TO the majority of black women, hair is considered an integral part in defining their beauty, hence
the coining of the shona phrase, “kunzi mukadzi, musoro”. Loosely translated this means a woman’s
beauty is defined by how her hair looks.
“Given a choice between having a hair do and buying a new pair of shoes to replace her worn out
pair, she would definitely opt for the former.
This is the reason why at times you come across a woman spotting a $20 hairdo yet she will be
putting on torn footwear.
Natural short hair is considered a big let down in some circles although it looks like it is come back
into fashion judging by the number of women spotting a chiskop. Most women strive to have long
hair, which explains the booming business in the importation of artificial hair, the so called human
hair.
Prior to the coming of human hair, long hair which resembled the present day human hair was the in
thing. It was not called so because the hair was in fact not hair, but horse tails.
Now it is human hair. Like the name implies it is hair from real humans, some dead. At least they are
not Africans.
In the eyes of the black woman, the white woman is beautiful because of her long her and not her
skin colour. The skin colour is secondary to the long hair.
Such was part of Mr. Vhandaberg’s input as he tried to explain to us why our women love their hair,
(especially long) to the extent of valuing it more than even their faces when it comes to looking
good.
Search me if you want, for all I care our women are more beautiful than white women in all senses
of beauty. The black woman is a complete woman when it comes to beauty as preferred by men.
We found ourselves talking about hair after it was brought to our attention that some people are
making roaring business by selling their naturally locked hair.
Being Africans and how much belief we have in superstition and the value we place in our body parts
when it comes to voodoo practices, we were shocked by this revelation.
You see, in African traditions and beliefs a person’s body part (whether dead or otherwise) inclusive
of hair and finger/foot nail cannot be let into anyone’s custody lest they are used to curse or bewitch
you to your death.
We all know how much one is bound to be worried sick should he/she one morning wake up to
discover that part of one’s hair was shaved off while you were asleep regardless of the size.
Now we hear some people with natural dreadlocks are cutting them off and selling or hiring the
locks out. When the buyer no longer needs them, he\she can sell to the next interested person or
return to the original owner depending on the agreement he entered into with the seller.
We found that to be very, very scary. Vanhu vacharoyiwa vakaita marombe pfungwa dzarasika
shuwa. How do you know what the next person is going to do with your hair?
Suppose the person you sold your hair to crosses the path of a witch, muroyi and the witch decides
to use witchcraft to sort out that individual and does that through his/her hair?
Who will be affected, you or the person spotting your locks?
The way these locks are attached to the head of the one who would have bought them is so clever
that one cannot tell that the hair is not his or hers.
So it is very possible that the witch will just collect a strand of hair from the offender’s head without
the tinniest idea that the hair is after all somebody’s hair.
Your hair, hameno hako…
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