Cornrows are a traditional style of
braids in which the hair is braided very close to the scalp, using an underhand, upward motion to make a continuous, raised row. Cornrows are often done in simple, straight lines, as the term implies, but they can also be styled in elaborate geometric or curvilinear designs.
Depending on the region of the world, cornrows are worn by both sexes, and are, on some occasions, adorned with beads, hair cuffs, or cowrie shells. The duration of weaving cornrow braids may take up to about 5 hours, depending on its quantity and width. 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
Traction alopecia is a type of alopecia or hair loss caused by a chronic pulling force being applied to the hair. It commonly results from a person frequently wearing their hair in a particularly tight ponytail, pigtails, or braids with increased ...
.
History
The oldest known depictions of hairstyles that appear to be cornrows or braids are the statues known as the
Venus of Brassempouy[.] and the
Venus of Willendorf
The Venus of Willendorf is an Venus figurine estimated to have been made around 25,000-30,000 years ago. It was found on August 7, 1908, by a workman named Johann Veran or Josef Veram during excavations conducted by archaeologists Josef Szombat ...
,
["Woman from Willendorf"](_blank)
. 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." which date to 25,000-30,000 years ago and were found in modern day
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
and
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
.
Depictions of women with 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. As well as the cornrow style is seen in depictions of ancient
Cushitic people of the horn of Africa wearing this style of braids as far back as 2000 B.C. The traditional hairstyle of Roman
Vestal Virgins incorporated cornrows.
The tradition of female hairstyling in cornrows has remained popular throughout Africa, particularly in the
Horn of Africa and
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...
and the rest of Africa as a whole. Historically, male hairstyling with cornrows can be traced as far back as the early 5th century BC within
Ancient Greek sculpture
The sculpture of ancient Greece is the main surviving type of fine ancient Greek art as, with the exception of painted ancient Greek pottery, almost no ancient Greek painting survives. Modern scholarship identifies three major stages in monument ...
and artwork, typically shown on warriors and heroes. Artwork and statues of different Middle Eastern and Mediterranean civilisations dating back to the 3rd and 4th century BC also suggest that such hairstyles were common amongst warrior cultures. More modern male depictions occur in the 19th century
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
, where warriors and kings such as
Tewodros II and
Yohannes IV were depicted wearing cornrows.
The name also refers to either the corn fields or sugar cane fields in the
Caribbean.
It is most commonly held that this idea originated from
Benkos Biohó
Benkos Biohó (late 16th century — 1621), also known as Domingo Biohó was a Mandinka and South American leader who escaped from the slave port of Cartagena with ten others and founded San Basilio de Palenque, then known as the "village of th ...
during his time as a slave in Colombia.
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.
Cornrows have made a comeback in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s, and returned again during the 1990s and 2000s. In the 2000s, some athletes wore cornrows, including NBA basketball players
Allen Iverson,
Rasheed Wallace
Rasheed Abdul Wallace (born September 17, 1974) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. A native of Philadelphia, Wallace played college basketball at the University of North Carolina before declaring for the draft in 199 ...
, and
Latrell Sprewell
Latrell Fontaine Sprewell (born September 8, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Golden State Warriors, the New York Knicks, and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Du ...
.
Many female mixed martial artists who have more than jaw-length hair choose to wear cornrows for their fights as it prevents their hair from obscuring their vision as they move.
Controversy
Over the decades, cornrows, alongside
dreadlocks
Dreadlocks, also known as locs or dreads, are rope-like strands of hair formed by locking or braiding hair.
Origins
Some of the earliest depictions of dreadlocks date back as far as 1600–1500 BCE in the Minoan Civilization, one of Europe ...
, have been the subject of several disputes in U.S. workplaces, as well as universities. Some employers and educational institutions have considered them unsuitable and banned them.
Employees and civil rights groups have countered that such attitudes evidence cultural bias, and some disputes have resulted in litigation.
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.
In the US state of California, the
CROWN Act was passed in 2019 to prohibit
discrimination based on hair style and hair texture.
Gallery
File:Braid-wil7148.jpg, Styled cornrows
File:Braid.jpg, Cornrows
File:Artistic Braiding by Yessenia.jpg, Artistic braiding
File:Brassempouy-1-2b.jpg, The Venus of Brassempouy
See also
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Crochet braids
Crochet braids, also known as latch hook braids, are techniques for braiding hair that involve crocheting synthetic hair extensions to a person's natural hair with a latch hook or crochet hook. While crochet braids are a hybrid of traditional ...
*
French braid
A French braid, also called a French plait, is a type of braided hairstyle. The three-strand gathered plait includes three sections of hair that are braided together from the crown of the head to the nape of the neck.
Description
In the simples ...
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Waves (hairstyle)
Waves are a hairstyle for curly hair in which the curls are brushed and/or combed and flattened out, creating a ripple-like pattern.
The hairstyle is achieved with a short-cropped haircut on top and frequent brushing and/or combing of the curls ...
*
Box braids
Box braids are a type of hair-braiding style that is predominantly popular among African people and the African diaspora. This type of hairstyle is a "protective style" (a style which can be worn for a long period of time to let natural hair gro ...
References
External links
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1970s fashion
1980s fashion
1990s fashion
2000s fashion
2010s fashion
2020s fashion
Braid hairstyles