All my African-ness lies in my 'fro....(1)

...Omonoba...

Our people say:
Igbo: Nwaanyi muta ite ofe mmiri mmiri, di ya amuta ipi utara aka were suru ofe.
Eng: If a woman decides to make the soup watery, the husband will learn to dent the foofoo before dipping it into the soup.
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If my 'fro were to speak for me, it would tell you that it is quite important to me and that it is very much  the crown of my head (and so is the lack of it thereof). It would tell you that I give it so much attention {the kind of attention that requires me waking up two hours before classes each morning in order to fit extra hair-care into my schedule}. It would tell you that ever since my hair was cut and re-grown, it looks so much healthier and feels so much better. It would tell you that it never thirsts anymore.


It would say that it has brought on me a much stronger appearance and has made me look twice as confident as I may be. It would tell you that many more people have approached me to tell me how 'African' I look. It would confess that it could be stubborn sometimes (many times) but is the best thing that has happened to my head. EVER!


The most important thing it would say to you, however, is that:


I, NakedSha's fro, do not make her anymore African than she already is. 

It would tell you that outwardly, I fit perfectly into the biological definition of an African; thick bones, brown skin, full lips, full nose and of course thick dark kinky hair. 


My appearance is very importance to my identity because, of course I cannot claim to be (for instance) a white boy when everything about me spells B-L-A-C-K  G-I-R-L. But my African Identity goes far beyond the outward appearance. It goes beyond my green passport (oh bless your heart...you bringer of troubles) and my long sentence name.


I have come to acknowledge that I accept the African Identity by the things I do, the peace within that the motherland gives and the values I hold. Because more than just answer a name, I have taken it upon myself as a representation of who I am.


 'I have gone through very many waters and very many lands but have not found any grass as green as the dusty brown wilted grass blades in my family compound.'


Tomorrow, as usual, someone will remind me about how African I have proven to be because I have grown a natural afro out of rich black kinky hair. Then I will say tell them that ALL my African-ness does NOT lie within my 'fro.