Bald, they say, is beautiful.
Despite society’s side-eye towards those of us whose hair is receding, there are a lot of positives that come from being bald. For example, Patrick Stewart doesn’t look like he’s aged that much. Why? Because he’s bald. Sinead O’Connor might not be who she is if it weren’t for her famous lack of hair. And would Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson be as awesome as he is if he had hair?
Bald has its benefits, and there isn’t anything wrong with showing off that sexy cue ball in public. While many men feel shame for a receding hairline, plenty of people find baldness to be truly a thing of beauty. In some countries, being bald is a sign of status.
In Mozambique, the local community truly believes that bald men are wealthy. While that belief may sound silly at face value, it led to violence in more than one instance.
Recently, Mozambique police have issued a warning to its bald citizens: they could be targets of ritual attacks. This warning came after authorities discovered the mutilated bodies of two bald men, one of whom was found beheaded and his organs removed.
These two men were discovered in a part of Mozambique where albinos are persecuted and murdered. The body parts of albinos are used in witchcraft rituals.
Eventually, two suspects were arrested and charged with the murders. “Our preliminary conclusion indicates that the phenomenon is due to cultural beliefs. We are currently investigating the case to find out more and to understand the dimension of the problem,” said national police spokesman Inacio Dina.
“The phenomenon can lead bald people to be pursued and killed. This is a serious homicide crime. Our current interest is to catch and hold all those involved responsible.”
According to the suspects’ statements: the organs they removed from one of the victims was intended to be used by healers in rituals in order to “promote the fortunes of clients in Tanzania and Malawi.”
Many bald men in the region have taken to staying indoors or wearing caps or hats to hide their baldness. It isn’t clear how widespread these crimes are or if they expect to find more bald victims. But for the moment, Mozambique’s bald citizens should be very careful.