles of office. In other
the hair of others for one's own use. When elite words, men looked outside the home to fulfil
women wore their own hair elaborately dressed,
their ambitions, their concerns being centered
often with extensions to give extra body,onthis
the social structure of government order and
added another level of luxury: it impliedcontrol.
that Women, by contrast, had few official ti-

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 HAIR AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF IDENTITY IN ANCIENT EGYPT 67

ties. Instead, their identities on monuments were though many women no doubt actually worked
constructed in terms of their kinship to a man: out of doors in the fields, the prevailing ideology
mwt.f "his mother," hmt.f "his wife," sBt.f "his seems to have held that outdoor work was to be
daughter" or snt.f "his female relative." These performed mostly by men. In this context, women
kinship terms were often followed by the most working in the fields almost certainly had a lower
common title given to women, nbt pr "mistress of status than household servants. This hierarchy
the house," signifying a married woman and de- becomes expressed on the head; while the house-
noting her main sphere of activity. Ideologically, hold servants have the same hairstyles as the elite
the concerns of women did not relate to govern- women they served, the female laborers are de-
ment, but to the natural process of reproduc- picted with their hair undressed and often un-
tion.50 In art, we find generic images of naked kempt. Hair thus becomes a way to distinguish
women with long hair or wigs being used to en- not only between rich and poor, but also between
sure conception and safe birth into this world, different non-elite groups. Nevertheless, basic
and, by extension, rebirth into the next.51 It gender distinctions are generally maintained at
might be that an ideology that stressed the role all levels of society through differences in hair
of women in reproduction also saw women as length.
being closer to nature than men and that this Although women's roles were more limited
was expressed through their unshaven heads and than those of men, women did sometimes have a
long hair. part to play in certain ritual contexts. In scenes
Turning now to non-elite women working out- depicting the funeral procession of the tomb
side the domestic sphere, we seldom find them chapel owner, two women regularly take on the
wearing any of the basic hairstyles associated with identities of the goddesses Isis and Nephthys,
elite women and their servants. Unfortunately we known as the "two kites," who mourned the death
have fewer depictions of such non-elite women
of their murdered brother Osiris, the god of the
than we do of men, since women are not in- dead, and brought him back to life. In many de-
cluded among the personnel in workshops or pictions
as these women cover their head with the
laborers in the marshes. Nevertheless, women are Ma£-headdress, made of white cloth, that is not
sometimes present in agricultural scenes, mostly normally worn by women, but which is a fre-
at the harvest. They present a range of unelabo- quent accoutrement of the goddesses;57 the head-
rated, often unkempt, hairstyles: most frequently, dress was thus used to identify the women with
tied back with the ends falling down the back;52 the goddesses in this particular context. Else-
but also loose;53 in a few thick ringlets;54 in where, the women playing the two kites are shown
straightish strands ending at chin level;55 or in a with a cap of short black hair that leaves the ear
solid black mass cut off at the shoulders.56 Al- uncovered, and with a white fillet tied round the
head (fig. 6) .58 There is no evidence as to whether
50 Gay Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt. the women's natural hair was cut for this occa-
51 Gay Robins, "Dress, Undress and the Representation
of Fertility and Potency in New Kingdom Egyptian Art," in:
sion or whether it was concealed under a wig. A
similar
N. Kampen (ed.), Sexuality in Ancient Art; Geraldine Pinch, hairstyle is worn by the god's wife of
"Childbirth and female figurines at Deir el-Medina and el-
Amarna," Orientaliab2 (1983), 405-14. 57 E.g., TT 82, Davies, The Tomb of Amenemhet, pls. 10-11;
52 E.g., TT 52, Shedid and Seidel, Das Grab des Nacht, 35; TT 100, Davies, The Tomb of Rekh- mi-re, pls. 83-84, 87-88,
TT 57, Walter Wreszinski, Atlas zur Altaegyptischen Kulturge- 92-93; TT C4, Manniche, Lost Tombs, pl. 34 no. 56, pl. 42
schichtel (Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs'sche Buchhandlung, 1923),no. 62 [1]; El-Kab, tomb of Paheri, Tylor and Griffith, The
pl. 192; TT C4, Manniche, Lost Tombs, pl. 34 no. 56; tomb Tomb of Paheri, pl. 5.
of "Nebamun," ibid., pl. 49 no. 69; Mekhitarian, La misere, 58 E.g., TT 39, Davies, Tomb of Puyemre, pl. 46; TT 82,
pl. 24. Davies, The Tomb of Amenemhat, pls. 10, 12; TT 96, Christiane
53 TT 69, Wilkinson, Egyptian Wall Paintings, 50 no. 49. Desroches Noblecourt et al., Sennefer. Die Grabkammer des Biirg-
54 TT 52, Shedid and Seidel, Das Grab des Nacht, frontis- ermeisters von Theben (Mainz am Rhein: Philipp von Zabern,
piece. 1986), 30; TT 100, Davies, The Tomb of Rekh-mi-re, pls. 79-80;
55 TT 6g? Mekhitarian, Egyptian Painting, 79. TT 139, Aldred et al., L'Empire des Conquerants, fig. 68; Paheri,
56 TT 69> Wilkinson, Egyptian Wall Paintings, 49 no. 46. Tylor and Griffith, The Tomb of Paheri, pl. 5.

