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Cornrows

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Woman with cornrows

Cornrows (also called canerows) are a style of three-strand braids in which the hair is braided very close to the scalp, using an underhand, upward motion to make a continuous, raised row.[1] Cornrows are often done in simple, straight lines, as the term implies, but they can also be styled in elaborate geometric or curvilinear designs. They are considered a traditional hairstyle in many African cultures, as well as in the African diaspora.[2][3][4] They are distinct from, but may resemble, box braids, Dutch braids, melon coiffures, and other forms of plaited hair, and are typically tighter than braids used in other cultures.[5]

The name cornrows refers to the layout of crops in corn and sugar cane fields in the Americas and Caribbean,[1][6] where enslaved Africans were displaced during the Atlantic slave trade.[7] According to Black folklore, cornrows were often used to communicate on the Underground Railroad and by Benkos Biohó during his time as a slave in Colombia.[8] They often serve as a form of Black self-expression,[9] especially among African Americans,[1] but have been stigmatized in some cultures.[4][10] Cornrows are traditionally called "kolese" or "irun didi" in Yoruba, and are often nicknamed "didi braids" in the Nigerian diaspora.[11]

Cornrows are worn by both sexes, and are sometimes adorned with beads, shells, or hair cuffs.[1] The duration of braiding cornrows may take up to five hours, depending on the quantity and width.[12] Often favored for their easy maintenance, cornrows can be left in for weeks at a time if maintained through careful washing of the hair and natural oiling of the scalp. Braids are considered a protective styling on African curly hair as they allow for easy and restorative growth; braids pulled too tightly or worn for longer lengths of time and on different hair types can cause a type of hair loss known as traction alopecia.[13]

History

[edit]

Africa

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Portrait of Emperor Yohannes IV wearing traditional Ethiopian braids. See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Modern cornrows originated in Africa,[1] where they likely developed in response to the unique textures of African hair,[14][15] and have held significance for different cultures throughout recorded history.[16][17][18] Early depictions of women with what appear to be cornrows have been found in Stone Age paintings in the Tassili Plateau of the Sahara, and have been dated as far back as 3000 B.C. A similar style is also seen in depictions of the ancient Cushitic people of the Horn of Africa, who appear to be wearing this style of braids as far back as 2000 B.C.[19] In Nubia, the remains of a young girl wearing cornrows has been dated to 550–750 A.D.[20] Cornrows have also been documented in the ancient Nok civilization in Nigeria,[21] in the Mende culture of Sierra Leone,[22] and the Dan culture of the Côte d'Ivoire.[16]

Women in West Africa have been attested wearing complex hairstyles of threaded or wrapped braids since at least the 18th century. These practices likely influenced the use of cornrows and headwraps (such as durags) among enslaved Africans taken to the Americas.[15] In Ethiopia and Eritrea, there are many braided hairstyles which may include cornrows or "shuruba", such as Habesha or Albaso braids, and Tigray shuriba.[23][24] Though such hairstyles have always been popular with women, Ethiopian men have also worn such hairstyles. In 19th century Ethiopia, male warriors and kings such as Tewodros II and Yohannes IV were depicted wearing braided hairstyles, including the shuruba.[25][26][27]

Cornrow hairstyles in Africa also cover a wide social terrain: religion, kinship, status, age, racial diversity, and other attributes of identity can all be expressed in hairstyle. Just as important is the act of braiding, which passes on cultural values between generations, expresses bonds between friends, and establishes the role of professional practitioner.[21][14] Braiding is traditionally a social ritual in many African cultures—as is hairstyling in general—and is often performed communally, as White and White explain:

In African cultures, the grooming and styling of hair have long been important social rituals. Elaborate hair designs, reflecting tribal affiliation, status, sex, age, occupation, and the like, were common, and the cutting, shaving, wrapping, and braiding of hair were centuries-old arts. In part, it was the texture of African hair that allowed these cultural practices to develop; as the historian John Thornton has observed, "the tightly spiraled hair of Africans makes it possible to design and shape it in many ways impossible for the straighter hair of Europeans."[14]

Europe

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Reconstruction of Venus of Brassempouy by Libor Balák. Czech Academy of Sciences. Although this may be inaccurate due to Europeans having darker skin 23-29,000 years ago[28]

There have been a number of examples of European art and sculpture described as similar to modern cornrows,[29] such as plaits, the melon coiffure and sini crenes.[30][31][32]

Melon coiffure on Small Herculaneum woman, ca. 2nd century, National Archaeological Museum of Athens.

