Hairstyles in African Culture

Wife of the Niao chief at Ganya in We- territory of Ivory Coast, West Africa.
Photo: Vandenhoute, 1938-39, IV.F.VII. 134-10.

The coiffure of the wife is very artful: her high, arched forehead is lined with a series of braids that end in the neck, while the top of her head is covered with many separated braids that are interwoven at the back, creating an excellent chignon at the base of the neck. The two braids descend along her face.


Photo and text from the book Hair in African Art and Culture, Edit by Roy Sieber and Frank Herreman, The Museum for African Art, New York, 2000.
braiding, twisting, plaiting, corn rolls, and reverse braiding
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