The Polish Plait (the spirit of locking, part 1)

There is certainly a connection between ones head of hair and ones spirit, and in particular matted locks and the Spirit(s).  And that is not just me talking, for others have claimed that "all ancient civilisations have nurtured [matted locks] as part of religious culture." That's an overstatement, but certainly many cultures ancient to contemporary indeed have.

Folktales and religious stories from ancient times tell of a relationship between ones hair and ones own spirit, a great Spirit, or the spiritual health of the community.  One such tale that is commonly known is from the Judeo-Christian biblical traditions: the story of Sampson & Delilah. Various folklorists, historians, and those of the Rastafarian religion cite biblical passages about  'the seven locks Sampson's head' to show that the hair that gave Sampson his physical strength (symbolic of his spiritual strength) was indeed locked or matted hair. And in the Hindu tradition, we have the matted and locked hair of the sadhus, rishis and saints for whom locks were a connection to Lord Shiva and/or a symbol of renunciation of worldly desires and an embrace of the path to 'moksha' or freedom from the cycle of rebirth.

I will have more detailed posts about all of these traditions, but for today I want to begin with one I knew little to nothing about before I started this blog: the so-called "Polish Plait," which is part of a set of traditions encompassed by ancient European and nomadic cultures, not just of the area now recognised as Poland, but also other segments of northern Europe.

Polish Plait in the museum of the
Faculty of Medicine, Jagiellonian University, Krakow

The term 'Polish Plait' -- or getting all technical with the Latin: plica polonica -- can refer to a hairstyle or a medical condition.

In this blog, we won't dwell on the medical condition, but just to give you a quick wiki description of it: "is an uncommon condition in which the hair shaft becomes entangled irreversibly, forming a mass which is matted and sometimes can be sticky and moist. In this condition, the protective layer of the hair (cuticle) is damaged, and the cortex of the hair is exposed. The cortex is a more moist and sticky part of the hair than the outer layer, and the affected hairs adhere to each other and other unaffected hairs. Several factors may contribute to this condition: chemical exposure, hair with natural kinks, hair extensions, quality of water and shampoo, or absence of hair grooming and poor hair care techniques. It may also be caused by or accompanied with lice infestation (pediculosis) leading to inflammation of the scalp, or the mass can become malodorous."

I know... ew ew ew and ew, and gross.. so quickly moving on...

A history of of locked and matted hair throughout Europe between 1285
and 1920 drawing from old medical journals, fairy tales,
recorded anecdotes, mythology and dictionaries.

'The Devil's Hair' - history of the Polish Plait

Despite what many people will tell you (often in rants in social media comments), locked hair is not something that originated with only one ethnic group. Many human societies the world over have locked their hair in one way or another using one method or another...

 

"The Polish plait was quite common in Europe during past centuries when hair grooming was largely neglected. It affected mostly the peasantry, but was not unusual among higher social classes. 

"Due to superstitious beliefs, the Polish plait used to be particularly common in Poland, hence its English and Latin name. Similarly, in German it is called Weichselzopf, or Vistula plait, after a river in Poland. 

"Initially, the plait was considered an amulet to keep illness away from the body, as it was believed that when disease resolved it left the body to live in the hair, resulting in lessened suffering. For this reason, people not only allowed it to develop, but even encouraged it. 

"According to M. Marczewska, who researched the subject from the perspective of folklore studies, animistic beliefs and long-held pagan beliefs relating to illness viewed illness as caused by an invading evil spirit, which by convalescence left the body and was less problematic when living in the hair formation, which was then shed naturally or cut and ritualistically disposed of by persons specializing in folk medicine or practitioners of folk magic. 

"As people believed that the formation of plica was a sign of resolving of disease, plica, as a hairstyle, was also formed artificially by washing with mixtures of herbs, sweetened wine, waxing, etc. 

"In the early 17th century, people began to believe plaits were an external symptom of an internal illness. A growing plait was supposed to take the illness "out" of the body, and therefore it was rarely cut off; in addition, the belief that a cut-off plait could avenge itself and bring an even greater illness discouraged some from attacking it. 

"It was also believed that casting a magic spell on someone could cause that person to develop a Polish plait, hence also the name "elflock" was used in English, also Hexenzopf (witches' plait) in German. These convictions were so widespread and strong that some people lived their whole lives with a Polish plait." 

Jodie McNee as Willa in 'Druids'

'To pacify the spirits' - tangled hair & the supernatural

"Plica was believed to be caused by supernatural entities. The names often describe the believed cause of tangled hair.  

"In Britain this condition was believed to be caused by elves, hence the name "elflock" (mentioned in Shakespearean poetry and folk tales), although this term could refer to tangles much milder than a Polish plait.  

"Folk belief in Germany associated it with witches or wights (Hexen or Wichtel) giving plica the names Hexenzopf or Wichtelzopf; in Poland, the cause was an unclean spirit.  

"One of the names of plica in Polish was wieszczyca, "wieszcz" means bard, specifically, a folk poet with the gift of prophesy or a vampire-like living person.  

"In German folklore, plica appears in one of the Brothers Grimm's fairy tales - a girl didn't comb her hair for one year and found golden coins in her plica.  

"Many illnesses were associated with plica and were synonymous with the folk name for this condition. According to Marczewska, about thirty diseases were associated with plica in Polish folklore. In German and Bohemian spells, there are as many as seventy diseases. Poles were afraid to upset the unclean spirit, and, to pacify it, inserted offerings such as coins into the plica. Kołtun (or gościec, its Polish folk name) did not necessarily describe only the hair formation, it also described the bodily illness without the presence of tangled hair. Pain (especially in joints), rheumatism, etc. were synonymous with it. If plica was present, it was blamed for whims and cravings, which needed to be satisfied promptly; people around a person with plica needed to assist the sufferer to comply with the cravings. Marczewska points out that one old Polish dictionary stated that kołtun created strong cravings, especially for wine (which was imported and expensive)."