African Jewellery

You know what I love about African jewellery? 

The fact that it tells a story and it’s so compelling to look at. 

I’m not saying I haven’t seen some blah pieces of jewellery – I have. But on the whole it’s pretty exciting and the stories behind the jewellery are just fabulous, rich and full of culture.

Did you know that jewellery is actually supposed to have originated from Africa? It was considered a form of wearable art – testament to the crafter’s skill.

The other thing I love about African jewellery is the diversity of materials that are used in making it. It doesn’t confine itself to precious stones or metals, it uses semi-precious stones, bronze, copper and even materials as random as shells, animal teeth and bones!

You can’t talk about African jewellery without talking about beading and beadwork. What’s obvious is that the beads come in dozens of different shapes, colours and materials. Not so obvious is the fact that some of the beads and beading patterns have such depth of meaning.

Take cowrie shells for example, they were specifically chosen to represent female fertility.

A quick image search will immediately explain why if you don’t know what they look like! Glass beads were shipped over from Europe in the fifteenth century to West Africa and were used as payment for the purchase of slaves.

Even today, specific beads and patterns have meaning. Take the Samburu of Kenya for example – their beads are made of glass in red, white, blue and green. 

The blue beads represent the sky and the Deity that resides there. 

The green beads represent the grass that the cattle feed on. 

The red beads represent blood and the life giving property of the cow blood that they often drink mixed with milk – represented by the white beads.

So next time you see a piece of African jewellery that you really like, see if you can put together the story behind it.

Go out and get yourself some today and proceed to dazzle your friends with your superior knowledge lol! 

Bye!

And my final thoughts on African "hairitage"!

Ok, confession time ladies.

Hands up if you’ve ever had a weave. I know you can’t see me but trust me I’m waving my arms frantically right about now!

The thing about weaves is this: everybody knows it’s not your hair so my question is - why do we still do it to ourselves?! As a friend of mine responded, “I bought it, so when I’m asked if it’s my hair, the answer is hell yes!”

Seriously, I have yet to meet a male who likes them and as much as we do these things for ourselves, let’s face it – most of us like a bit (or a lot, depending on who you are) of male attention!

Weaves remind me of that old nursery rhyme by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I can’t remember the whole thing but the line I’m talking about is

“when she was good she was very, very good, but when she was bad she was horrid!”

That has to sum up weaves for me – when they’re done well they are stunning, but when they’re done badly........... SMH!

I feel a Fashion Police moment coming on and want to post pics of bad and good weaves but I’ll resist the temptation. Suffice it to say I am eternally grateful to the designers of lace front wigs and micro weaving and would really like to ban synthetic if it were in my power!

I’m not going to go into the ins and outs of what you should do and how but please, for all our sakes follow this chick on Twitter and she’ll sort you out!

What I really find interesting is why we all love weaves so much in the first place -the whole psychology of “good hair”. Go watch the Chris Rock movie if you haven’t already. Nuff said!

I know I should embrace my ethnicity and love who I am.......but sometimes I want to be able to toss my locks and have my hair blow in the wind dammit!

I’ve decided to give up on the weave for now and am back to the tried and tested chemical violation of my hair also known as perming.

I must admit, of all the hair we’ve talked about, I know this style suits me best but dang, it’s hard work! I’m pretty sure my stylist will soon be buying a brand new Range Rover Sport straight from the showroom based on my payments alone. Between the treatments, the colour, the blow drying, the flat ironing, the wrap setting, the tonging and all the rest it’s actually surprising I have any hair left!

But what to do - I love the look!

So what look are you sporting at the moment?

More on African "hairitage"!

I’m back to share more of my hair-raising adventures (lol, I kill myself!)

My favourite standby, when I can’t make up my mind about what to do next with my hair, is braids. I love the versatility. From cornrows to tree braids, from micro braids to flat twists, there are so many different ways to braid your hair that I don’t know if you ever need to have the same style twice.

I’m blessed to live somewhere where there’s a braider on every other corner and they’re relatively cheap and I feel the pain of all you ladies who don’t have access to the same.

Actually why don’t we share? Send in the name of your favourite braid stylist and their location and I can put it in some blogs.....it’s great (free) exposure for them and you’ll really be helping out your sistas who might not be so well connected!

What’s great about braids is how you can choose the braid that bests suit your lifestyle. I’m pretty active so I like something I can put up in a ponytail. Pick what works best for you.

