What religion, cult or group is this?

February 9, 2006 4:16 PM

Who are these women with long hair and headscarves, who always wear red or blue?

Over the past couple of years, I've sometimes seen a group of young women travelling together at airports, often with an older woman who I suppose acts as some kind of mentor or chaperone. The common characteristics are that the girls all have long hair and usually wear long skirts; they usually wear small triangular headscarves with their long hair visible and hanging loose; they usually wear long skirts and blouses; and they are always partly dressed in red and/or blue. The group will not be dressed completely the same - some wear patterns, some plain, and some have white blouses so it's not a uniform, but it always incorporates red and blue. They don't look like teenagers, they look like young women in their early twenties. I live in Australia and I have spotted these groups three or four times at airports in the larger Australian cities (Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane).

Does anyone know what group, religion or cult these people could represent? I'm idly curious.

posted by andraste to religion & philosophy (12 comments total)

They could well be Mennonites. We have clusters of them across Canada, too.
posted by solid-one-love at 4:20 PM on February 9, 2006

I used to volunteer for a convent. The sisters got asked what they were, or what congregation they belonged to, all the time. I think most people who obviously belong to some sort of religious group will be happy to explain it to you, if you ask friendly.
posted by davar at 4:39 PM on February 9, 2006

This could be complete misinformation, but in Perth, everyone "knows" that these are members of The Exclusive Brethren. This article says this about the group:


There are several Taylorite innovations that Jim Taylor Jr added to the list of dos and don'ts for members. He instructed them to:
marry early
have large families
be clean shaven (men)
keep hair short (men)
not to wear ties (men)
keep hair uncut (women)
wear white or blue scarves (women)

so it might be true. I'll just ask next time I see one of these women.
posted by bunglin jones at 6:16 PM on February 9, 2006

Here in New Zealand I would likewise assume that they are Exclusive Brethren.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 6:33 PM on February 9, 2006

is it me? but i'm not seeing any highlighted links of what the submitter is talking about.
Judging from the answers others seem to know exactly what submitter is talking about, but in the question i see nothing.
posted by stavx at 7:32 PM on February 9, 2006

I don't think there are any links in the question, stavx.
posted by bunglin jones at 7:37 PM on February 9, 2006

I'm afraid I have no links to offer, stavx - just the description, which I was hoping would be detailed enough to identify the group to people who might know about them.

(Good suggestions, btw, everyone - thanks!)
posted by andraste at 8:36 PM on February 9, 2006

Another vote for Exclusive Brethren. I'm in Nelson, NZ, where the Brethren are plentiful. In addition to andraste's description, I would add that here the long skirts are usually blue denim. Denim, being hard-wearing and cheap, would be the obvious choice if your aim was to minimise expenditure on clothing... either because of the large family you have to clothe, or to spend it in more spiritual ways. I think the Exclusive Brethren's manner of dressing is an example of true thrift... for instance , their t-shirts look like they are good quality, heavyweight cotton (thriftier than cheap t-shirts that wear out quickly), but never fashionable or brand-name.
posted by Pigpen at 8:58 PM on February 9, 2006

Red or Blue? Clearly these are Halo players.
posted by Dunwitty at 2:14 AM on February 10, 2006

Given those colors, I'd guess slave-harems of the Crips and Bloods.
</snark>

Here's a couple links about the Exclusive Brethern, or Taylorites: BBC and Wikipedia.

I may have encountered a Taylorite detail at PDX several years ago -- they butted in line ahead of me at the Southwest counter -- a bunch of young women, a bitchy older matron, and a patriarch who appeared at the last moment. I recall the little headscarves, but being the Western US I assumed they were some flavor of Mormons.
posted by Rash at 8:29 AM on February 10, 2006

Oop -- sorry for the duplication, bunglin jones. Here's another link, from within: mybrethren.org.
posted by Rash at 8:37 AM on February 10, 2006

Thanks all - after reading other people's descriptions and some of the links given, I think that I've definitely been encountering Exclusive Brethren. Another mystery solved by TeamAskMetafilter!
posted by andraste at 3:34 PM on February 10, 2006