The History of African Women and their Hair

You know, for thousands of years, African women have devoted much time and attention to styling their own hair, kind of like today. What up African world, it's your boy Home Team Hair. I'm back at it with another video of African history, culture, and worldview. And today I'm going to be talking about African women and their hair. African women have worn a vast array of many different hairstyles throughout many different regions on the entire continent. When travelers began to visit Africa, they began to notice the many different hairstyles on these African women. One Dutch traveler in particular named Peter de Maris was so impressed by the vast array of African women's hairstyles that he actually documented it in a book. Now Peter made a very detailed description of about 16 different hairstyles in the region of Guinea alone. So apparently I'm not the only one in my observations. When it comes to texture, styling, and overall creativity, the hair of African women is by far the most diverse I've ever seen. Even the females in my own family unit have gone through many different hair textures and styles. So upon request of many of you guys, I thought it would be interesting to discuss the many different African hairstyles seen throughout the continent. Let's begin with the Soninka people of West Africa. This hairstyle of the Soninka would have probably been popular during the Ouagadou Empire, which lasted from about the 3rd century to the 11th century. It seems to be characterized by a 4B hair type according to the natural hair scale. It seems pretty long, puffy, and woolly at the same time. Hair in many West African cultures was regarded as not only a sense of power and personification, but as a means of communication. The type of hairstyle worn usually described the status of the individual wearing it. These Soninka women seem to have a trend of big spaced out bantu knots. It seems clear that this style was reserved for older women or married women. Hair also had very strong social and sexual connotation. Most West African societies regarded long, thick, neatly styled hair on a young woman as a sign of health, respectability, and fertility. This style amongst the Mende would have been seen throughout the Mali Empire as it was founded and dominated by Mandinka people. The hair type of the Mandinka seems to vary and consist of a 4C and 4B hair type as they're related to the Soninka people. Another group that was incorporated into the Mali Empire was the Fulani people. Fulani women have very diverse and intricate hair types and hairstyles. Their hair can range from a 3A all the way to a 4C on the natural hair type scale. In all honesty, they were probably one of the first ethnic groups in West Africa to do the Frohawk style in which a large piece of hair stands up in the middle region of the head. The Fulani are the largest ethnic group in West Africa and were a part of virtually every West African empire, especially the Mali Empire. Testament to the diversity of Fulani hairstyling and texture, the Wudabu, a subgroup of the Fulani, have popularized the middle Afro puff. The Wudabu are a little more nomadic than the typical Fulani ethnic group and their unique hairstyle makes them stand out amongst other African ethnic groups. Fulani people and Fulani hair is probably the most diverse in West Africa. Another nomadic people in Western Africa are the Tuareg. The Tuareg along with the Fulani seem to have the longest hair in the region. The Tuareg were some of the main groups of people that traded with West African empires such as Wagaru, Mali, and Songar. They mostly dwell in the Sahau region along with the Soninka. Their hair type can range from about a 2B all the way to a 4A according to the natural hair scale. As we can see here, the hair of these Northwestern Tuareg girls are characterized by long braided locks and designs across the entire head. Southwestern Tuareg of the Niger region have very similar hairstyle that follows the rules of the Tuareg standard. Their hair is more woolly and kinky along the lines of a 4A type. Another hairstyle from West Africa comes from the Songai. This hairstyle probably represents the elite status of women in the Songai Empire. Songai hair is largely characterized by its 4C hair type. This Songai woman's hair is seen with adornments and a long curled afro textured extension in the back of the head. Big and neat hair was cherished among the Yoruba people and many other ethnic groups in West Africa. Similar to the Fulani style, they also maintained a frohawk. Yoruba hair is characterized by its 4C hair type and is seen to have a very simple yet complex hairstyle. In this culture, like many others, if a woman left her hair undone, it was a sign that something was wrong. Either she was depressed, mourning, or just an immoral woman. Now, Southern African women tend to have a completely different hairstyle that seems to be greatly influenced by the region itself. These Africans in the South seem to be a little more concerned with protective styling. Extensions and or protective styling have always been a part of African women's hair culture. Long braided or matted hair seems to be a common theme in the Southern regions. In Central and Southern Africa, women use a mixture of okra and animal fat to hold their hair in long cylindrical shapes. However, braiding remains one of the most common styling techniques in all of Africa. Many scientists believe that the dense, woolly curls present on most African hair helps to shield the head from strong sunlight. However, hair color and hair texture vary throughout the entire continent. Hair varies from long to short, to woolly, kinky, straight, and curly. Now, let's talk about the styles and textures of East African women. About 75% of the entire continent have hair that's consistent with a kinky hair type. And about 15% of Africans have a curly hair type. Straight or wavy hair amongst Africans is usually present in very humid regions or forested areas of the Sahara. Let's take Ethiopia for example. Ethiopian women have a diverse array of hair textures, but it's usually characterized by a 3A to about a 3C hair type. This hairstyle worn by some Ethiopian women probably can date back all the way back to the Aksumite Empire. In this picture, we see two Eritrean girls with a very intricate braided hairstyle that was probably seen throughout the Aksumite Empire as well. The hair type and hairstyle of Ethiopian people is very diverse as we can see. Perhaps the most diverse in the whole region. The hairstyle and hair types is also diverse amongst Somali women who are in a similar natural hair range of Ethiopians. From this photo, we can see a half braided hairstyle with loose ends on the bottom. Somali hair tends to be long, straight, or curly, often with a woolly type hint to it. Hair has always been very important to African women throughout the continent. Today, we have a tendency to see many Afro-descended women do many similar techniques to their hair as early Africans. Many Afro-descended women today use protective styling, weaves, extensions, and other adornments. Seldom do we see that today as an African tradition, but the truth seems to be quite different from our 21st century ideas on African hair history. If we really look at the history of women's hair in Africa, we will see that they too did similar things, especially in ancient times. Let's look at the ancient Nubian and Egyptian cultures. The styling aids from animal fats, plants, and minerals date back to ancient times. Palm oil was a favorite aid for conditioning and styling for African women. Now, the ancient Nubians developed a type of ironing comb that was used to make rows of tight coils around the head. Queen Kawat of Egypt was likely of Nubian extraction, and she's seen exhibiting this short tightly coiled style. Apparently, this style became so popular that Egyptians began to adopt this Nubian style in their later dynasties. The Nubian wig was especially popular during the 18th dynasty around the time of King Tut. Nubian wigs were the hottest thing on the market for the Egyptian elite, and it was most popularized by Queen Kia. Queen Kia's Nubian wig is typically Nubian characterized by the tight coils hanging down. She was probably like the Beyonce of the ancient world setting pop cultural trends. From her depiction, the wig looks very organized and neat, signifying her elite status. In fact, the Nubian wig was so popular that Queen Nefertiti wore it frequently, perhaps making it even more popular. So it's confirmed that African women like Queen Kia, Queen Nefertiti, and of course the Nubians themselves wore wigs and probably other hair adornments or additions. However, one of the differences between today and ancient times seems to be that these African women usually wore wigs or extensions that already mimicked their own hair type. Anyway guys, the hair of African women has a very long and diverse history. In fact, this history is continuing to evolve and grow as Afro-descended women embrace their own natural hair. Let me know which style you guys enjoyed the most. And if you guys want to learn more about African history, you can show your support on Patreon.com, where I teach full-blown African history courses. The link is in the description box below. It's ya boi, Home Team. Know thyself. Remember your ancestors. Peace. Thanks for watching!