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Polish plait (Plica polonica in Latin), plica, or trichoma is a formation of hair. It can be viewed as a hairstyle, or as a hair disease.

As a disease

The Polish plait usually results from deficient hair care. Uncombed hair becomes irreversibly entangled, forming a matted, malodorous and encrusted or sticky moist mass. It may be caused by or accompanied with lice infestation (pediculosis) and lead to inflammation of the scalp. The Polish plait is typically a (sometimes large) head of hair, made of a hard impenetrable mass of keratin fibers permanently cemented together with dried pus, blood, old lice egg-casings and dirt. The disease may be easily prevented by standard hygienic practices, such as washing and combing of the hair. Treatment involves cutting the affected hair.

As a hair style

Larry Wolff in his book Inventing Eastern Europe:the Map of Civilization on the Mind of Enlightenment mentions that in Poland for about a thousand years some people were still wearing the hair style of the Scythians. Zygmunt Gloger in his Encyklopedia staropolska mentions that Polish plait was warn as a hair style by some people of both genders in the Pinsk region and the Masovia region still at the beginning of the XIX c. He used the term "koltun zapuszczony" which denotes artificial formation of Polish plait, forms of dreadlocks. According to the folklore studies of today, the forming of dreadlocks was done using mixture of wine and sugar, washing hair every day with water in which herbs were boiled which caused matting of hair and formation of dreadlocks, rubbing hair with wax, etc. Newer polish dictionaries mention plica as a disease, but the old ones still mention artificially created plicas also.

History

The Polish plait was quite common in Europe during past centuries when hair care was largely neglected. It affected mostly the peasantry, but was not unusual among higher social classes. The most notable person in history said to have been afflicted with it was King Christian IV of Denmark (1577–1648). His plait had the form of a pigtail hanging from the left side of his head, adorned with a red ribbon. His courtiers were said to have adopted the hairstyle in order to flatter the king.^{[citation needed]}

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 treated as an amulet, supposed to keep the illness away from the body, as it was believed that the disease resolved and left the body and lived in the hair creating less 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, the pagan beliefs relating to illness which survived for long, and animistic beliefs viewed illness as caused by invading spirit of evil, which be convalescence left the body and caused less problems when lived in the hair formation, which was than shed naturally or cut and ritualistically disposed by persons who were specializing in folk medicine or practitioners of folk magic. As people believed that the formation of plica was sign of resolving of disease, plica was also formed artificially by washing with mixtures of herbs, sweetened wine, waxing, etc. as in the case of the plica as hairstyle.

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 many people lived their whole lives with a Polish plait. A plait could sometimes grow very long – even up to 80 cm (31.5"). Polish plaits could take various forms, from a ball of hair to a long tail. Plaits were even categorized in a quite sophisticated way; there were plaits "male" and "female", "inner" and "outer", "noble" and "fake", "proper" and "parasitical".

A British diarist and Samuel Johnson's friend, Hester Thrale, in her book Observations and reflections made in the course of a journey through France, Italy, and Germany, describes a Polish plait she saw in 1786 in the collection of the Elector of Saxony in Dresden: "the size and weight of it was enormous, its length four yards and a half [about 4.1 m]; the person who was killed by its growth was a Polish lady of quality well known in King Augustus's court."

During the Enlightenment era when the ideas of racial and ethnic superiority of the Western civilization began to circulate, it became common to use the terms "Plica Polonica" (Polish plait), or "Plica Judiaica" (Jewish plait), also the term Polish ringworm in English. In addition to Antisemitism there was also prejudice against Easter Europe.According to Larry Wolff,(book Invention of Eastern Europe)Poles were considered descendants of Tatars, and barbarians as "semi-Asians." Maurice Fishberg in his book The Jews: A Study of Race and Environment mentions both terms.It was a common belief that plica was a contagious disease which originated in Poland after Mongol invasion and from there also spread to other countries. Diderot wrote in his encyclopedia entry due to his misunderstanding of the text in Polish chronicler Martin Cromer that the Tartar invasion of Poland was the source of plica. One example of this belief in the possible spread of plica as contagious disease whose hosts are people belonging to other ethnicity than one's own: during the Victorian times when in Britain occurred cases of plica, the belief was that the plica spread as disease through Polish traders in artificial hair, not by neglect by the British individuals. George Lefevre, in his book An Apology for the Nerves mentions the terms plica Polonica and plica Judiaca, also gives the information about the belief that wearing Polish national costume can cause plica in the wearer. He describes the case of a woman in Berlin who didn't wear Polish national costume, yet was affected with plica.He concluded, that:"Neither, therefore, are stranger free from it, nor is produced by dress alone."

