Crowning Achievements: African Arts of Dressing the Head

Arnoldi, Mary Jo; Kreamer, Christine Mullen

doi:10.2307/3337248

Cited by 10 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…From its origins, the African headwrap is described as a rectangular piece of cloth wrapped from the back of the head and tied or tucked around the head (Lynch and Strauss 2014;Griebel 1995b). Historically, the headwrap has been used in Africa for practical reasons, protecting the wearer from environmental elements, and also to convey powerful socio-cultural meanings such as indicating individuals' ethnic affiliations, as well as to express aesthetic and fashion preferences, enhancing the wearer's face (Arnoldi and Kreamer 1995;Lynch and Strauss 2014). Overall, the strong significance of the headwrap remains well-established in African cultures within and outside the continent (Griebel 1995a;Farber 2010).…”

Section: The African Headwrap Cultural Heritage and Its Diasporic Valuementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The abovementioned historical background shows how the use of headwraps enables young Congolese women of the diaspora to maintain ties with their African cultural heritage, indicating a strong desire to celebrate African influences and aiming to strengthen both their cultural identities and feelings of belonging to their specific ethnic group (Arnoldi and Kreamer 1995;Farber 2010). The Kiyana Wraps team has, indeed, been consciously re-appropriating and re-formulating the African headwrap as an embodied form of "symbolically transnational" connection and "emotional identification" to their place of origin, which they had left at a very young age (Boateng 2004;Strübel 2012;Garbin and Godin 2013).…”

Section: The African Headwrap Cultural Heritage and Its Diasporic Valuementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, the headwrap often signify a status symbol which indicates power, wealth, and social prestige both inside and outside the community. This practice finds its roots in the African continent as well as other African diasporas (Nielsen 1979;Arnoldi and Kreamer 1995). The Kiyana Wraps team described their formal models as "luxury accessories which should be regarded as status symbols" (Interview: 17 December 2016).…”

Section: Re-inventing Heritage Styles To Conceive Bespoke Designsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Transcultural body spaces: re-inventing and performing headwrap practice among young Congolese women in London

Morsiani

2018

African and Black Diaspora: An International Journal

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Section: The African Headwrap Cultural Heritage and Its Diasporic Valuementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The African Headwrap Cultural Heritage and Its Diasporic Valuementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Re-inventing Heritage Styles To Conceive Bespoke Designsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Transcultural body spaces: re-inventing and performing headwrap practice among young Congolese women in London

Morsiani

2018

African and Black Diaspora: An International Journal

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“…69-82), to all of which Sears's gestures draw attention. 5 Ifa Karade (1994) links the ori to the divinity: Orisha, which combines ori (head or human consciousness) and sha (divine consciousness) and, in fact, "human divinity 5 Arnoldi and Kreamer (1995) write that "Among the Yoruba in Nigeria...the head is the seat of ori, personal destiny. Surrounding this "inner head," the physical head, visible to the world, becomes the focus of many important rituals..." (pp.…”

Section: Performing the (Un)known: Sears's Return To Her Roots In Afrmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mythological Recuperation and Performance as Agency for Genealogical Return in Djanet Sears’s Afrika Solo

Balogun

2018

Genealogy

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This paper is an examination of Djanet Sears's Afrika Solo (1990) as a unique example of how Blacks in the global diaspora trace their genealogical roots back to Africa. Drawing from research in anthropology, cultural studies, and performance, the paper purports that Sears's African-Canadian identity is underlined by her recuperation of a heritage, epistemes and performative aesthetics, and, real or imagined, practices that are not just Afrocentric but specifically Yoruba. Essentially, the paper examines Afrika Solo in the context of Black Aesthetic and more significantly as "text" in a Yoruba sense, which constitutes her own way of "going back to get it." The paper is divided into two parts: the first part presents a general argument about Sears's journey back to Africa and the culturally-rooted nature of the performance as opposed to feminist/gender readings of same, while the second part explores ways of understanding the play through the lens of Yoruba ritual and its aesthetics.

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“…Cowries historically were an important item of dress in many regions of Africa, used in both men's and women's clothing (Pemberton 2008), and sometimes used in adornment to delineate status (cf. Arnoldi and Kreamer 1995). Cowries were regularly used in spiritual transactions too, and are still used in divination sets in many regions of sub-Saharan Africa (Insoll 2011).…”

Section: Contextualising Cowries In the Iron Age: Historical Evidencementioning

confidence: 99%

‘Phalaborwa where the hammer is heard’: crafting together the political economy of Iron Age communities in southern Africa, AD 900–1900

Moffett

2017

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

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In Africa and elsewhere, producers form a critical dimension to archaeological reconstructions of the political economy. However, few studies address the relationship between producers and the political economy from the vantage point of production sites. This study addresses the position of metal producers in the regional political economy of Iron Age (AD 200-1900) communities in southern Africa through an in-depth analysis of one production locale, Shankare. Shankare is a production and habitation site located in close proximity to the Lolwe mineral body in Phalaborwa. Studying the organisation of production, identity of producers, mechanisms of exchange and evidence of consumption at Shankare provided an important platform to assess producers in the context of the domestic and regional economy. Research at Shankare and surrounding sites revealed that production was characterised by a community of homestead based producers located in proximity to the ore source. Metal production took place in domestic contexts in conjunction with other activities, and with clear evidence of scheduling and cross-crafting overlaps. Producers acted independently and were well connected within a regional exchange system that facilitated the flow of local products and imported items such as glass beads and cowrie shells (Cypraea annulus). The study of producers at Shankare indicates the presence of a decentralised political economy resulting in a high degree of autonomy of producers and consumers in the region. Comparisons between the organisation of metal production at Shankare through time indicate that in both occupational periods, AD 900-1300 and AD 1700-1900, production strategies were contextually negotiated, with no clear correlation between political centralisation and specialised production. This research challenges existing models of control and the enactment of power in the political economy of the Iron Age. It has further potential implications for reconsidering the parameters for identifying power relations utilised in global archaeological theory. I would like to acknowledge a number of individuals and institutions that have made this research possible. Funding for my studies was provided through a grant-holder linked National Research Foundation (NRF) bursary facilitated by Associate Professor Shadreck Chirikure. Additional funding from the Erasmus-Mundus Association allowed me to spend five months at K.U. Leuven in Belgium from which I greatly benefited. Access to Shankare for fieldwork was granted by the Palabora Mining Company. Special thanks to Tim Paxton and the heritage officers Johannes Malatji, Adam Mhlongo, Thembani and Mandla who facilitated our research at Shankare and also contributed towards our understanding of the site. Guy Thomas,

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Crowning Achievements: African Arts of Dressing the Head

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

Transcultural body spaces: re-inventing and performing headwrap practice among young Congolese women in London

Transcultural body spaces: re-inventing and performing headwrap practice among young Congolese women in London

Mythological Recuperation and Performance as Agency for Genealogical Return in Djanet Sears’s Afrika Solo

‘Phalaborwa where the hammer is heard’: crafting together the political economy of Iron Age communities in southern Africa, AD 900–1900

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