The Evolution of the Cornrow
- braidwashed
- Jan 31, 2021
- 3 min read
Cornrows refer to a style in which the hair is braided flat against the scalp. This process can take from a few minutes to several hours depending on hair texture and density. The term cornrow stems from the beginning of slavery in America, where Africans were made to work in agriculture. The word cornrow was coined because it reminds black Americans of the cornfields. As for in the Caribbean, the style is known as cornrows, as it resembles the sugar cane fields. Toni Love, cosmetologist, barber, instructor, and author explains “History tells us cornrows originated in Africa. The intricate braiding of the hair indicated the tribe you belonged to”. “Cornrows on women date back to at least 3000 B.C. and as far back as the nineteenth century for men, particularly in Ethiopia. Warriors and kings were identified by their braided hairstyles.” Just like other African based hairstyles, cornrows could symbolize kinship, age, social status and was a form of self-expression. In South Africa for example, braiding flowers, beads, corals, and other items into the hair was common and used to express personalities.
History
During the slavery age, the tightly braided patterns would serve as a way for Africans to appear “neat and tidy” as slave masters would say. It was also very manageable and functional. As the slavery age progressed, cornrows were made to be used for an entirely different purpose, to transfer and create maps for escaping captors. The act of using hair as a tool for rebellion was also spread to other parts of South America that had African slave populations.
For example, a king captured by the Portuguese from Africa, Benkos Bioho was able to escape and build his own village. “He built San Basilio de Palenque, a village in Northern Colombia around the 17th century. With the help of other slaves, they created their own language, formed their army, and created an intelligence network to find and get them to liberated areas.” states the African Exponent. Benkos came up with the idea that women could create maps/deliver messages through the medium of their cornrows. With cornrows, the slave masters had no chance of deciphering the information passed among the slaves. It simply did not occur to them that entire maps could be hidden in hairstyles.
Ziomara Asprilla Garcia explained to the Washington Post how some of the messages would be relayed.
Women would bread their hair in a style known as departed to signal that they were currently escaping. “It had thick, tight braids, braided closely to the scalp, and was tied into buns on the top. And another style had curved braids, tightly braided on their heads. The curved braids would represent the roads they would [use to] escape. In the braids, they also kept gold and hid seeds which, in the long run, helped them survive after they escaped.” she states.
Cornrows began to take on a new meaning again in the Western world during the 60s and 70s with the Black Power movement. It emphasized racial pride, economic empowerment, and the creation of political and cultural institutions. Black individuals were looking for hairstyles that reflected their heritage and rejected white beauty standards. We begin to see notable celebrities like Nina Simone, Valerie Simpson, Roberta Flack, and Stevie Wonder wear the hairstyle as a symbol of power.
Not as common during the ‘80s—blame it on the Jheri curl–cornrows experienced a resurgence in the ‘90s and 2000s. D’Angelo, Allen Iverson, Bow Wow, Ludacris, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and Ciara are examples.
Today
Many black individuals are moving away from chemical straighteners to obtain a more natural style. Thanks to the protective qualities of cornrows, they remain a popular style for the black community to grow out relaxed hair and a visible sign of self-acceptance.
There is still a long way to go though, cornrows and braids still cause problems in schools and workplaces, as they carry the stigma of unprofessional-ism or rebelliousness that is attached to almost every characteristic of black existence.
Terms such as French or Dutch braids have been attached to cornrows by the masses as a way to capitalize off the aesthetics of urban black culture, thus distancing the style from its history.
“For non-black wearers, it can be difficult to understand why a hairstyle might pose a problem of race. While nobody is telling white people that they can’t plait their hair, it is worth considering that braids are a style that has come to symbolize so much more than aesthetics—they are a symbol of heritage, of community, and ultimately, of overcoming a type of struggle that non-black people are not able to fully relate to.“
Works Cited
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