Zygmunt Gloger in Encyklopedia Staropolska argued that according to the research done by Grimm Brothers and Rosenbaum that plica polonica and the idea that it spread from Poland was an error, as it was also found among Germanic population of Bavaria and Rhine river area. He said that the word "Wichtelzopf" (Vistula plait) was later alteration of the name Wichtelzopf, "plaid of a Wichtel," Wichtel" is Wight in German.

In the second half of the 19th century some intellectuals waged a war against superstition and lack of hygiene among the peasantry. Many plaits, often to the horror of their owners, were cut off. In Western Galicia, it was Professor Józef Dietl who made a particular effort to examine and treat Polish plaits. He organized an official census of people suffering from the disease, and proposed fines, which spawned rumors that plaits would be taxed. Those rumors were said to have helped eradicate the Polish plait in the region. A huge, 1.5-meter long, preserved plica can be seen in the Museum of the Faculty of Medicine (Medical College, Jagiellonian University) in Kraków. In the areas of Poland which were occupied by Russian Empire, young men who had plica were exempt for service in tsarist army. It is difficult to know how many of plicas were tangled in a natural way, or how often there were made artificially as dreadlocks. The Polish word for the Polish plait, kołtun, is now used figuratively in Poland to denote an uneducated person with an old-fashioned mindset.

In folklore

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 by Shakespeare poetry and folk tales.Folk belief in Germany associated it with witches or wights, (Hexen or Wichtel, giving plica the names Hexenxzopf or Wichetlzopf), in Poland the cause was an unclean spirit. One of the names of plica in polish was wieszcyca, "wieszczi" means bard, specifically a folk poet with skills of prophecising the future,but also vampire-like living person. In German folklore plica appears there also in less dramatic version: in one of Brother Grimms fairy tales a girl didn't combed her hair for one year and found golden coins in her plica.

Also many illnesses were associated with plica, and there were synonymous with the folk name for this condition. According to Marczewska about thirty disseases were associated with plica in Polish folklore, in German and Bohemian spells there are even as much as seventy diseases. Poles were affraid to upset the unclean spirit, and in order to make it docile inserted offerings into plica, for example coins. Koltun, or gosciec (polish folk name for plica) was not neccesary the description of the hair formation only, also described the illness which was present in the body, without the presence of tangled hair.Pain, specially in joints, rheumatism, etc) was synonymous with it. Also plica (koltun, gosciec) if the hair formation was present was associated with creating whims and cravings, which needed to be satisfied promptly, and people around a person with plica needed to make effort to help the craving individual to conform to those cravings. Marczewska points out that in one of the old Polish dictionaries defining plica was stated that koltun created strong cravings, and that was specially found of wine. (Wine was an imported and expensive drink).

References

Gross, Samuel. (1857). Elements of pathological anatomy. Philadelphia. p. 335. on Google books. Reference to "Polish plait" and description.
Marczewska, Marzena. (2011), Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce, paper in folkore and lingusitic studies, in Polish
College of Physiciansof Philadelphia and the Mutter Museum short movie
Fisheberg, Maurice. The Jews: A Study of Race and Enrvironment, p. 317 google book
Lefevre, Georg., Apology for the Nerves (1844), p. 355-356 google book
Wolff, Larry. Inventing of Eastern Europe:Map of Civilization on the Mind of Enlightenment,(1994)goggle books

