Thursday, April 8, 2010

All my African-ness lies in my 'fro....(2)

...Omonoba...
Our people say:
Yoruba: 'Gbogbo wa la fòkété san ọgọ́fà; ìgbà tí òkété ó fi di ogóje, ojú-u gbogbo wa ni yó ṣe.'
Eng: 'We all agreed on a hundred and twenty cowries as the value of the bush rat; when the value changes to a hundred and forty, we must all know about it.' - Yoruba Proverb.
.......................................................................................................
I asked the opinions of a few beautiful and strong ladies. A few of the responses surprised me. Anyway, this is the other half of the first part of all my african-ness lies in my 'fro. 

Now, the first part was my own perspective of how much of my hair defines me. From other people's perspectives, not all were the same as mine. However, I will post a few of the honest responses.

{Please be respectful of each lady's stand and send in your comments. Oya, my people, make una flow...}

A, Adelexi. {Her natural look.}

"Right now, I'm rocking an awesome weave. I love my hair, just that my tracks are showing for this look. But besides that, I love my hair. In the words of Indie Arie, "I am not my hair." I'm rocking short hair as my natural look, and I haven't lost my sense of identity. Take care of your hair, with or without a weave. Love your hair!"
Adelexi A.
.......................................................................................................
J, Abk. {Her natural look.}



"Right now, I have on a full weave with bangs. About my real hair, I don't really wake up feeling good because it's damaged and looks unappealing to me when I hold it. However when I leave it out, I feel ok. abt my weave, well, i'm simply ok with it. hehe. My hair defines me. i would feel incomplete without my hair! When i do change hairstyles, I sometimes lose my sense of identity. I don't have tips for my weave. but for anyone that wants to transition to natural hair- you should love your hair and treat it well[i need to listen to this advice]."
Abk. J
.....................................................................................
O, Ada. {Her natural look.}


I am trying to curb my hand in hair disease to be able to retain length. So I wear my hair in conrows on the weekdays and let it free on the weekends. Its neither here not there. sometimes I love it and sometimes it does its own thing. It doesnt define but I am fully aware that sometimes people try to define me because of my hair. People have preconcieved notions when they first see you based on societal definitions of what a person like you is supposedly about. I am not vegeterian, I love meat. I do not burn incense every morning. No I am not mad at the world..well sometimes.lol Yes I sing and play the guitar but I am no Erykah badu or Jill scott. um duh I am Afrocentric because I am african, I mean what else do you think I'll be centered around.lol. I have rocked my her short and long, weaves, braids..etc and didn't really feel I lost myself in any of those hairstyles. If by hairstyle you mean rocking your hair in the state God gave to you then I say go for it. be prepared to throw away your "knowledge" about how to go about taking care of hair. Do your research and be patient with your hair. People with afro-textured hair have no idea how to take care of our hair because we have been setback hundreds of years in terms of knowledge and care . We have not been equipped with tips and methods on how to care for our hair. We just slap a relaxer and claim it is unmanageable. So feeling fustrated about your hair in the intial stages can be expected. it is a learning process so dont be to hard on you and your hair.
Ada O. 
......................................................................................................................



As of today (I change it a lot), my hair is in thick twists. I do like my hair a lot. :) None of my hair defines me, I hope. It would be hard not to lose some of my identity if my hair was changed, but because of 1 Peter 3:3-4:
      "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment such as braided hair and
        the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your
        inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth
        in God's sight" I wouldn't (so help me God lol).
I'd recommend going natural for this hairstyle; straight hair is hard to keep in twists. Also, twist your hair when its wet. When they've dried and you're bored with the 'twist' hairstyle, you can unravel them and have a curly fro :)
Bita A.
........................................................................................................................


So, there we go. A few ladies' take on how much of their identities lie within their hair.

Thank you!

5 comments:

  1. I am balding...dats my hair-stimony

    ReplyDelete
  2. You know, I like India Arie's "I am not my hair" song, but I also understand when J. Abk says, "when I do change hairstyles I sometimes loose my identity." In my case I don't loose my identity, but it makes me feel a little different.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love all their looks. My own hair is in the transition phase from relaxed to natural. It's gonna be a year in May and I'm still afraid to chop off the relaxed hair since my hair has always been longer than shoulder length. I guess that's my hair story. In transition, as is my life story lol

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love this post because many of the issues concerning balck women's hair revolve around identity. The napturals accuse the weavaholics of losing theirs, while the napturals themselves are accused of placing too much identity in their hair.

    Personally, I do believe a woman's hair is part of her identity. But it is not ALL of it. If you choose to ear an afro, it says something about you- it is self expression. Yet, like one of the contributors said, it doesn't define you as an incense-burning tree hugger.

    I am currently in the transitioning phase, sha. Meeeen... the hair is annoying to manage! I just want it to be all natural already! I love the texture so much, I don't know what creamy crack demon possessed me to relax it in the first place. The grass is always greener, abi?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hey everyone, thanks for your contribution. I;m sure the ladies would love to read.

    @F, Always greener oh. but now that I'm back from the other side, I see only green grass here for me!

    ReplyDelete

Your comments are my maggi!