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Lock of hair

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For other uses, see Lock (disambiguation).
A hair wreath from the 19th century with a lock of hair in the center, in the collection of The Children's Museum of Indianapolis

A lock of hair is a piece or pieces of hair that has been cut from, or remains singly on, a human head, most commonly bunched or tied together in some way. A standard dictionary definition defines a lock as a tress, curl, or ringlet of hair.[1]

Symbolic value

Preserved locks of the hair of Percy and Mary Shelley now in the British Library.

Locks of hair often carry symbolic value and have been utilized throughout history in various religious, superstitious, sentimental and romantic contexts.

  • A traditional belief maintains that owning a lock of hair from another's head gives one power over that individual, in the same manner that owning a piece of clothing or image of an individual is thought to grant the owner such powers.
  • Historically, giving a lock of one's hair to someone has been considered a sign of love and devotion, especially before an impending separation. It is still a popular trope in fiction, particularly the romance genre.
  • During antiquity, Roman girls who were about to be married offered locks of hair to Jove (Jupiter) in his forest god aspect, Virbius (Virbio).
  • A common superstition holds that a lock of hair from a baby's first haircut should be kept for good luck.
  • An old Irish superstition holds that it is unlucky to accept a lock of hair (or a four-footed beast) from a lover.
  • A lock of Beethoven's hair, cut from his head in 1827, was auctioned in 1994 through Sotheby's of London.[2] Research on the hair determined that the composer's lifelong illness was caused by lead poisoning.
  • In Victorian times it was common for bereaved family members to keep locks of hair from deceased children or family members. These locks of hair were seen as mementos and served to comfort the surviving loved ones. These locks of hair were typically kept in lockets, though small jars, and in some cases other kinds of jewelry were also used. Jewelry could include everything from bracelets, to earrings, as well as various types of brooches (see hair jewelry).

In hairstyles

Childhood locks

An ancient and worldwide (e.g. China, Egypt, Thailand, Albania, Ukraine, India, Israel, etc.) pre-adolescent custom was to shave children's heads, leaving one lock (or sometimes several isolated locks) untouched. Upon reaching adulthood, the lock of hair was usually cut off (see Rites of passage).

Scalp locks

The scalp lock describes a hairstyle consisting of a single long lock of hair on an otherwise shaven head. Like childhood locks, the scalp lock was a worldwide phenomenon, particularly noted amongst eastern woodland Native American tribes (see Iroquois, Huron, Mahican, Mohawk) in North America (see also Scalping and Mohawk hairstyle).

According to Leo the Deacon, a Byzantine historian, Sviatoslav I of Kiev was reported to have worn a scal plock. Later Ukrainian Cossacks (Zaporozhians) sported scalplocks called oseledets or khokhol.

The Imazighen (Berber) men of Morocco had the custom of shaving the head but leaving a single lock of hair on either the crown, left, or right side of the head, so that the angel Azrael is able "...to pull them up to heaven of the Last Day."[3] This hairstyle is observed by Mark Twain in his travel book The Innocents Abroad, in which he describes Moroccan men as sporting scalplocks.[4]

In India this custom remains active in the form of the shikha, but is usually only worn by orthodox Hindus.

Polish plait

A Polish plait (Koltun in Polish, meaning "Knot", but often referred to in English as an "Elf-Lock") is a lock of matted hair similar to a dreadlock. Due to a scalp disease (Plica polonica), King Christian IV of Denmark (1577–1648) had a Polish plait hanging from the left side of his head, which in an engraved portrait in the Royal Collection is adorned by a large pearl. His courtiers were said to have adopted the hairstyle in order to flatter the king.[5] Due to superstitious beliefs, the Polish plait used to be particularly common in Poland (hence its name). Initially, the plait was treated as an amulet, supposed to bring good health, as the plait was supposed to take the illness "out" of the body, and therefore it was rarely cut off.

Lovelock

The lovelock was a popular hairstyle amongst European "men of fashion" from the end of the 16th century until well into the 17th century. The lovelock was a long lock of generally plaited (braided) hair made to rest over the left shoulder (the heart side) to show devotion to a loved one.[6]

See also

Look up Curl in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Notes

  1. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged. "the definition of lock". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 2017-06-17.
  2. ^ "Lock of hair makes its way through history". Jewish News of Greater Phoenix. Archived from the original on 10 June 2012.
  3. ^ El Maghreg: 1200 Miles' Ride Through Morocco, Hugh Edward Millington Stutfield
  4. ^ The Innocents Abroad, or The New Pilgrims' Progress, Mark Twain, 1869
  5. ^ "RCIN 612170 - Christianvs Qvartvs dei Gratia Daniae, Norwegiae". Royal Collection. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  6. ^ Hall, James. The sinister side: how left-right symbolism shaped Western art. p. 278.

Sources

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