External links

Plica Polonica or the Polish Kołtun at the Wilanów Palace Museum

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 ==As a disease==
 The Polish plait usually results from deficient hair care. Uncombed hair becomes irreversibly entangled, forming a matted, malodorous and encrusted or sticky moist mass. It may be caused by or accompanied with [[head lice|lice]] infestation ([[pediculosis]]) and lead to [[inflammation]] of the [[scalp]]. The Polish plait is typically a (sometimes large) head of hair, made of a hard impenetrable mass of [[keratin]] fibers permanently cemented together with dried [[pus]], [[blood]], old lice egg-casings and dirt. The disease may be easily prevented by standard [[hygiene|hygienic]] practices, such as [[washing]] and [[comb]]ing of the hair. Treatment involves cutting the affected hair.
 ==As a hair style==
 Larry Wolff in his book Inventing Eastern Europe:the Map of Civilization on the Mind of Enlightenment mentions that in Poland for about a thousand years some people were still wearing the hair style of the [[Scythians]].  [[Zygmunt Gloger]] in his [[Encyklopedia staropolska]] mentions that Polish plait was warn as a hair style by some people of both genders in the Pinsk region and the [[Masovia]] region still at the beginning of the XIX c. He used the term "koltun zapuszczony" which denotes artificial formation of Polish plait, forms of [[dreadlocks]]. According to the folklore studies of today, the forming of dreadlocks was done using mixture of wine and sugar, washing hair every day with water in which herbs were boiled which caused matting of hair and formation of dreadlocks, rubbing hair with wax, etc. Newer polish dictionaries mention plica as a disease, but the old ones still mention artificially created plicas also.
@@ Line 26: / Line 27: @@
 In the second half of the 19th century some intellectuals waged a war against superstition and lack of hygiene among the peasantry. Many plaits, often to the horror of their owners, were cut off. In Western [[Galicia (Central Europe)|Galicia]], it was Professor [[Józef Dietl]] who made a particular effort to examine and treat Polish plaits. He organized an official census of people suffering from the disease, and proposed fines, which spawned rumors that plaits would be taxed. Those rumors were said to have helped eradicate the Polish plait in the region. A huge, 1.5-meter long, preserved plica can be seen in the Museum of the Faculty of Medicine (Medical College, [[Jagiellonian University]]) in [[Kraków]]. In the areas of Poland which were occupied by Russian Empire, young men who had plica were exempt for service in tsarist army. It is difficult to know how many of plicas were tangled in a natural way, or how often there were made artificially as dreadlocks. The [[Polish language|Polish]] word for the Polish plait, ''kołtun'', is now used figuratively in Poland to denote an uneducated person with an old-fashioned mindset.
+==In folklore==
+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 by [[Shakespeare]] poetry and folk tales.Folk belief in Germany  associated it with witches or wights, (Hexen or  Wichtel, giving plica the names Hexenxzopf or Wichetlzopf), in Poland the cause was an unclean spirit. One of the names of plica in polish was  wieszcyca, "wieszczi" means [[bard]], specifically  a folk poet with skills of prophecising the future,but also vampire-like living person. In German folklore plica appears there also in less dramatic version: in one of Brother Grimms [[fairy tales]] a girl didn't combed her hair for one year and found golden coins in her plica.
+Also many illnesses were associated with plica, and there were synonymous with the folk name for this condition. According to Marczewska about thirty disseases were associated with plica in Polish folklore, in German and [[Bohemian]] spells there are even as much as seventy diseases. Poles were affraid to upset the unclean spirit, and in order to make it docile inserted offerings into plica, for example coins. Koltun, or gosciec (polish folk name for plica) was not neccesary the description of the hair formation only, also described the illness which was present in the body, without the presence of  tangled hair.Pain, specially in joints, rheumatism, etc) was synonymous with it. Also plica (koltun, gosciec) if the hair formation was present was associated with creating whims and cravings, which needed to be satisfied promptly, and people around a person with plica needed to make effort to help the craving individual to conform to those cravings. Marczewska points out that in one of the old Polish dictionaries defining plica  was stated that koltun created strong cravings, and that was specially found of wine. (Wine was an imported and expensive drink).
 ==See also==