Hello y'all,
I had a whole week to rest in Abuja, this is the longest I
have stayed in Abuja ever, it’s usually in and out but this stay was definitely
worth it. I can truly say I rested. J
Walking up those miserable metal stairs to the departure
hall at the Abuja airport, I noticed I got a few awkward stares, this can be
attributed to several things; maybe the short dress I’m wearing, my beautiful
long legs or maybe my hair, my dada, my lovely crown. These days I can’t even
be bothered any more, I just like to believe that I am a fine girl like that.
Haha!!!
On a more serious note though, Loc stigma exists in many
ways and it’s a little unsettling to understand why. In more recent times I
have been obsessed about explaining this phenomenon and I’m pretty determined
to make the world see how ridiculous it is to stigmatize anybody for choosing
to wear their own hair. I hope to make a documentary sometime in the near
future where we can trace locs to our own history and see how it became a taboo
for one to be true to how they are. In the main time and before I unleash my
film making abilities, here are my thoughts around loc stigma in Nigeria.
The Mad Man.
I remember the streets of Lagos dotted with burning filth
alongside mentally ill persons in the 90’s when I was growing up in the city.
All mentally ill persons on the streets also had the trade mark – “Dada” also
known as Dreadlocks. When you don’t comb your hair it locks, that is what hair
of African descent does and as you would imagine mentally ill persons living on
the streets, combing through trash for their daily bread are not thinking of
combing their hair. This was my introduction to locs as a Nigeria and yes it’s
not pleasing, not what anyone would like to wear.
The Religious Factor.
Many White Garment wearing churches have sentiments towards
locs. It is quite common in Nigeria to find children in such churches with
dada. I remember hearing stories about how a child can die if their locs were
cut, or how their scalps will bleed; how a big party has to be thrown before
you can cut off the locs. I know that the proposed documentary will shed more
light on these beliefs and why they have come to be. However, this religious
bias discourages a lot of people from wearing locs.
The Rastafarian.
This is in fact another Jamaican religious sect, known for
wearing locs and smoking cannabis. The loc stigma here comes from “cannabis”.
It is largely assumed that when you wear locs, you must smoke a little bit of
ganja too. I have been asked severally for information on where to find weed…. Errrr
seriously?
The Doll Face Factor
When wearing someone else’s hair becomes more acceptable
than wearing yours… Jesus! Even typing this is ridiculous. Over the past
decade, it has become the norm to woman of colour to always have straight hair
and somehow buying other people’s hair, Brazilian, Peruvian, Indian, literally
hair from any other race is the solution to having long, silky, straight hair
at all times. It appears we are all trying extra hard and spending good MONEY
to look like Barbie dolls.
These are just a few of the things at the back of the
average Nigerian’s mind that leads to stereotyping people with locs and it is
all wrong. If you think about this a little it becomes
clear that the stigma comes from a place of not thinking, confusion and internalized
unconscious self-hate. How can we hate ourselves so much without even knowing?
Some may argue that things are changing and people with locs
are becoming more acceptable. The answer is yes; but we need to have this
conversation until having locs is perceived as normal.
@OMGvoiceNigeria created this beautiful montage of Nigerian
celebrities with locs, I leave you with this.
Till later. I remain your loyal Loc Head.
Ade.
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