A History Of African Women’s Hairstyles
Hair played a significant role in the culture of ancient African civilisations as it symbolised one’s family background, social status, spirituality, tribe, and marital status.
As early as the 15th century, hair was the main disseminator among different tribes and within communities of marital status, age, wealth, and rank on the social hierarchy within a community or tribe. Members of royalty would often wear elaborate hairstyles as a symbol of their stature, and someone in mourning, usually women, would pay little attention to their hair during the period of grieving. Hair was seen as a symbol of fertility as thick, long tresses and neat, clean hair symbolised one’s ability to bear healthy children.
Ancient communities believed that hair could help with divine communication as it was the elevated part of one’s body. It’s also why hair was entrusted to close relatives for styling as it was believed that if a strand fell into the hands of an enemy, harm could come to the hair’s owner.
With so much tradition and different hairstyles that came from earlier African civilisations, here’s a history of some of the most notable hairstyles and hair traditions from across the continent.