play videoplay video
Video duration 01 minutes 49 seconds 01:49
Men and children in Mauritania resort to cutting their hair completely at the beginning of the month of Ramadan, as an embodiment of an inherited custom in Mauritanian society. Mauritanians believe that the hair that grows in Ramadan brings blessings.
read more
Mauritania receives the holy month of Ramadan, like other Islamic countries, with a spirit of enthusiasm and preparation, but in a strange and special way.
Men and children resort to cutting their hair completely at the beginning of the month of Ramadan, as an embodiment of an inherited custom in Mauritanian society.
This custom begins with the beginning of the holy month, with the belief that the hair that grows in Ramadan brings blessing.
Mothers and grandmothers used to do the shaving process with old tools, and with the progress of society, this phenomenon turned into the places of modern barbers.
Barbers in Mauritania turn into live shaving machines on the first day of Ramadan to meet the huge number of customers.
The custom - despite its simplicity - is an entrenchment of the cultural and traditional values that Mauritanian society is keen to pass on to new generations.
This phenomenon is often associated with Muslims performing Umrah or Hajj rituals, but in Mauritania, hair is shaved in honor of the advent of the holy month.