He describes the high priests of the Aztecs who bloodily sacrificed so many, as having long, uncombed hair which was matted with blood. Their place of sacrifice was blood-spattered and, according to Diaz, stank worse than any slaughterhouse in Spain. The lack of grooming of the priests may have unconsciously symbolized their identification with nature in its most savage aspects. Among the Polynesians of the Pacific, the first time a boy's hair is cut is one way in which his coming of age is marked. It may also be a way in which he is now differentiated from women.
Hair is thought to contain the mana or power and so the cutting of hair is a risky business.
To mark this special occasion the women of the Cook Islands drape tivaevae , specially decorated quilts, about the room. These tivaevae may be given as gifts to mark special occasions such as this haircutting ceremony. Hair grows and dies. If it is not groomed it returns to its natural state-much like an abandoned city reclaimed by the jungle. The typical image of the wild man is not someone who grooms their hair but has let it revert to its natural, unkempt state.