Khokhol

The Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks to Sultan of Turkey (1880-91). Painted by Ilya Repin.

Khokhol (Ukrainian: хохол or оселедець, Polish: chochoł or osełedec, Russian: хохо́л) is the stereotypical Ukrainian cossack style of haircut that features a long lock of hair left on the otherwise completely shaved head, commonly sprouting from the top or the front of an otherwise closely shaven head. It is commonly used as a pejorative term for ethnic Ukrainians.^[1]

Colloquialism

Russians and Poles commonly use the word khokhol (Polish: chochoł or chachoł) as an ethnic slur for Ukrainians, as it was a common haircut of Cossacks. The term is frequently derogatory or condescending, an equivalent of the Ukrainian term katsap and Polish kacap for Russians.^[2]

Historically, Ukrainians have used the term khokhol amongst themselves as a form of ethnic self-identification, in order to visibly separate themselves from Russians.^[3]

Ukrainian culture

The Ukrainian name for this type of haircut is oseledets (Ukrainian: оселедець, literally "herring") or chub (Ukrainian: чуб, meaning "crest"). There are several Ukrainian surnames derived from this word. In the Cossacks times the haircut carried an honorary meaning identifying one as being a true Cossack. That tradition is depicted in various motion pictures such as Propala Hramota that is based on works of Nikolai Gogol.

The khokhol/oseledets is a standard feature in the stereotypical image of a Ukrainian Cossack.

See also

• Chupryna
• Sikha

References

1. Laitin, David D. (1998). Identity in Formation: The Russian-speaking Populations in the Near Abroad. Cornell University Press. p. 175. ISBN 9780801484957.
2. Thompson, Ewa Majewska (1991). The Search for self-definition in Russian literature 27. John Benjamins Publishing Company. p. 22. ISBN 9027222134.
3. Plokhy, Serhii (2008). Ukraine and Russia. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 139–141.