Mohawk hairstyle
 |
The Mohawk hairstyle (Mohawk or Mohican) is a hair style often thought to have been worn by the Mahican and Mohawk tribes.
During World War II, members of the Allied Airborne soldiers (specifically the 101st Airborne Division - the 'Screaming Eagles') shaved their hair into Mohawks.[1]
A 2,300 year old male bog body found near Dublin, Ireland (the Clonycavan Man, who died in his 20s) was found featuring a Mohawk, held together with a gel made of plant oil and pine resin imported from southwestern France or Spain.[1]
Modern Mohawks
In modern times, when both sides of the head are shaved or buzzed and the remaining hair is long and (often) spiked in the middle, the hairstyle is generally known as a Mohawk in the USA and a Mohican in the UK. In punk fashion, the Mohawk is often dyed brilliant colours and the centre strip of hair worn so that it points straight up often to impressive height. Also in the gothic subculture, a descendant of punk, the Mohawk style appears, with the remaining hair spiked or long.
Besides punk fashion, the Mohawk became known with the popularity of Mr. T, the actor who first became famous playing the boxer Clubber Lang in the movie Rocky III and later as Sgt. B.A. Baracus in the television series The A-Team. In the Eighties this type of African Mohawk was called Mandinkan or Mandinkan Mohawk after the Mandinkan Warrior haircut.[citation needed] Another well-known popular culture depiction of the Mohawk came from Martin Scorsese's film Taxi Driver. Plasmatics guitarist Richie Stotts is quoted as saying, "It was the summer of '78. I was watching Taxi Driver one night and the instant I saw Travis Bickle I thought, 'This is it. This is the look!'"[citation needed]
In the famous "Punk On Bus" sequence in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, associate producer Kirk R. Thatcher was shown dressed as a punk with a bright orange Mohawk.
Varieties
Liberty spikes
Liberty spikes are so named because of their resemblance to the spikes on the crown of the Statue of Liberty, though they first popped up in the London scene. In this style, the unshaven parts of the hair are formed into thick spikes that may radiate outwards in all directions or all point up in the same direction. They are favoured for their durability in extremely long hair.[citation needed] Liberty spikes are not only a Mohawk style, though they are commonly created by Mohawk-wearers; liberty spikes may be created all over the head, and shaved sections of hair are not required to create the look.
Devilocks
A devilock is a Mohawk that is worn pushed forward and down across the forehead. Jerry Only of the band The Misfits created this style.
Mollet
A Mollet is a Mohawk that is worn in the front, then branches out into a Mullet in the back. The only notable person to have ever had it is Maynard James Keenan of the band Tool, though he is not credited as its creator.
Dreadhawk
A dreadhawk is a Mohawk where the hair is dreadlocked instead of being spiked upwards. The hair style itself is very diverse; it can be worn up like liberty spikes depending on the length of dreads; it can be braided, pulled back, tied but it will still remain a dreadhawk. The dreadhawk should be considerd to be something like an unmodified Mohawk (a Mohawk that lays flat, has no gel, glue, and is not worn up). Wednesday 13 (Joseph Poole) from the bands The Murderdolls and Wednesday 13 sports a dreadhawk that reaches his pectorals.
Fanned
Fanned Mohawks are so named because they resemble a fan: all the unshaven hair is fixed upright in an even fan shape from the front hairline to the nape. An early user of the style was Wattie Buchan of The Exploited. Another term for such a style, originating from Britain, is "charged". For example, punk rock veterans GBH officially referred to themselves as "Charged GBH" to avoid confusion with another band who used the GBH moniker. The term is still in use today in many punk circles.
Bi-hawk (Twin Fins) & Tri-hawk
While a traditional Mohawk has one centre strip of long hair, bi-hawks and tri-hawks have two and three respectively, with shaved portions between. Bi- and tri-hawks can be worn in any of the variant styles.
Deathhawks
Deathhawks are wider-than-average Mohawks that are often worn in a looser style, frequently backcombed but not often formed into stiff fans or spikes. They may feature long, loose tendrils. Deathhawks are associated with death rockers and goths. Sometimes referred to as a goth hawk.
