The Partial History of the Turban

When you see a woman wearing a turban, what are your first thoughts? She's regal, cultured, afrocentric, or her hair isn't done.... yeah, that's what I think sometimes too. But when you look into the deep history of what turbans meant for women in different cultures, it will change your perception. And since Hay Queen! is celebrating Black History Month, I've decided to dig into the history of the turban, tignon concerning African-American women.

According to French Creole, the tignon was introduced to creole/African-American culture around 1786. 

By 1786, the increasing assertiveness of black New Orleanians and the growing numbers of free blacks alarmed Spanish officials. The then Spanish Governor attempted to restrict black mobility by suppressing free black assemblies and banning concubinage.

He prohibited slaves from renting apartments, buying liquor, or dancing in public squares on days of religious obligation. Miró criticized black women for their "idleness," "incontinence," and "libertinism" and demanded that they renounce their "mode of living." He threatened to punish Afro-Creole women wearing feathers, jewels, or silks and he prohibited all headdresses.

It was then that new decree required Creoles, people of color & black women to wear their hair bound in a tignon (kerchief) as a badge of their lowly status in colonial society. 

These women fought the new restriction by wearing elaborately designed and brilliantly colored tignons. The practice continued into the 19th century. Afro-Creole women at Grima House undoubtedly wore such headdresses.

If that doesn't tell you the resilience and innovation that black women carry within, I don't know what does! The turban, or tignon was created to suppress the beauty that women of African-descent had, but instead became a bold fashion statement to enhance the beauty that was already innate. 

Below, are more pictures of queens wearing turbans, with a modern twist. Enjoy!