The Natural Hair Journey

Black Hair History: Cicely Tyson's Timeless Natural Style

In honor of Black Hair History month, this week I would like to honor actress Cicely Tyson. Her trailblazing in the entertainment industry is well known. The roles she has played on screen have brought pride and dignity to African Americans at a time when what was being shown about us wasn't positive or true.

Today, I want to honor her not just as a trailblazer in entertainment, but as a trailblazer in self image, beauty, and natural hair.  Many of her hair styles are African inspired.  They are timeless: worn for centuries by Black women and still popular today.

For example take these two photos from the 1970s of Ms. Tyson rocking beautiful cornrows.

In the photo above left, her cornrows are worn in what we called back home in Kenya a "pineapple" style. Like a pineapple, it's sectioned in four parts and gathered at the crown of the head with a burst of hair at the top.

This style, below, is from Jet magazine's cover in 1973. This is the "princess" look -- two cornrows at the top. The rest go up and around the crown, with two braids hanging down to frame the face. This style was traditionally worn by royalty, and today can be worn in ceremonial rites (such as a girl's rites of passage into womanhood). And of course, everyone today is a princess -- grown woman and girls alike -- and it's a bold statement of affirming our feminine beauty.

 
 
Take a look at this photo below from the legendary TV miniseries Roots. In this style, her hair is parted into sections, plaited, and then tucked under. (And yes, that is Maya Angelou in the background.)

 

Traditionally, this style is an example of how we used to dry our hair before hair dryers were invented. Once dried and unbraided, the hair had texture and character. It also retained length normally lost to shrinkage if dried openly.

This is just another reminder of how far we've come. Many of us have struggled to come to peace and love ourselves and our hair.  Because of Ms. Tyson and the generations before us, the way is open for our own natural hair journey.

Who are some of your favorite natural hair mentors and idols? Where are you now in your own natural hair journey? Let me hear from you!

Kirigo

Your Natural Hair Coach

Black Hair History Moment: Masai Male Hair Obession

February is Black Hair History Month at Natural Hair Journey, and I'm sharing black hair history tidbits each Thursday this month.

Did you know...?

 
 Masai men grooming each other's hair

In Kenya's Masai tribe, it's the men not the women who are obsessed with hair grooming!

The women shave their heads bald or wear very close-cropped styles. But the men spend hours styling and grooming each other's elaborate hair dos.

In Masai culture, lion symbolism is important, and a man's long "mane" represents strength, protection, and masculine beauty.

To get this look, they use clay mixed with ashes to achieve what is actually a micro two-strand twist. (Who knew, it looks a lot like Sisterlocks...!)

In the photo, notice the tiny strap of leather across the warrior's forehead. The other warrior doing his hair uses it as a guide to make sure that each bundled section of hair is tied at the exact same point. In other words, his hair is precise; it's tiiiiight! lol

 
   
 
  Top left: Masai women. Top right and bottom: Masai warriors sporting elaborate ceremonial styles consisting of tiny two-strand twists accented with colorful silk roses or sculpted into a bow and arrow shape that may represent a recent lion-hunting victory.

 

As regular readers know, I'm from Kenya originally -- I'm from the Kikyu tribe. I also have Masai blood. This past Christmas, my aunt was sharing family history (we call it "daring and sharing;" the younger family members dare to ask questions, and the elders share their knowledge), I learned that I'm actually more than 25% Masai! How cool is that?!

 

Now take a look at this picture from a hair show in the U.S. The woman has her hair sculpted into a spider web. See the connection? The Masai have been sculpting hair into everyday objects since the beginning of time. And here in the States it continues. Even though we have been removed from our culture, the creativity is embedded in our blood. In or out of Africa, black people all around the world are connected by traditions so deep we don't always even know that's what we're doing.

 
I love Black Hair History Month!

 

Kirigo

Your Natural Hair Coach

 

Black Hair History Moment: Dreadlocks and Kenya's Mau Mau Tribe

It's Black Hair History Month at Natural Hair Journey!

In honor of Black History Month, I thought I'd share some black hair history tidbits. Today's post is the first in a weekly series this month.

Did you know...?

Mau Mau war veteran
Dedan Kimathi

The modern Western world (white folks), especially those in Europe, were first widely exposed to the dreadlocks hair style in the 1950s, when photographs of Kenya's Mau Mau people appeared in European newspapers and magazines. They made headlines as freedom fighters who fought the British for my own native Kenya's independence. (Check out this breathtaking Mau Mau statue on one of my recent trips home.)

While the hairstyle had been worn in Africa for centuries, and later brought to the Caribbean by enslaved Africans, most in Europe had never seen such a style unless they had travelled to these places.

 

 
 Kenyan Mau Mau elder, courtesy of Davey D's blog

Later, in the 1970s, the rest of the world again saw dreadlocks as the rise of reggae superstar Bob Marley shed light on Rastafarian culture.

  
 Wow! I love this photo of Bob Marley. Just another example dispelling the myth that
Black people's hair can't grow long and fly in the air. (click image to enlarge)



So, what do you think of this new Black History Month feature? What Black Hair History can you share and educate us all! Let me hear from you!

Kirigo

Your Natural Hair Coach

Mau Mau Statue from Kenya

This is a piece of history that I came across during one  of my many visits to Kenya, East Africa.

This sculpture was completed in remembrance of the Mau Mau regime otherwise known as Kenya's Freedom Fighters. They fought for independence of the country from the British colonists.

Mau mau's lived in the forest, so they were feared and highly misunderstood.  Their appearance and especially their hair was became a sigma of negativity.

Mau mau's were also the very first people with locks/ dreadlocks that were shown publicly through media to the rest of the world.

In fact when I started my own locks in 1997 and traveled to Kenya the fear and questions from my Aunts especially was " Are you becoming a Mau Mau?" At first I was so insulted,  but soon I decided to walk strong in my lock journey and decided that yes I was going to stand for my forefathers.

Today in Kenya, hair locking is very trendy especially with the middle class. Young professionals are making the way.

Times are really changing, globally.

 

Kirigo

 

Your Natural Hair Coach