Chapter 3 page 13 goto chapter 4 goto chapter 5 back chapter 1 back chapter 2	How to tuck a Jook When the topknot became disheveled from playing, it was time to redo the child's hair. Adults would hold the child using their knees in order to keep him quiet.
	Shaving the hairline Short hair was grown around the Jook. The Space between short and Long hair was shaved so that it would look neat and clean.   Decorating a Jook Having been neatly tucked, the topknot now needs decoration. Sometimes the adult put a smallish flower garland around it. If the family is affluent, the garland would be replaced by a coronet and a hairpin made of precious stones and costly material. Succinctly put, the richer the family is, the more valuable the object.
	Cutting the topknot
	........In general, children had a topknot. However, there was the exception. Naughty or often-ill children wore funny-looking hairstyles (as mentioned in the previous pages) for some supernatural reasons. When the children reached the age of eleven or twelve, which was regarded as transitional period between childhood and adulthood, it was high time to cut the tuft. This is called "Kon Jook" /konjuk/ (cutting the topknot)
	Popular Hindu ceremony For ordinary people, this rite of passage was simply performed at home, or in a monastery if they wanted it to be auspicious. Parents and relatives might help trim the hair. And from then on, the child would enter the stage of adulthood. The ceremony of topknot cutting was considered sublime with the presence of a Brahmin as the organizer. For this occasion, the Brahmin would be invited to the household, or else parents took the child to a Hindu temple to cut the topknot with other children of the same age. The ceremony was usually held when the temple organized its religious celebration in the second lunar month. During the cerebration, people gave food to monks and the latter would chant in return. Music was played to comfort the children's soul. For young members of the royal family, the ceremony became complicated and grandiose. The ceremony of members of the lower rank was called "Kae Sa Kun" /kesakan/, whereas that of the higher rank was called "So Kun" /sokan/ (The Royal Tonsure Ceremony) The ceremony took several days. There were parades, and temporary ceremony hall and a replica of Mount Krailas were prepared for the bath. It was one of the most impressive ceremonies of the year.	Chapter 3 page 13 goto chapter 4 goto chapter 5 back chapter 1 back chapter 2