Polish plait

Polish plait (Latin: Plica polonica, Polish: Kołtun polski or plika, Kołtun in Polish meaning matted), less commonly known in English as plica or trichoma, is a formation of hair. This term can refer to either a hairstyle or a medical condition. It also relates to the system of beliefs in European folklore, and healing practices in traditional medicine in medieval Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that supported, matted hair as an amulet, or as a catchment for illness leaving the body. As a hairstyle 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 wore the hair style of the Scythians. Zygmunt Gloger in his Encyklopedia staropolska mentions that Polish plait was worn as a hair style by some people, regardless of gender, in the Pinsk region...