Please, please, please (yes, I’m begging) keep those braids clean and well maintained. If you don’t wash them regularly, they can smell really nasty – especially if you’re a smoker or hang around smokers! Plus, I’ve found when I wash mine regularly there’s less tangling and breakage when I eventually undo them. That’s another thing that I love about braids.....they stay for a good couple of months. Personally, I’ve never had them longer than two months but that’s more because I get bored than the fact that they’re falling out. If you are going to keep them for any length of time though, regular maintenance especially around the hairline is a must...it’ll keep them looking fresh.

There are downsides to braiding though – the main one for me being the length of time it takes to get them done and undone. But since I figure it saves me hours of salon time for the period I have them in, then it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make!

I once had braids done that took 18 straight hours........and that was with two people doing the braiding! What’s the longest you’ve ever taken to get your hair “did”?

African "hairitage"

So today I’m on a Chris Rock “Good Hair” trip! I’m pretty sure it’s a matter that you all have an opinion about – black girl hair. Why, oh why, is it so hard to handle?! Tell me you haven't had similar experiences! You’re hanging out on a hot day by the pool and it seems like the best idea in the world to just jump in and go for a dip.....

Unfortunately, African hair doesn’t always come in “wash and wear”! I love swimming, but I haven’t spontaneously jumped into a pool in oh.....ten years or more! Mainly because my hair is permed

I was explaining it to one of my friends who doesn’t have the same problem (she has blonde Sunsilk hair!). So I go swimming, my hair gets wet. No biggie, right? Just jump in the shower, wash and let it dry. WRONG!!!

Once it gets wet, then I have to wash it, treat it with intensive conditioning, blow dry it, flat iron or set it on rollers and then style it.........who has the energy?! And by the way, I never get results remotely as good as my stylist does!

So........what’s a girl to do? Well over the course of many years I’ve experimented with it all – blowouts, locks, weaves, braids, perms, natural crop: you name it, I’ve probably tried it!

I loved the ease of my blowout, natural crop and locks. Literally I’d just get up in the morning and go. The only problem with the blowout was that it didn’t translate into elegance very well. Natural hair is pretty basic at best. I must say though that it took colour really well and the short cropped look was great for showcasing bold jewellery. So if you’re a girl who likes simplicity and huge earrings, then a blowout or natural crop would be perfect for you.

The locks were also a great choice – I opted to get mine washed and twisted weekly in the beginning as I wasn’t sure how long I’d like to keep them. Turns out it was a good idea – I only lasted about 3 months. My issue with them was that they’re a lifetime (or at the very least long-term) commitment – and I get bored really quickly! I like to switch up my look so the permanence of locks was kind of scary. If you’re the kind of girl that can commit long-term and wants something low maintenance, though, then this is the option for you!

My girl does great updates on hair and beauty, so follow her on Twitter to keep updated!

Terms you may hear in regards to African fashion

We can’t all be experts at everything but I figure if you’re going to talk about something with anything remotely resembling authority then the least you can do is read up on it so you don’t sound like a total bonehead!

Having had this light-bulb moment (somewhere between my second and third glass of natural sweet red....) I realised that I had no business putting my thoughts about African fashion out there if I couldn’t actually hold a semi-intelligent conversation about it. So I set out to arm myself with some knowledge about African fashion and having found out some interesting things, I’ve decided to share my new-found knowledge with you. Fine, I’ll be honest – I’m dying to show off!!

Let’s start with the basics....the foundation garments of most African fashion (and I’m not talking about undies here!)

Wrapper: you’ve all seen this and, if you’re anything like me, spent hours wondering how it is that the ladies who wear them never have to keep tying them unlike me! Basically it’s that long piece of cloth that goes around your waist. Women in some parts of Africa tend to wear two at a time and sometimes use the upper one as a shawl. They’re also commonly used to carry babies on their mother’s back (or sister’s, or auntie’s – whoever’s available really!) It’s a great all purpose garment. Also known as a lesso or kikoy(Kenya), chitenje (Malawi) and iro (Yoruba).

Kaftan: Also spelt as caftan. This is a long dress without arms that’s usually made up of one or two panels. It’s more often roomy rather than form fitting and very comfortable. In North Africa, especially Morocco, a similar garment is known as a thobe.

Dashiki : this is possibly the most well-known garment for males. It’s a longish shirt that usually falls to mid-thigh and has some form of embroidery around the arms, base and neck area. Guys wear it with any kind of trousers and women wear their boyfriend’s as a nightdress (okay, I made that last part up just to see if you’re paying attention!)

I’m sure there’s loads more and as I expand my knowledge base I’ll show it off....I mean share it, with you!

In fact, why don’t you share what you know with me? What basic garments do you know, what are they called and where are they from?