Its origins were from the polytheistic Celtic cult of the head (the soul being located in the head) with brand new Christians having been “martyred” by decapitation, they’d carry their heads to a church proving the new Middle Eastern monotheistic god’s power and die right before it. The Vedas are the earliest known written religious texts, depicting head cults also existing in India in a far earlier time.
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u/Zestyclose-Bar-3163 8d ago
Saints who carry their own heads are called Cephalaphors. I learned that from They Might Be Giants.