The Origins of The Mohawk Hairstyle

I have personally never liked the mohawk hairstyle and was pertubed to see it being adapted lately as a fashion statement. The mohawk is often associated with the Mohawk nation, an indigenous people of North America. It was also widely used by the anti-establishment garage bands in the 1960's , becoming popular in the 1980's as a new style for the rebellious set of the punk rock movement. Mohawk (Kanienkeh, Kanienkehaka Kanien’Kahake, or Kahnawake (meaning “People of the Flint”) are an Iroquoian-speaking indigenous people of North America. The Mohawks, like many indigenous tribes in the Great Lakes region, sometimes wore a hair style in which all their hair would be cut off except for a narrow strip down the middle of the scalp from the forehead to the nape, that was approximately three-finger widths across. This style was only used by warriors going off to war. The Mohawks saw their hair as a connection to their god, and therefore grew it long. But when they went to war, they cut all or some of it off, leaving that narrow strip. The women wore their hair long often with traditional bear grease or tied back into a single braid. Their heads were often not covered by a covering or hat, often wearing nothing on their heads in winter. SPIRITUAL BELIEFS Since the Mohawks were an Iroquois-speaking tribe, we must understand the Iroquois’ spiritual beliefs. In the Iroquois belief system was a formless Great Spirit or Creator, from whom other spirits were derived. Spirits animated all of nature and controlled the changing of the seasons. Key festivals coincided with the major events of the agricultural calendar, including a harvest festival of thanksgiving.    Much of the mythology of the Iroquois (a confederacy of originally five, later six nations of Native Americans) has been lost. Some of their religious stories have been preserved, including creation stories and some folktales. Hahgwehdiyu is the creator god. He was said to have planted a single maize plant in the body of his mother Atahensic. This plant was a gift to mankind. In many variants of the creation myth, Atahensic (also known as Ataensic) was a sky-woman who fell to the earth. She died in childbirth and her body fertilized the earth so that her granddaughters could grow many things.Hahgwehdiyu has an evil twin brother named Hahgwehdaetgan. Gaol is the personification of the wind. Gohone is the personification of the winter. Adekagagwaa is the personification of the summer. Onatha is a patron of farmers, particularly farmers of wheat. A giant named Tarhuhyiawahku held the sky up. The Jogah are nature spirits, similar to nymphs and fairies. Ha Wen Neyu is the “Great Spirit”. The first people were created by Iosheka, a beneficent god who healed disease, defeated demons, and gave many of the Iroquois magical and ceremonial rituals. Another of his gifts was tobacco, which has been used as a central part of the Iroquois religion. This god is also venerated in Huron mythology. The North Wind is personified by a bear spirit named Ya-o-gah. He lived in a cave and was controlled by Gah-oh. Ya-o-gah could destroy the world with his fiercely cold breath, but is kept in check by Gah-oh. Sosondowah was a great hunter (known for stalking a supernatural elk) who was captured by Dawn, a goddess who needed him as a watchman. He fell in love with Gendenwitha (“she who brings the day”; alternate spelling: Gendewitha), a human woman. He tried to woo her with a song. In spring, he sang as a bluebird, in summer as a blackbird and in autumn as a hawk, who then tried to take Gendenwitha with him to the sky. Dawn tied him to her doorpost. She changed Gendenwitha into the Morning Star, so the hunter could watch her all night but never be with her. In conclusion, whenever a person wears a mohawk, based upon its origin, that person wears a hairstyle in honor and worship to other gods inspired by demonic spirits instead of worshipping the Lord Jesus Christ.