250 Chinese women land record with beautiful combing ceremony
More than 250 women joined together to set a new Guinness World Records title that celebrated their beautiful culture. Red Yao women from a number of villages met in Huangluo Yao Village in Longsheng Autonomous County, Guilin, China, on 22 April to create the longest hair combing chain.
It was all part of the annual Longji Long Hair Festival.
The women dressed in beautiful costumes as they headed to the local Moon Island and stood along the river, singing the "Long Hair Ballad". In the presence of a crowd of locals and tourists, the 256 Red Yao women formed a 456 m (1,496 ft) chain and began combing the hair of the woman in front of them with wooden combs. Huangluo Yao Village is located in the Longji Scenic Area in Longsheng, Guilin, inhabited by the Red Yao people. The Red Yao is a branch of the Yao people, one of China's ethnic minorities. It is called the Red Yao because the women in the village are as passionate as fire and are most beautiful in red, which is a distinctive feature reflected in their clothing.
Since ancient times, the women of the Red Yao have the traditional habit of keeping their hair long, and they will only cut it once in their lifetime when they are 18 years old. In the hearts of Red Yao women, long hair has a very important meaning. Long hair symbolizes long life and wealth, prosperity and good fortune. Red Yao women treasure their hair and have many secret hair care recipes. In the village, it is rare to see a single white hair, even in the elderly. This custom of growing and combing hair, which has been passed down from generation to generation, has led the Red Yao to invent their own unique recipes for hair care. It is said that they never use modern shampoo, but put grapefruit peel, tea oil dregs and a secret blend of herbs into fermented rice water, then boil it and use it to wash their hair after it cools down. They put their long hair in the rice water to soak for a period of time so it fully absorbs the nutrients, then wash and comb it with spring water. These special hair care recipes leave the long hair soft, black, shiny, and with no split ends. The charming top style they wear their hair in has become an iconic image that attracts a large number of Chinese and foreign tourists to visit the village every day.
Huangluo Yao Village - Guinness World’s Longest Hair Village
Huangluo Village or Huangluo Yao Village, attracting large groups of visitors is mainly because of its super reputation of the World’s Longest Hair Village by the Guinness Record. According to the research data, among the 60 households, there are about 60 women having natural black hairs stretching up to more than 1 meter long, with the longest of about 1.7 meters.
So why do the Red Yao women grow and keep their so long hairs? This is related to their tradition. For females of Red Yao ethnic group, long hairs means longevity and prosperity, so they would have their hairs cut for only twice during their whole life, one is when she comes to the world for 100 days, another is on her coming-of-age ceremony at 18 years old. After they get married and give birth to their babies, they would wear it up to a bun symbolizing a kid. So far in Guilin and the whole China, Huangluo Yao Village in Longsheng County is nearly the only site to see Red Yao ladies with very long hairs.
As most of the time, Red Yao women wear their hairs up, so you cannot see the long hairs down when you just hanging in the village. However, during this performance, you can see the local women let their long hairs down to touch the ground. Besides, during the several parts, you can enjoy their featured ethnic songs, dances and folk customs really express their traditional beauty. On the part of Red Clothes Drying, local girls would take out their red clothes to dry which is the typical characteristic scenes on Red Clothes Festival. Furthermore, the real experience to see the women combing and wearing their long hairs into different hairstyles side by the river and waterwheel will show on there, so you will see their very simple and primitive life scene. More highlight is that you will see the traditional wedding customs of Red Yao girls from the token to the entering the bridal chamber on the wedding date.
In this Chinese village of 'real-life Rapunzels,' women only cut their hair once in their lives
In Huangluo village of Guangxi Zhuang, hair is deeply connected to womanhood. The Red Yao women are widely known for growing their hair nearly six feet long as a sign of longevity. Maintenance involves washing their scalp and strands with fermented rice water in the nearby Jinsha River. The Red Yao women of Huangluo Yao village are visited by people from around the world to witness the most remarkable feature of beauty in their culture — their hair.
The Red Yao women, referring to their traditionally red clothing, only cut their hair once, typically on their 18th birthday. The centuries-long tradition is thought to bring longevity and prosperity. Growing their locks to nearly six feet long, the women have a traditional cleansing routine they follow to maintain hair health and color. The natural "shampoo" includes a key ingredient: fermented rice water. Women for generations have attributed their hair length and health to rice water boiled with herbs, pomelo peels and tea bran. Using a wooden comb, the women distribute the mixture from the scalp to ends. Yao women mark their first haircut as a sign they are open for marriage. This hair does not go to waste, however — the hair is preserved by family until the woman is married. As the women mature, certain styles signify different marital and family statuses. An unmarried woman typically wears a black scarf covering her head as hair is viewed as sacred and traditionally only seen by family members. If the hair is wrapped around the head, it means the woman is married with no children. Wrapped hair, along with a bun made from the preserved cut hair, signifies the woman is married with children.