Polish Mohawk
Polish Mohawks are Mohawk haircuts in reverse (the opposite of a Mohawk), essentially a shaved straight line (usually wide enough for a disposable razor or electric hair clippers) from the forehead to the nape of the neck leaving hair on either side of the line. This haircut is also known as a "Antihawk", "HawkMo", "Highway", "Nohawk" and "Reverse Mohawk". Famous Polish Mohawk wearers include Road Warrior Hawk (One half of the wrestling tag team of The Road Warriors) and Keith Flint (the vocalist from The Prodigy).
Maintenance
The Mohawk, by its nature, and depending on the type of hair the wearer has, is typically a high-maintenance style, although after practice can become quite routine for the wearer and done in a much shorter amount of time. Depending on the specific look desired by the wearer, regular, careful shaving may be required to maintain a clean line between the shaved and long parts of the hair; this can be especially complicated in bi- and tri-hawks.
If the hair is to be worn up, twenty minutes or more of laborious styling, including brushing, backcombing (teasing), twisting and so on, may be required. Some styles are particularly difficult to put up, requiring the use of very strong-hold hair gels and sprays, and in some cases other holding agents like shoe polish, tooth paste, white glue, egg whites, cornstarch or Knox gelatin. The amount of time required for styling may increase considerably with longer hair or styles that require even spikes and lines.
Depending on the method used to spike a Mohawk it can take much less than 20 minutes. The use of glue and a blow dryer cuts down considerably on the time needed.
Some wearers enhance the look of their Mohawks using hair dyes. This, too can require a great deal of initial effort and maintenance, especially in styles where the colour(s) form an integral part of the style. In some cases, for example, Mohawk-wearers who normally wear their hair up in a fan style dye the hair in even lines or stripes of colour, either horizontal or vertical.
In 2005, the Mohawk received a brief and small revival among the mainstream, as documented in Eric Wilson's Sep 1, 2005 article in The New York Times, "The Mohawk Becomes Cute." In it, Wilson argued that part of the revival was caused by Angelina Jolie's adopted son, Maddox Jolie.
The "fauxhawk"
The Mohawk hairstyle inspired the fauxhawk hairstyle, an approximation of a Mohawk made without buzzing or shaving the sides of the head. The fauxhawk is typically worn with a small but noticeable spike in the middle, though usually considerably shorter than many traditional Mohawks. In most punk circles this hairstyle is frowned upon and considered a form of "selling out"[citation needed], although the idea of any high- maintenance hairstyle, particularly with the intentions of drawing attention, is an equally shallow move.
This hairstyle has been worn by The Killers lead singer Brandon Flowers, Tre Cool (Drummer of Green Day), David Beckham, Jack Osbourne, Joel Madden from Good Charlotte, Lukas Rossi from Rockstar: Supernova and Attack of the Show host Kevin Pereira. This style allows for a less punk and more "metro" look.
Notable Mohawk wearers
- Travis Barker of The Aquabats, blink-182, Box Car Racer, and Plus 44
- Wattie Buchan of The Exploited
- Tim Armstrong of Rancid, Operation Ivy, and The Transplants
- Sascha Konietzko of KMFDM
- Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant)
- Robert De Niro (in the movie Taxi Driver)
- Annabella Lwin
- Naima Mora
- Mr. T
- Maynard James Keenan of Tool
- Glen Plake
- David Beckham
- Atom Smasher (in his original incarnation as Nuklon)
- Wendy O. Williams
- Storm (for a period in the eighties)
- Joe Strummer
- Jake Kolatis from The Casualties
- Tazz American pro wrestler
- Maddox Jolie-Pitt
- Lars Frederiksen from Rancid and Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards
- Johnny Slut
- David Desrosiers
- Jazz Saxophonist Sonny Rollins wore a Mohawk in the fifties
- Brody Dalle of The Distillers
- Ümit Davala (in 2002 FIFA World Cup)
- Chuck Liddell UFC fighter
- Road Warrior Animal One half of the Legion of Doom tag team
- Shannon Moore A professional wrestler in ECW.
- Justin Sane and Chris #2 Of Punk Band "Anti-Flag"
- Glen Plake a free style skier.
- Maddox_Chivan_Jolie-Pitt the adopted son of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
- Ässät most of the hockey team had Mohawks during the 2005-06 playoffs
References
External links
