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In the past, Thai kids proudly wore a traditional
hairstyle that's very uniqie - a top knot. These used to be popular
because they were a symbol of childhood. People respected this
t There are four kinds of topknots, joog, klae, pia and ko. Joog is the hair knot in the middle of the head. Klae is two locks of hair, one on the left and one on the right side of the head. Some children have only one klae, and some have two. Pia is a lock of hair on the top of the head like joog, but it is a pigtail instead of a knot. Ko is a lock of hair which is simply knotted at the back of the head. The way of choosing is very strange. First, the parents made four little dolls from clay. Each had a different kind of topknot. Then they let the child pick up one doll. The hairstyle of the chosen doll would be the hairstyle the child got! Today, there are not many children in Thailand that have a topknot. Out of about 1700 students at our school only two students have a topknot - one boy (see picture above) and one girl, though she has recently had her topknot cut off! Kids cut off their topknots when they grow up. Boys cut it off at about 13 and girls at about 11. Girls cut their top knots off earlier than boys because they grow up faster than boys. The special topknot cutting ceremony is called Gon Juk in Thai. Although this is largely a Brahman ceremony, Buddhist monks are also sometimes invited to bless everyone present. One of the students from our school had her top knot cut off recently. We have scanned many pictures from her ceremony for you to see [enter here]. - information for this page came from "Kid News".
You can ask us questions about life in a Thai school in our School Forum
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radition,
and were kind to children who wore them. And when you think of
the hot weather here in Thailand, you must agree that it was
suitable hairstyle. Long hair is hot, annoying and difficult
to look after. But the most important reason kids wore topknots
is spiritual. Thai people believe there's a spirit in their heads.
The spirit is called kwan. People say the spirit can be
seen in the pulse beat of a child's head where their skull bones
don't completely join. Kwan protects people from harm
and illness. Kwan is delicate. It needs to be protected
by hair. So when children got their first haircut, the hair which
covered kwan is left. This lock of hair is called a topknot.
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