For centuries, hair was so sacred there were specifications on who could or could not see a woman's hair. Until the 1980s, local lore said that if a man outside a woman's family laid eyes on her uncovered hair, he would have to stay with her family for three years. There were also legends that thousands of years ago, women would whip unwelcome suitors with their long hair. One of the most unique results of their hair regimen has been eradicating grey hairs — the Red Yao women claim that many do not experience hair graying until well into their 80s. People around the world marvel at the traditional beauty of the Red Yao women and their customs. They are lauded as the "rapunzels" of their province, which has created a substantial market to present the traditions they've preserved for centuries.
Culture of the Yao People - Long Hair
The Yao ethnic minority, also called HongYao (“Red Yao” because of the red clothing worn by the women), have a long, unique culture dating back over 2000 years, to the Qin dynasty in Imperial China. There are over 2.6 million total Yao spread around China, including some living abroad. Huangluo village has about 400 Yao living there today.
The Hongyao women only cut their hair once in their lives. And their cut hair is kept as a gift for their future husbands. They cut their hair once, on their 18th birthdays, as a coming of age ceremony. In fact, the Yao hair length is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s first “Long Hair Village.” The longest-haired person in the Guinness World Records dates to a 2004 Yao Woman with hair measuring 6.88 meters (18 feet and 5.5 inches). The Yao people believe that long hair brings long life, the fortune in business, and good luck in general. Traditionally, the hair was worn on top of the head, in a hat, and if a man saw a woman’s hair he would have to spend 3 years as a son-in-law to her family, fortunately, that law changed in the 1980s. Now, the local women will show their long hair to paying tourists (80 CNY for a 30-minute long-hair show), which may not seem like a good thing, but it’s made one of China’s poorest regions relatively wealthy.
Not just famous for the length of their hair, the Hong Yao women are also famous for the ebony luster of their hair, and famously they don’t have grey hairs until in their 80s. Their claim to this obsidian hair is a shampoo made from rice water. The shampoo is made from soaking rinsed rice in water for 30 minutes. Stimulate the rice in the water to move it around and let the water absorb the vitamins and minerals from the rice. Some recipes call for leaving the rice in water for a day or two so it can ferment. The fermentation makes the water have a more similar PH balance to that of hair and is thus healthier for the scalp and hair.
Village of the Long Neck Women
In the northern end of Thailand, my travel journey led me from the peculiar White Temple of Chiang Rai to the hidden hill tribe of the Karen Long Neck people. It’s a place mostly known for the women adorning spiral brass coils that elongate their necks. Their culture sparks varied opinions – a delicate dance between spectacle and survival. Some perceive it as a curated performance, while others see a lifeline in supporting the tribe through handmade crafts. I found that it may be a little bit of both rolled into one.
The Karen are a diverse group of people with roots stretching across Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos. They are known for their deep connection to nature, their vibrant textiles, and their fiercely independent spirit. The Kayan Lahwi, however, stand apart with their distinct tradition of neck elongation, a practice shrouded in mystery and cultural significance. Originating from Myanmar’s lush hills, the Long Neck Karen tribe, also known as Kayan Lahwi (Padaung), brings a rich heritage to Thailand. Escaping conflict, they found sanctuary in the mountains of northern Thailand, shaping the culture of various villages. Huay Pu Keng, the largest community along the Pai River, hosts around 600 Kayan residents. Their cultural threads extend across Mae Hong Son province, telling tales of resilience in hidden valleys. What distinguishes these villages are the adorned women. With slender necks embellished by golden brass rings, they symbolize cultural identity. Beyond adornment, the women showcase artistry through intricate weaved goods, reflecting unique stories.
The Long Neck tradition’s origins remain a bit of a mystery, with views ranging from beauty marks to symbols of wealth or spiritual connection. Some say it’s a mark of beauty, others a symbol of wealth or spiritual connection. There are even those who speculated that the brass coils, worn from the age of five, may have helped protect the women from tiger bites in the past. Regardless of how it started, the practice involves adding brass coils, weighing 4-11 lbs (2-5 kgs), around the neck each year. There is no maximum limit, however there are instances where individuals wear up to 25 or more coils. This gradual process displaces the collarbone and ribs, creating the illusion of an elongated neck. The cultural impact and significance add depth to this intriguing tradition, making it more than a physical transformation.
