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Zulu Hairstyles....another strange question....
Simon


Joined: 26 Feb 2007
Posts: 95
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Hi,

I have read that Zulus occasionally coated their hair in 'ochre' and (for want of a better word) 'styled' it.

Would this ochre have coloured the hair? and if so what colour?

Cheers

Simon
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Sawubona


Joined: 09 Nov 2005
Posts: 1179
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The Maasai moran (adult "warriors") still color their hair with red ochre, naturally occurring iron oxide (rust). If you google pretty much anything about the Maasai or Samburu I'm sure that you'll find pictures giving you a good idea of the resulting color. I'm thinking that the Beja/ Hadendoa, the "fuzzy-wuzzy", still do sometimes as well? Himba women in Namibia certainly still use it all over, not just in the hair.
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Peter Ewart


Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Posts: 1797
Location: Near Canterbury, Kent, England.
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Simon

Yes, the Zulu certainly did style and colour their hair, just as other Bantu peoples did. There were several different styles involved, depending on the period (some styles didn't survive the mid-19th century); the district; the age and sex of the individual (especially); and the particular reason behind the custom, tradition or occasion which often prompted the styling.

There are plenty of very detailed accounts of all these styles in the usual well known published authorities on Zulu history and culture. Bryant (The Zulu People before the White Man Came)goes into a fair bit of detail on, for example, the woman's iNtloko ("top-knot") which is probably the most well known of all these styles. The smearing of red ochre and fat certainly was involved. Quite a few of the other styles were described, and Krige not only describes but illustrates Zulu hairdressing with photos in her The Social System of the Zulus, as does Binns in his The Warrior People and particularly Aubrey Elliott in Sons of Zulu with great colour photos. Without looking right now - but I can if required - I'm pretty sure others such as Gardiner, Isaacs, Callaway, Schapera & Shooter all go into these styles at greater or lesser length in their various works.

The colour of the hair applied with ochre and oil appears to have finished up as "a mass of tiny, red and glossy, bead-like balls." (Bryant, p153).

Peter
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Simon


Joined: 26 Feb 2007
Posts: 95
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Many thanks for the answers.

Cheers

Simon
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Zulu Hairstyles....another strange question....
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