Tonsure a part of the rite of "pabbajja" and also a part of becoming a monk (Skt. "Bhikshu") or nun (Skt. "Bhikshuni"). This involves shaving head and face. This tonsure is renewed as often as required to keep the head cleanly shaven. The purification process of the "metzora" (one afflicted with "tzaraath") involved the ritual shaving on the "metzorah's" entire body except for the afflicted locations. And as the term tonsure may be used as a broad description for such hair styling of devotees as a ritual symbol of their renunciation of worldly fashion and esteem, Orthodox Jewish males do not
Tonsure child. This ritual is regionally found in India among male mourners, who shave their heads as a sign of bereavement. Until a few decades ago, many Hindu communities, especially the upper castes, forced widows to undergo the ritual of tonsure and shun good clothes and ornaments, in order to make them unattractive to men. According to Jamanadas, tonsure was originally a Buddhist custom and was adopted by Hinduism. However, Pandey and others trace the practice to Sanskrit texts dated to have been composed before the birth of Buddha, which mention tonsure as a rite of passage. In Buddhism, tonsure is