The oldest of these depictions are the statues known as the Venus of Brassempouy[29][33] and the Venus of Willendorf,[31][34][35] which date between 23,000 and 29,000 years ago[36] and were found in modern day France and Austria. Whether these statues feature cornrows, another type of braids, headdresses, or some other styling has been a matter of vigorous debate — most historians rule out cornrows, however.[29][31][37] The Venus of Brassempouy is often said to wear a wig or a patterned hood,[37] while the Venus of Willendorf is said to be wearing plaited hair or a fibrous cap.[31]

Since the early 5th century B.C., Ancient Greek and Roman art shows men and women with a characteristic melon coiffure, especially in the "Oriental Aphrodite" tradition, which may be confused with cornrows.[38][39][32] The traditional hairstyle of Roman Vestal Virgins, the sini crenes, also incorporates two braids that resemble cornrows.[40][41][30]

Americas

[edit]

The first recorded use of the word "cornrow" was in America in 1769, referring to the corn fields of the Americas. The earliest recorded use of the term "cornrows" to refer a hairstyle was in 1902.[a][1] The name "canerows" may be more common in parts of the Caribbean due to the historic role of sugar plantations in the region.[6]

As in Africa, grooming was a social activity for Black people on the American plantations; the enslaved Africans were reported helping each other style their hair into a wide variety of appearances. On his visit to a plantation in Natchez, Mississippi, New Englander Joseph lngraham wrote, "No scene can be livelier or more interesting to a Northerner, than that which the negro quarters of a well regulated plantation present, on a Sabbath morning, just before church hour."[42] Hairstyles were so characteristic of a person, even when their appearance and behaviour was otherwise heavily regulated, that they were often used to identify runaways, and enslaved Africans sometimes had their hair shaved as a form of punishment. Generally, however, slaveholders in the British colonies gave their Black slaves a degree of latitude in how they wore their hair.[14] Thus, wearing traditional hairstyles offered a way to assert their bodily autonomy when they otherwise had none.[43]

Enslaved Black people may have chosen to wear cornrows to keep their hair neat and flat to their scalp while working; the other styles they developed alongside cornrows blended African, European and Native American trends and traditions.[44] African-American, Afro-Latino and Caribbean folklore also relates multiple stories of cornrows being used to communicate or provide maps for slaves across the "New World".[8][45] Today, such styles retain their link with Black self-expression and creativity, and may also serve as a form of political expression.[9][46][47]

Cornrows gained in popularity in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s, and again during the 1990s and 2000s. In the 2000s, some athletes wore cornrows, including NBA basketball players Allen Iverson, Rasheed Wallace, and Latrell Sprewell.[48] Some female mixed martial artists have chosen to wear cornrows for their fights as it prevents their hair from obscuring their vision as they move.[49][50][51]

Attitudes to cornrows

[edit]
A Nuba woman wearing cornrows in a traditional styling

Colonial attitudes and practices towards Black hairstyles have traditionally been used to reinforce racism, exclusion and inequality.[52] For example, during the 18th century, slaves would sometimes have their hair shaved as a lesser form of punishment.[14] Eurocentric beauty standards, which often denigrate Black hairstyles, can lead to internalized racism, colorism, and marginalization, which negatively affect Black people—and Black women in particular.[47][53][54] Related valuations of hair texture—which portray straighter hair as "good hair" and curlier hair as "bad hair"—are emphasized through the media, advertising, and popular culture.[53][55] These attitudes to hair can devalue African heritage and lead to discrimination.[53][56] The unique type of discrimination that arises from prejudice towards Black women's hair is called natural hair discrimination.[57][58][59] Despite these challenges, cornrows have gained popularity among Black people as a way to express their Blackness, creativity and individuality.[52][53][60]

