MEN’S AND WOMEN’S HEADWEAR African headwear is generally gender specific and age appropriate, and refers to one’s life experiences. Hundreds of years ago, knotted raffia skull caps (mpu) with raised designs were worn by free men in the Kongo kingdom (checklist no. 17). Kings wore a larger, more elaborate version; slaves wore nothing on their heads. An 18th-century engraving shows this type of hat on the head of a customs officer. Early traveler accounts indicate that cap makers were noblemen and that fashioning such headwear was considered a fine art.7
Young Karamonjong men likewise replicate the traditional mudpack hairstyle in a wig, which is appropriately much smaller and less elaborate than those of their elders (checklist no. 38). The bunlike coiffure is made of matted human hair, and the front section is plastered with clay and painted. It is outfitted with metal plugs for holding precious ostrich feathers. The hairstyle, colors, number of feathers, and other decorative elements are prescribed. To violate the rules of their use could lead to serious intergenerational conflict.8
Today, on ceremonial occasions, Karamonjong elders living in Uganda and Kenya wear wigs styled like the mudpack coiffures (etimat) that were worn many decades earlier (checklist no. 39). Back then, the hairstyle could extend beyond a man’s waist and feature a sort of bag created in the chignon to store small items such as tobacco or ear ornaments.
Among the Himba of Namibia, brides wear an ekori headdress on their wedding day and during the first month of married life (checklist no. 46). The headdress is made of the hides of the animals the Himba herd and is decorated with locally mined and crafted metals. The design of the headdress is significant: at the front, the soft, rolled calfskin and iron-decorated ear flaps prevent the bride from looking in any direction but forward, to her new life as a married woman. At the back of the headdress, cowhide is shaped into cow ears to express her close relationship with the cattle. A mixture of red ochre and butter is used to color the headdress. Beyond the first month of married life, Himba brides wear a different headdress (erember) made of goatskin that is pleated in the shape of rosettes or small animal ears (checklist no. 45). It is similarly reddened with red ochre and butter.9
To make the wig, the hair at the back of the neck is allowed to grow long and may be enhanced with additional hair from friends or relatives. A male hairdresser forms the matted hair into a long bun. The front of the hair is mudded over with gray ochre and, when dry, is painted different colors. The natural hairstyle is carefully cut off the head and finished as a wig. Like the traditional hairstyles, the wigs are decorated with precious ostrich feathers.
CHECKLIST NO. 17, 38, 39, 46