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 68 TARCE XXXVI (1999)

Fig. 6. The two kites engaged in a ritual performance

of Rekh-mi-re, pi 79. Reproduced by kind permission

Amun, one of the few blessed female priests

dead in the afterlife. Their new in identity
the cu
of Amun at Thebes, when
was displayed she
through theis images shown
on their cof-per
fins. Once again,
forming temple rituals.59 Since hair short
plays an important
hair role is no
a style normally associated
in this processwith of identity eighteenth
formation. Both men dy
nasty women, its use andseems
women are shown designed
wearing, not specifical
the hairstyles
to mark the performance
of the living, but of a cultic
a striated, role
breast-length, tri- by
woman and to shift partite
her wig identity from
specifically associated a secula
with images of
male and
to a religious one. This female deities.60
shift is also In addition,
made malevisib
cof-
by the continued use finsof sometimes
the incorporated
traditional, the long, braided
tight-
fitting sheath dress,false beard associated
after with Osiris as well as other
depictions of wome
in more secular contexts
male deities.61 had changed
This last shift in identity to trans-sho
formed looser
them wearing a longer, the deceased into an idealized divine be-
wrap-around dres
ing proper to an inhabitant of the next world.62
Death
Conclusions
The final transformation of the social identity
of both elite men and women occurred at death,
Depicted adult hairstyles clearly divide be-
when they made the dangerous passage from this those appropriate to men and those appro-
tween
world to the next and took their place among the to women, thus reinforcing the division
priate

59 A. Gayet, Le Temple de Louxor (Paris: Mission60arche- E.g., Kozloff and Bryan, Egypt's Dazzling Sun, fig.
ologique francaise au Caire, 1894), pl. 35 fig. 100, X.2a-b, nos. 61-64 (coffins), nos. 17-19 (deities).
pl. 51 fig.
125; Pierre Lacau and Henri Chevrier, line chapelle d'Hatshep-
61 E.g., ibid., no. 62.
sout a Karnak II (Paris: Institut Franc ais d'Archeologie
62 Orien-
J. Taylor, Egyptian Coffins (Aylesbury: Shire Publica-
tale, 1979), pls. 18 top, 19 middle. tions, 1989), 39.

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 HAIR AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF IDENTITY IN ANCIENT EGYPT 69

of society by gender. Among elite

enveloping
women hairstyles.
who In addition to the use of
hairappear
have passed childhood, hairstyles to indicatetosocial
dif- status, age, and gender
within the
ferentiate between younger, possibly hierarchies of ancient Egyptian soci-
adolescent,
women and older, possibly married,
ety, different women.
styles were also employed to mark
These hairstyles are shared withfigures playing female
non-elite certain religious roles, such as
household servants, suggesting the
that age priest
Iunmutef rather or the god's wife of Amun.
than social status is the primary The information
evidence thus shows that the hairstyles
imparted. Women working outside depicted in the house,
ancient Egyptian art were not freely
who are certainly of lower status, rarely
selected by wearthey formed part of a
artists. Rather
these same hairstyles, so here social status
visual system thatrather
was used to help construct and
than age may be important. display the social identities of the figures rep-
resented,
Among elite men, increased social and so came
status had to be appropriate to the
with promotion in the governmentage, gender and status of the wearers. Although
bureaucracy.
At a certain level, officials seem to have become scenes in tomb chapels were not intended to
eligible to wear a form of the shoulder-length reproduce exactly the real world, but rather
wig. Unlike the tripartite and enveloping wigsrepresented an elite ideal, the system of identity
of elite women, the shoulder-length wig is not constructed in the art must have reflected a cor-
shared with non-elite servants. Further, within responding system in life that defined the iden-
a composition, the different hairstyles worn bytity of individuals and their place within society.
the male figures often establish a relative hier- Its incorporation into visual representation not
archy between them, with the primary figure only served to convey information to viewers
wearing the shoulder-length wig and secondary about the figures depicted, but by constant rep-
figures the round wig or a shaven head. Suchetition reinforced what the elite group held to
relative hierarchies do not commonly occur with be the correct social order.
female figures, where instead senior and junior
women often both wear either the tripartite or Emory University

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