I did this post in another blog.
Besides being able to sport this anti-conformist hairstyle, many today seem to ignore the subtext in its meaning. The Mohawk and the ‘punk rock’ culture icon it spawned are two very different entities. Its a pity many wear it without acknowledging its roots.
The Mohawk, or Mohicans, as the British labeled them were an indigenous people of what is now known as the New York area in North America. However, they were displaced soon after the arrival of the Europeans, and following what was known as the Trail of Tears, moved North to present day Canada. They called themselves the ‘Kanienkehaka’, or the people of the flint. The name ‘Mohawk’ was only given to them by their enemies. The name itself literally means ‘man-eater’, although it was unclear whether the ancestral Mohawks were cannibals by nature.
The many ‘Punk’ hair-dos that we see today were inspired by the Mohawk culture of having their hair shaved at the sides and held up by cow grease in the middle. This was common practice among the Mohawks in times of war. Most Mohicans would leave their hair to grow as long as possible, sometimes braided, to signify their connection with the creator. However as war approached they would don the hair-do with the hope of not bringing their creator to battle, lest he be wounded.
The Mohawks were just one of the many indigenous peoples of the Americas. With them were Sioux, the Cherokee, the Apache, Comanche, Lakota, and the Iroquois, many of whom lost their native homelands with the on-set of the immigrant Europeans.
