One of the hundreds
of subgroups of traditional Indian society known as jatis ("birth").
Each jati was linked with — and had a monopoly over — a
certain profession, and the social standing of the jati's members was defined
by that employment; this structure gave rise to the present caste system.
The Jats are a northern Indian ethnic group whose members
live in a number of northern Indian states, including Haryana, Punjab, Uttar
Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
The Jats are equally divided between Hindus and Sikhs in
Punjab, although the population is mostly Hindu in other locations.
Farming is the Jats' ancestral employment, and they are
generally regarded as strong and tenacious peasants; these qualities have also
made them outstanding soldiers, both in the service of the British Empire and
in independent India.
For a variety of religious and symbolic reasons, ascetics
often wear their hair in jatas.
Uncut hair is a sign of renunciation on one level; its
untidy, matted appearance shows the ascetic's separation from worldly
preoccupation with order and decorum.
On another level, ascetics wear jatas to imitate the deity
Shiva, the archetypal ascetic, who is invariably shown with matted locks on his
hair.
Although Shiva worshipers (bhakta) are the most prevalent
wearers of jatas, certain rigorous renunciants who are devotees of the deity
Vishnu also love this hairdo.
Finally, jatas are just a low-maintenance haircut from a
non-religious standpoint.
They're generally rubbed with wood ash to keep them tidy;
when the hair gets longer, the jatas simply become longer, and in many
instances, they may be twisted into a crown, or jatamakuta, on top of the head.
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