© Getty Images

The origins of the headwrap -

The headwrap has many different names from its Sub-Saharan African origins. In Zulu, it’s called an iduku, and in Yoruba it’s called a gele.

© Getty Images 

A many-faceted accessory -

For centuries, headwraps have been a common feature of the daily lives of African women. They can simply be practical items to cover and protect the hair, but they can also indicate anything from marital status to social standing.

© Getty Images 

Respect -

In traditional Zulu and Xhosa culture, women are expected to wear a headwrap in the presence of their in-laws as a sign of respect. During a traditional Sotho wedding, the in-laws give the bride a headwrap called a makoti ituku as a sign that she has been accepted into the family.

© Getty Images 

Life events -

Wearing a headwrap can also be a way to indicate an important event in someone’s life. For example, it may signify that a woman is recently engaged, or it can be used as a sign that a woman is in mourning, similar to wearing black in Western culture.

© Getty Images 

Marital status -

In Yoruba culture, the way a gele is tied can indicate whether a woman is single or married. If the end of the wrap leans to the left, it means she is single, while the right means she is married.

© Getty Images 

Religion -

In spiritual settings, the headwrap can be a sign of modesty, respect, and humility. Some Christian women cover their hair when they’re praying or receiving communion. Members of the Zion Christian Church wear it for religious significance even outside of their place of worship.

© Getty Images 

Societal status -

Women from every walk of life have worn headwraps over the centuries, including African queens who would choose richly-woven fabrics with colorful, exotic patterns. These more elaborate headdresses can be traced back to the Nubian Empire.

© Getty Images 

Celebrations -

A headwrap for a celebration or special event will often be larger in size and have more exotic colors and elaborate prints. A day-to-day headwrap tends to be smaller and simpler.

© Getty Images 

Practicality -

While a headwrap can be an incredibly powerful and glamorous adornment, it’s also a practical accessory. It plays the simple role of protecting the hair from the hot sun, and keeping it out of the way. And let’s be honest: it's also a good solution to a bad hair day!

© Getty Images 

The headwrap and slavery -

The Spanish and Portuguese had been using Africa as a source of slave labor since the Middle Ages, but the transatlantic slave trade to the Americas created a mass exodus unlike any seen before.

© Public Domain

Transatlantic slave trade -

The majority of the enslaved people came from West and Central Africa. They were unable to bring many valuables with them, but their headscarves were easy to transport and became one of the few pieces of their cultural heritage that made it to the “New World.”

© Getty Images 

The Negro Act -

Unfortunately, the use of headscarves took on a new meaning in the United States as laws around slavery developed. The Negro Act, passed in 1735, dictated what Black people were allowed to wear.

© Getty Images 

Clothing restrictions -

The act outlawed any type of clothing more extravagant than “Negro cloth, duffels, kerseys, osnabrigs, blue linen, check linen of coarse garlix, or calicoes, checked cottons or Scotch plaids.”

© Getty Images 

The Edict of Good Government -

At the same time, the Spanish colony in Louisiana passed the “Edict of Good Government,” which stated that Black women had to wear “their natural hair bound in a kerchief.”

© Getty Images 

A symbol of enslavement -

Enslaved women were forced to cover their hair with scarves, usually in plain white, as a marker of their status in society. Many slave owners included them as part of the uniform so there could be no confusion between who was the slave and who was the mistress.

© Getty Images 

The "mammy" -

The simple headwrap became a symbol of slavery and oppression. It identified Black women as servants and was intended to make them less attractive to white men. The headwrap also became an attribute of the “mammy” caricature that appeared during this time.

© Getty Images 

A harmful myth -

A mammy, or mammie, was a stereotype of a Black woman who worked as a nanny and housekeeper for a white family. She was seen as the right hand of the mistress of the house and was completely devoted to the family. She was a maternal and jovial figure, which made it appear that she was totally content with her life of servitude.

© Getty Images 

'Gone With the Wind' (1939) -

Hattie McDaniel’s character in the controversial classic ‘Gone With the Wind’ is the perfect example of this fictional figure. She is so devoted to her white family and her role as surrogate mother that she doesn’t want to be free, and would even fight against her liberators if she saw them as a threat to her white masters.

© Getty Images 

The headwrap maintains its power -

Despite centuries of oppression and the association with harmful stereotypes, the power of the headwrap has never been lost. In fact, it has become an even greater symbol of Black resistance and beauty in its reclamation.

© Getty Images 

A potent symbol of resilience -

The headwrap grew into an even stronger symbol of cultural identity and shared history among Black women. Not only did it represent the traditions of their ancestors, it also referenced their survival and defiance under the white supremacy of the slave era.

© Getty Images 

Chemical hair treatments -

As chemical hair relaxers emerged in the early 20th century, headwraps and durags became practical items used to cover hair being treated with chemicals. They were used by both men and women. The "conk," a slicked-back wavy hairstyle, was popular among early jazz artists.

© Getty Images 

The Black Power movement -

The popularity of these hair treatments diminished during the 1960s with the rise of the Black Power movement. Black communities began to embrace their natural hair again and looked to their African heritage to build a greater sense of identity in a post-slavery America. This involved reclaiming the headwrap as more than a practical item.

© Getty Images 

The durag -

The male equivalent of the headwrap, the durag grew in popularity during the growth of hip hop in the 1980s.

© Getty Images 

Nina Simone -

Many iconic female singers have regularly worn headwraps. Nina Simone, for example, wore stunning scarves in her hair during a time when Black women were encouraged to wear wigs and blend into white spaces as much as possible.

© Getty Images 

Lauryn Hill -

Lauryn Hill inspires empowerment through her lyrics and her looks, embracing the beauty of her natural hair and heritage.

© Getty Images 

Alicia Keys -

Alicia Keys is the queen of natural beauty. She’s been rocking photo shoots, red carpets, and stages with a makeup-free face and natural hair since 2016. In an open letter, she explained how she arrived at a photo shoot for her album cover with her hair wrapped in a scarf and no makeup, and the photographer insisted on shooting her that way. She later said that it was the “strongest, most empowered, most free, and most honestly beautiful” that she had ever felt.

© Getty Images 

Lupita Nyong'o -

Oscar-winning Kenyan-Mexican actress Lupita Nyong'o is well known for representing her roots on the red carpet with stunning headdresses. They show just how a headwrap can be a luxurious focal point of an outfit.

© Getty Images 

Opening eyes and minds -

Women like Nyong’o are helping to redefine our ideals of beauty and celebrate the significance of fashion in Black culture.

© Public Domain

On the runway -

In recent years, headwraps and headdresses have been appearing at fashion weeks around the world, both on the runway and on the street.

© Getty Images 

Controversy in fashion -

But the emergence of the headwrap as a fashion accessory has sparked some controversy. Marc Jacobs used headwraps on non-Black models at his 2017 show. It opened a debate about the deep significance of the headwrap, which is so much more than a piece of fabric to tie around the head.

Sources: (Teen Vogue) (Huffington Post) (Timeline) (Sikaa) (Ferris) (Aphro Chic) 

See also: Black fashion designers you absolutely need to know

© Getty Images