By Amanda Hawker
My grandmother always said, “Hair is a woman’s crowning
glory.” It’s an ancient idiom, that
seems to be still true today. For centuries, we women have pulled, plucked,
coiled and twisted our hair. We've dyed and bleached, cut and blown, curled and
straightened. With the advent of the natural hair revolution, many of us led
the way in discarding the toxic chemical relaxers and reverted to a more
natural way of taming our tresses and even realised that allowing your tresses
to go untamed was also okay. Throughout the centuries, the innovations and
fads, there is one hairdo that has remained a beloved constant…braids.
Hairstyles come and go, but braids are forever.
Braiding hair is an ancient technique that goes back
thousands of years and braids can be found in at least one culture on every
continent of the world. In Africa, the practice of braiding can be traced all
the way back to 3500 BC (that’s 3500 years before the birth of Christ) and was
a very important part of the daily life and culture of many African peoples. In
ancient times, braiding hair was considered a social event among women, a time
to get together and connect while also creating beautiful braided hairstyles,
most notably cornrows and in Egypt, the braided wigs worn by royalty.
I've worn various types of braids since my teenage years,
preferring cornrows to single braids as the former are gentler on my hair. Yet,
I had never really thought about the history behind my choice of hairstyle. What
an amazing and proud history it is.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be delving into the history of
cornrows and braids, and how people have used them as a form of cultural
expression and even activism.
Next week, we take a closer look at the history of the
braided hairstyle that is synonymous with Africa… cornrows.
Check out:
The History Of Braids Part II
The History Of Braids Part III
Check out:
The History Of Braids Part II
The History Of Braids Part III