The centenarian woman has a tuft of hair nearly 4 meters long.

Mr. Xong Y Sao (99 years old, residing in Pieng Coc village, Mai Son commune, Tuong Duong district, Nghe An province ) possesses a tuft of hair considered the most unique and unusual in Vietnam. The tuft of hair is nearly 4 meters long and has been grown by Mr. Sao since he was a child, now at the age of 99.

A nearly 100-year-old woman has a tuft of hair almost 4 meters long ( Video : Nguyen Duy).

Recently, Mr. Xong Y Sao was brought to the 115 General Hospital in Nghe An by his relatives with a diagnosis of a fractured left femur. During the examination, what surprised the doctors was his unique and unusual tuft of hair.

Grandma Sao kept a tuft of hair on top of her head. She braided and tied it, wrapping it around her head in several loops. Doctors tried to untangle it and were surprised to find it was nearly 4 meters long.

Specifically, when untangling each lock of hair wrapped around Mr. Sao's head, it took two people to straighten the entire lock of hair. One person in the ward tried measuring the length of the lock of hair with their hand span and counted more than 19 hand spans.

Each hand span is about 20cm, meaning the entire lock of hair is nearly 4 meters long. The patients in the room were all amazed and delighted to see the unique lock of hair of the 99-year-old woman.

After unwrapping it for verification, the old woman quickly and skillfully re-wrapped her hair.

To measure the top of Mr. Sao's hair, two people are needed to hold both ends (Photo: Nguyen Duy).

Following the surgery, Mr. Sao's health has stabilized. He continues to receive treatment and monitoring at the 115 General Hospital in Nghe An.

Despite being 99 years old, the old woman is still very sharp-minded. However, Mrs. Sao doesn't speak standard Vietnamese, so to have a conversation, she has to rely on a doctor who knows the local language to translate.

"Women in the mountainous areas of Nghe An often have the habit of wearing their hair long. I have treated elderly patients from the mountainous regions of Nghe An for many years, but this is the first time I have encountered an elderly woman with such a distinctive tuft of hair," shared Dr. Chuong Van Hang.

Grandma Sao's topknot is wrapped in many loops around her head (Photo: Nguyen Duy).

Speaking with the elderly woman, Dr. Hang said that Mrs. Sao's husband had passed away three years ago. Mrs. Sao had 11 children, including 5 sons and 6 daughters. To date, she has 47 grandchildren, and she can't even remember the number of great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

According to the old woman, in the old days, people in the village used to have the custom of keeping their hair long. Since she was a child, Mrs. Sao has grown this tuft of hair to maintain her health. According to local custom, if the hair is cut off, there will no longer be anyone to protect that person. As the tuft of hair grew longer, Mrs. Sao braided it and wrapped it around her head, and it remains there to this day. Mrs. Sao also rarely washes her hair or removes the tuft of hair to clean it.

Anh Và Bá Xia, the grandson of Mrs. Sáo, is taking care of her at the hospital (Photo: Nguyễn Duy).

Anh Va Ba Xia (born in 2002, grandson of Mrs. Sao) said that, except for the top part of her hair that her grandmother grew and braided, all the surrounding hair was neatly cut. The cut hair grows back very quickly.

"She's had this hairstyle for a long time, I don't remember exactly. All I know is that from when we were growing up until now, we've seen her with this style, and the topknot has gotten longer and longer. Her keeping her hair long is a personal preference and a local custom," Xia shared.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/an-sinh/cu-ba-tram-tuoi-co-chom-toc-dai-gan-4m-20240529085742277.htm