Over the decades, cornrows, alongside dreadlocks, have been the subject of several disputes in U.S. workplaces, as well as universities and schools. Some employers and educational institutions[60] have considered cornrows unsuitable or "unprofessional", and have banned them.[48] Employees and civil rights groups have countered that such attitudes evidence cultural bias or racism, and some disputes have resulted in litigation.[52][61] In 1981, Renee Rogers sued American Airlines for their policy which banned cornrows and other braided hairstyles. Other cases, such as Mitchell vs Marriott Hotel and Pitts vs. Wild Adventures, soon followed.[62] Since other traditional Black hairstyles are also often banned, Black women may be forced to straighten their hair or emulate European hairstyles at significant additional cost.[56] The intersection of racialized and gendered discrimination against Black women is often called misogynoir.[63] In California, the CROWN Act was passed in 2019 to prohibit discrimination based on hair style and hair texture.[64]

In 2011, the High Court of the United Kingdom, in a decision reported as a test case, ruled against a school's decision to refuse entry to a student with cornrows. The school claimed this was part of its policy mandating "short back and sides" haircuts, and banning styles that might be worn as indicators of gang membership. However, the court ruled that the student was expressing a tradition and that such policies, while possibly justifiable in certain cases (e.g. skinhead gangs), had to accommodate reasonable racial diversities and cultural practices.[65]

In some African nations, regularly changing hairstyles can be seen as a sign of social status for a woman, while advertising continues to promote straighter hairstyles as fashionable. Braids provide a way for women to maintain their hair, and are sometimes used with Chinese or Indian wigs to rotate hairstyles.[55]

[edit]
  • Styled cornrows
    Styled cornrows
  • Cornrows
    Cornrows
  • Artistic braiding
    Artistic braiding

