3/5/2023 0 Comments Bantu knotesYou can easily change up this style by positioning the knots in different formations. Bantu knots are a fantastic style option for any hair length and curl pattern! The shorter your hair is, the smaller your bantu knots will be and the more knots you'll need to cover your entire head. With all of this in mind, Bantu knots remain a fun and versatile style that can feature intricate designs, artful accessories, and dynamic colors, but we promise they aren't difficult to do. Often times when Black women have worn traditionally Black hairstyles it is written off as 'unprofessional' or 'ghetto,' but when white women do it, suddenly it's fashionable or a 'new' trend. This essentially means that white culture attempts to take credit for discovering something that already existed, thereby removing said thing from its roots and its cultural significance to the community that actually discovered it.Ĭultural appropriation is particularly threatening with regard to Black hair because Black women have had to fight for equal representation in many industries and for our beauty to be valued by society. Ebony magazine refers to it 'Columbusing' in reference to magazines giving credit to the wrong people. The issue with this lack of credit to the Black community is simple. Of course, as happens with Black culture too often in the fashion industry, the hairstyle has been used on runways of almost exclusively white models, on non-Black celebrities, has been renamed "twisted mini buns," and magazines have even given credit to these non-Black people as inventors of the style or listed it as a 'new' trend (Side eyes Kardashian and Jenner clan.) In fact, there are many people today who still see Bjork as the person who brought Bantu Knots back in the 90s. Although many African-Americans do not know where their roots lie in Africa, it's an amazing feat that we have been able to keep this tradition and style alive in our communities and families today. They are worn by African women of certain cultural groups with a sense of pride and are a strong representation of women in the community wearing a natural hairstyle passed down from generation to generation. Today the hairstyle has been reinvented in several ways, and still remains a staple for Black women around the world, especially those wearing their hair in natural styles. Once Apartheid was dissolved, Bantu was replaced by Black as descriptor, and Bantu returned to its original meaning in reference to the spoken language and its people. The name was unfortunately used very heavily during the Apartheid of South African, and became a term that many grew to despise as it was utilized to oppress rather than simply describe. When European colonists first began documenting the “Bantu-speakers” in the 16 th century, they would use the term to mean "native" or “Indigenous people” for official government use in South Africa. However, it is documented that those groups of Bantu speakers have achieved many incredible cultural developments and have built beautiful fortresses that still stand today, such as the Zimbabwe Ruins, the remains bustling city located in Zimbabwe near Lake Mutirikwe and the town of Masvingo. The word "Bantu" is a term used to describe the 300 to 600 ethnic groups within southern Africa that spoke the Bantu language. These ethnic groups all differ culturally as individual groups, with over 100 million people speaking variations of the Bantu language in southern and central Africa.Įxactly how these languages made their way into southern Africa remains unclear and is debated. Predominantly known within the black community as a protective hairstyle or an easy way to stretch your hair without using heat, the history of Bantu Knots place them as a long-standing tradition in Black and African culture rather than just a fun hairstyle (although it is both!) Get ready to condition, nourish, and style your hair in a new refreshing hairstyle! What are Bantu Knots?īantu knots are wildly popular throughout the world for being fashionable, fun, and highly customizable. They're loved by everyone, from the runways of the most expensive fashion houses, to the ancient tribes of Northern Africa, to Jada Pinkett Smith’s character in “The Matrix”. Ready to try out a new style for the upcoming festivities? Bantu Knots might be the perfect choice to stand out and impress. Read on for the history of Bantu Knots and how to achieve them. Why not switch it up with a fun new style, all while using products that hydrate and strengthen your hair at the same time? At NaturAll, we believe that you should be able to achieve fabulous styles, without sacrificing the health of your hair. It can be easy to get stuck in a rut doing the same style over and over.
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