[Loch-Ruadh] Response to Why did Sailors Wear Earrings

George & Pamela sidhe01 at swbell.net
Sun Oct 6 07:12:25 PDT 2002


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Here are the answers that were posted:

#1.  To pay for a Christian burial, should the body wash up on shore (though I would think the ears would be among the first parts to be nibbled off by
fish, sorry for the visual)

#2.  To indicate the sailor was married, and worn on the left ear (closer to the heart), as a ring on one's hand could get caught in the rigging

#3.  To indicate the sailor had been past (actually around) Cape Horn (left ear) or the Cape of Good Hope (right ear)

#4. A similar form of acupuncture/acupressure. When they got seasick, a quick pull or rubbing of the earring (and that certain spot on the
ear) abated the nausea

#5 In antiquity ear-rings were worn for several reasons for display(displaying your wealth), for purposes of initiation, to show membership in a group,to commemorate an important event,to indicate esteem bestowed by peers or by the captain, or simply for
vanity

#6 in the US Navy however, by tradition, you may wear an ear-ring in your left ear if you have survived a disaster at sea, although it is seldom seen, possibly due to the specifications for the ring....i.e. 'must be 1/4 inch in thickness and minimum circumference to enclose the lobe of the ear.'.......ouch!

#7 From Baron Daniel of Elfsea,  As a sailor I can tell you that it was to keep the evil spirits from entering our ears.  That is why it was always hoop type earring that jingle. I am not kidding, it is still a current sailor tradition that we have tried to put through to the modern US Navy.

#8, As a source of ready cash if the sailor was ever marooned.  With golden earrings he always had something to pay for lodging, food etc.  By wearing his emergency cash in the form of an earring , the sailor didn't have to worry about losing his money if he had to abandon ship rapidly or get the heck out of town fast; no purse to lose.

And the correct answer is.............(actually are)  1, 3, 5, 6 and 8.  Earrings were worn for all of these reasons. The acupuncture one sounds good but I have never seen any kind of documentation concerning this. There may be other reasons I haven't come across yet, but these are the main ones.  For this response, I am speaking from the perspective of being a US Navy veteran and as having been on the civilian or merchant marine side (Yeah I once had a Z card and an "A" book with the S.I.U. way back in 1973-76).

Current civilian tradition - If you have sailed across the equator you may wear a gold hoop in the left ear. If you have sailed around the world, wear it in the right ear (many merchant seaman who follow the old customs avoid this one because of current landsmen cultural stigmas).  If you've done both, a hoop in each ear; size determined by the individual.

Oh yeah a "Z" card is an ID Card issued by the Coast Guard.  It lists. among other things. your name, SS number, ID Number (used to anyway) and your ratings such as "Wiper, Oiler. Ordinary Seaman, Able Seaman, etc"   The S.I.U. is Seafarer's International Union and an "A" book is someone who has experience in their rating and time at sea . Someone who is just starting out (such as a wiper) would carry a "B" book and so on.  I was an electrician's mate in the Navy and my experience there allowed me to start out with an "A" book.


Alaric Morgenseg
Master of the Sea Drake
Home ported in the Canton of Loch Ruadh






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