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ "Alice hunted up faithful old nurse Calline at once, sure of overflowing black motherly sympathy. She found her perched on the railing of the back gallery, combing her hair in long 'corn-rows'." Century Magazine, October 1902, 966/1.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f "cornrow (noun)". Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  2. ^ Baron, Robert (2010). "Sins of Objectification? Agency, Mediation, and Community Cultural Self-Determination in Public Folklore and Cultural Tourism Programming". The Journal of American Folklore. 123 (487): 63–91 (89). doi:10.5406/jamerfolk.123.487.0063. ISSN 0021-8715.
  3. ^ Essah, Doris S. (2008). Fashioning the Nation: Hairdressing, Professionalism and the Performance of Gender in Ghana, 1900-2006 (Thesis thesis). p. 221.
  4. ^ a b Leong, Nancy (2021). "Enjoyed by White Citizens" (PDF). Georgetown Law Review. 109 (1421): 1430.
  5. ^ Underwood, Khalea (24 August 2019). "Cornrows, Braids, Twists, Oh My: How To Spot The Difference In Braiding Styles". Refinery29. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  6. ^ a b Charlotte Mensah (29 October 2020). Good Hair: The Essential Guide to Afro, Textured and Curly Hair. Penguin Books Limited. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-241-98817-6.
  7. ^ Quampah, B., Owusu, E., Adu, V. N. F. A., Agyemang Opoku, N., Akyeremfo, S., & Ahiabor, A. J. (2023). "Cornrow: a medium for communicating escape strategies during the transatlantic slave trade era: evidences from Elmina Castle and Centre for National Culture in Kumasi". International Journal of Social Sciences: Current and Future Research Trends (IJSSCFRT), 18:1. pp. 127-143.
  8. ^ a b Irbahim, Nur (12 March 2022). "Did Braiding Maps in Cornrows Help Black Slaves Escape Slavery?". Snopes. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  9. ^ a b Dash, Paul (31 January 2006). "Black hair culture, politics and change". International Journal of Inclusive Education. 10 (1): 27–37. doi:10.1080/13603110500173183. ISSN 1360-3116.
  10. ^ Spellers, R. E. (2000). Cornrows in corporate America: Black female hair/body politics and socialization experiences in dominant culture workplace organizations. Arizona State University. p.iii.
  11. ^ Kia, Kara (5 February 2021). "It's Time We Ditch the Words "Cornrows" and "Canerows" and Call Them Didi Braids Instead". POPSUGAR Beauty UK. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  12. ^ "Cornrow Braid Styles". Africanamericanhairstyling. Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  13. ^ "Braiding 'can lead to hair loss'". BBC News. 24 August 2007. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
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  20. ^ DeLongoria, M. (2018). Misogynoir:* Black Hair, Identity Politics, and Multiple Black Realities. Africology: The Journal of Pan African Studies, 12(8), 39-49 (40).
  21. ^ a b "History of Cornrow Braiding: African Origins 1.b". Csdt.rpi.edu. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  22. ^ "History of Cornrow Braiding: African Origins1.c". ccd.rpi.edu. 12 June 2011. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  23. ^ Staff, Shine My Crown (20 June 2023). "Albaso Braids: Modern Ethiopian Braids & Hairstyles". Shine My Crown. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  24. ^ "20 Ethiopian Hairstyle Ideas – Forever Braids". 4 October 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
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  27. ^ Aning, Laurencia. "A hair journey through time | Hair Journey with Laurencia". blogs.brighton.ac.uk. Retrieved 1 March 2024 – via University of Brighton.
  28. ^ Carlberg, Andrea HanelCarsten (3 July 2020), English: History of human pigmentation in Europe., retrieved 15 May 2024
  29. ^ a b c Randall White (December 2006). "The Women of Brassempouy: A Century of Research and Interpretation" (PDF). Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory. 13 (4): 251–304. doi:10.1007/s10816-006-9023-z. S2CID 161276973..
  30. ^ a b "Ancient Roman Vestal Virgin hairstyle re-created for very first time". Gizmodo. 11 January 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  31. ^ a b c d "Woman from Willendorf" Archived 2007-10-05 at the Wayback Machine. Christopher L. C. E. Witcombe, 2003: "The rows are not one continuous spiral but are, in fact, composed in seven concentric horizontal bands that encircle the head and two more horizontal bands underneath the first seven on the back of the head."
  32. ^ a b "Hairstyles in the Arts of Greek and Roman Antiquity". Journal of Investigative Dermatology Symposium Proceedings. 16 December 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  33. ^ "Echoes of the Past: Prehistoric Wonders in Southern France". France Today. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  34. ^ Shaw Nevins, Andrea (2006). The embodiment of disobedience : fat black women's unruly political bodies. Lanham, MD. ISBN 978-0-7391-5457-1. OCLC 856869915.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  35. ^ Shell, Ellen Ruppel (2003). The hungry gene : the inside story of the obesity industry (1st Grove Press ed.). New York: Grove Press. ISBN 0-8021-4033-5. OCLC 53434322.
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  37. ^ a b Lawson, Andrew (24 May 2012). Painted Caves: Palaeolithic Rock Art in Western Europe. Oxford University Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-19-969822-6.
