by Kinjal Bali

Created on: June 16, 2008

The Mohawk (Kanienkeh, Kanienkehaka or Kanien'Kahake, meaning "People of the Flint")are originally the indigenious people of North America, from the Mohawk valley in Upstate New York. The Mohawk hairstyle (Mohawk or Mohican) is a hair style that is often thought to have been worn by the 'Mohican' and Mohawk tribes. Many a times, these tribes compliment the hairstyle with warpaints in wartime that adds to their ferocious looks during wars. There are many theories why Mohawk were called Mohawk. But the most widely accepted fact is that the name is from the word for 'man-eater' in some Algonquian language meaning people who eat meat.

Mohawk is a hair cut that is achieved when both sides of the head are shaved clean and the mid head hair is left in long spikes. Today Mohawks have become a part of mainstream fashion but are still associated with the Punk subculture. The appearance of this cut often heightens the wearer's personality. In the punk styling, the spikes are often dyed into different colors and are often gelled to stand straight on end.

People who choose this hairstyle know it requires more maintenance. The hair on both the sides must be kept cropped or shaven clean with constant touch. Since the sleeping can mess the style, so daily attention is required. No wonder, the people who wear this style know they do so simply to look different.

Long and pointy Mohawks are the one in which the hair is long and is molded into sharp, pointy strands. Short and spiky mohawks uses a little wider amount of hair that is much shorter in length. The horses mane are the one that looked like in old gladiator movies with their helmets with strands of horse hair flowing back.

In the 1980s, Mohawk became more popular when Mr. T (Tureaud) added a new definition to his personality with this hairstyle. At this time, the style was at its height of popularity. People started adding new definitions to the style by styling the spikes and decorating them. This included the reverse Mohawks, fans, bi-hawks,and much more.

There are also stories of Allied soldiers who adopted the style during World War II. The look was believed to intimidate the Germans.

In 2002 FIFA World cup, David Beckham gave a cool look to Mohawks by introducing the lighter version of Mohawk (which was not shaved from the sides) and made its comeback. He carried the Mohawk so well making the cut easy to style. Mohawks will always have their importance in the hairstyle world.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohawk_nation

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