The popular headdress that many know as a turban is worn in many ways in Africa. Each region has its style and some even have different names for it. Turban in Africa dates back to the pre-colonial age though most of its history is lost.
However, there is a belief that the shipment of Africans during the slave era made the use of Turban predominate among the Afro-Brazilians today. Women in Africa make Turban today not just as a form of art or hobby but also as a form of business.
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Making Turban In Africa
Bangé Yhodhy, a native of Guinea Bissau who resides in Cape Verde makes turbans. Similar to what we have seen in Nigeria, women make money out of tieing a kind of headdress they call gele. Many women in Africa are also not able to tie turban themselves and this gave Bangé a good business idea.
What’s more captivating to us is that Bangé is creative with turbans and makes them stylish enough to go with any occasion and fabrics. “You only have to choose how you wear it and what colour and prints you wear. For example, when I wear print clothing, I wear no print turbans but in the same colour line of my clothes”, she said to us in an interview.
To make a normal-sized turban, Bangé uses a one meter long and 40 cm wide fabric. “Sometimes, the size of your turban is defined by the amount of fabric you use”. She went ahead to say “the best fabrics to make turbans are our African fabrics, made of cotton. It gives you more leeway when running the turban”.
“Nowadays we can say that the attraction for the turban comes from the need of self-valorization of our identity, rescue to what is ours, cultural affirmation, in it we find ways to empower our women and the appreciation of the aesthetics of an African woman. Turban now is synonymous with cultural values, respect, and identity”.
In response to the controversies around turbans, Bangé had this to say: “The taste for anything is relative, it will depend on the person. However, most of whom I had the privilege to work with, love turban”. Both men and women can wear the creatives turban styles developed by Bangé on any outfit.
Today, the turban remains a big culture for the Afro-Brazilian. They make reference to the Baianas de Acarajé and practitioners of the Candomblé and Umbanda religions. Aside from that, many religious all over the world also combine spiritual elements with the turban.
To the Yoruba tribe of Nigeria, as well as the Bhudissts and Vodun religions, a turban is a part of sacred apparel. It serves as a shield for the sacred space, physically and metaphysically.
Afro Latin American Women’s Festival
In July 2019, Bangé Yhodhy got an invitation from the Afro-Brazilian community in Brazil for an exhibition at the Latinidades – Afro Latin American Women’s Festival.
She represented Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau at the Festival, from July 23 to August 2, in São Paulo, Brazil. While there she mentored women on how to make the turban.
She also lectured them on the significance of the turban to the African woman. Bangé Yhodhy is currently developing a project for women with cancer, to help them enhance their beauty with turbans.