  38. ^ "Seated Nude Woman with "Melon Coiffure"". Fordham University Libraries. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  39. ^ "The Herculaneum Women". The J. Paul Getty Museum. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  40. ^ León, Vicki (2013). Working IX to V : orgy planners, funeral clowns, and other prized professions of the ancient world. New York. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-8027-1862-4. OCLC 879285569.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  41. ^ "Oldest Roman Hairstyle Recreated for First Time". LiveScience. 9 January 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  42. ^ White, Shane; White, Graham (1999). Stylin': African-American Expressive Culture, from Its Beginnings to the Zoot Suit. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. pp. 37–39. doi:10.7591/9781501718083. ISBN 978-1-5017-1808-3. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  43. ^ Walker, Susannah (1999). "Stylin': African American Expressive Culture from its Beginnings to the Zoot Suit. By Shane White and Graham White (Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1998. xv plus 301pp.) (Review)". Journal of Social History, Volume 33, Issue 2, Winter 1999. pp. 483–5 (483). doi:10.1353/jsh.1999.0077. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  44. ^ "History of Cornrow Braiding: Middle Passage 2.b". ccd.rpi.eduvvv. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  45. ^ Anangonó, Pablo Tatés; Moreno-Montoro, María-Isabel (30 September 2024). "Pelo negro y dramaturgia: sentir, pensar y politizar el pelo negro mediante dos piezas cortas de teatro". Tercio Creciente (in Spanish): 111–138 (115). doi:10.17561/rtc..9203. ISSN 2340-9096.
  46. ^ Jaima, Felicitas R. (2 September 2017). "When things get hairy: afros, cornrows, and the desegregation of US military hair salons in West Germany". African and Black Diaspora. 10 (3): 269–280. doi:10.1080/17528631.2017.1363477. ISSN 1752-8631.
  47. ^ a b Chapman, Yolanda (28 November 2007). ""I am Not my Hair! Or am I?": Black Women's Transformative Experience in their Self Perceptions of Abroad and at Home". Anthropology Theses. doi:10.57709/1059174.
  48. ^ a b Sherrow, Victoria (2006). Encyclopedia of Hair: A Cultural History. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 97. ISBN 9780313331459.
  49. ^ "For Professional Fighters, Hairstyles Can Make the Difference Between Winning and Losing". Allure. 23 June 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  50. ^ "Michaela Angela Davis on the Power of Protective Hairstyles". Allure. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  51. ^ Dsalita (8 November 2023). "why do female mma fighters have cornrows". Dsalita Boxing. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  52. ^ a b c Anangonó, Pablo Tatés; Moreno-Montoro, María-Isabel (30 September 2024). "Pelo negro y dramaturgia: sentir, pensar y politizar el pelo negro mediante dos piezas cortas de teatro". Tercio Creciente (in Spanish): 111–138 (111). doi:10.17561/rtc..9203. ISSN 2340-9096.
  53. ^ a b c d Robinson, Cynthia L. (2011). "Hair as Race: Why "Good Hair" May Be Bad for Black Females". Howard Journal of Communications. 22 (4): 358–376 (359–360). doi:10.1080/10646175.2011.617212. ISSN 1064-6175.
  54. ^ "Black Women's Hair and Natural Hairstyles in the Workplace: Expanding the Definition of Race Under Title VII - Virginia Law Review". virginialawreview.org. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  55. ^ a b "La locura por las pelucas en África". ELMUNDO (in Spanish). 25 March 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  56. ^ a b Henson, Renee (1 November 2017). "Are my Cornrows Unprofessional?: Title VII's Narrow Application of Grooming Policies, and its Effect on Black Women's Natural Hair in the Workplace". The Business, Entrepreneurship & Tax Law Review. 1 (2): 521.
  57. ^ "Natural Hair Discrimination: Frequently Asked Questions". Legal Defense Fund. 10 July 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  58. ^ Nkimbeng, Manka; Malaika Rumala, Bernice B.; Richardson, Crystal M.; Stewart-Isaacs, Shemekka Ebony; Taylor, Janiece L. (1 August 2023). "The Person Beneath the Hair: Hair Discrimination, Health, and Well-Being". Health Equity. 7 (1): 406–410. doi:10.1089/heq.2022.0118. ISSN 2473-1242. PMC 10457631. PMID 37638116.
  59. ^ Arefin, D Sharmin (17 April 2020). "Is Hair Discrimination Race Discrimination?". American Bar Association. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
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  61. ^ Alison Dundes Renteln (2005). The Cultural Defense. Oxford University Press. p. 143. ISBN 9780195154030. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  62. ^ DeLongoria, M. (2018). Misogynoir:* Black Hair, Identity Politics, and Multiple Black Realities. Africology: The Journal of Pan African Studies, 12(8), 39-49 (45).
  63. ^ Mjr&l (9 March 2021). ""Professional" Hairstyles: How Title VII Protections Have Condoned the Policing of Black Women's Hair". Michigan Journal of Race & Law. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  64. ^ "California becomes first state to ban discrimination against natural hair". www.cbsnews.com. 4 July 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  65. ^ "School braids ban 'not justified'". The Independent. 17 June 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
[edit]
  • Media related to Cornrows at Wikimedia Commons
  • The dictionary definition of cornrows at Wiktionary

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