by
Black Girl With Long Hair
Saturday’s Tidal concert had a lot of folks talking. From Nicki Minaj’s backstage and on stage twerking, to Beyonce not missing a beat after getting a bloody ear from a wardrobe malfunction. A less obvious, but equally interesting story involved Beyonce’s red carpet Tidal dress, which was designed to mimic the African tradition of scarification.
From MadameNoire.com;
“The dress without the context of the inspiration is beautiful in and of itself. But when you get the backstory, you might appreciate it even more.
The pattern for the bead work came from this picture of an African woman’s back, which had been intricately and artistically scarred.
The picture below was posted on Beyoncé.com and later on the Instagram page Beylite, where there is a bit of debate about the authenticity of the story, likely because they didn’t realize the image was on the singer’s official page. But if you look at the two images side by side, it’s hard to ignore the similarities.”
Beyonce has infused her music and visuals with African influences for several years now. She acknowledged Nigerian Afrobeat artist Fela Kuti as an inspiration for her album 4, and incorporated Mozambican dance heavily into the choreography for her hit single Run the World. And of course there is African imagery all up and through Lemonade, so it’s not surprising Bey would continue this theme.
Scarification is actually a fading practice in African culture due, in part, to the impact of modernization and urbanization. In 2014 Ivorian photographer Joana Choumali set out to document scarification.
“This practice is disappearing due to the pressure of religious and state authorities, urban practices and the introduction of clothing in tribes. In many villages, only the older people wear scarifications… I also had trouble finding people to photograph because of their rarity. This “last generation” of people bearing the imprint of the past on their faces, went from being the norm and having a high social value to being somewhat “excluded”. These last scarified are the last witnesses of an Africa of a bygone era.”
Either way, Bey’s dress is absolutely gorgeous.
39 Responses
Let the MF church say AMEN!!!
Whatever……If B hadn’t told you all the reference you wouldn’t have made the connection to your ”culture’….It was a beautiful expression and interpretation. …by the way I saw daishikis in the dollar stores all summer….are you gonna confront the Chinese about their appropriation. …or how about the European designers who ‘appropriate’ some aspects of African culture….you gonna call them out too….yeah…..didnt think so…….and what’s with you speaking for all Africans?….who are you?……and was the photo referenced apart of YOUR culture……or can you speak for all African cultures?.
Why don’t you give that same lecture to Europeans because they are heavily inspired by African culture( umbrella term for anything associated with Africa and the people no matter the region they come from or their specific culture). Their trend books are filled with images of African art, dress, textiles you name it. I studied fashion and have always used some aspect of African culture as a basis for my work. I could use European culture to do this but I’m not European(not that it matters) and I don’t find their heritage that interesting. They have taken every aspect of our cultures and reworked them into their own without giving us credit.
I have trust me x. I’m just unwilling to not adress the issue on both sides. But yes, those are big problems but because they do it doesn’t mean that we should too. That’s never the way to work towards a better tomorrow but that’s just me, Queen
Inspired by (as opposed to mimic) may be more appropriate.
Exactly.
Some interesting points. By this logic though one couldn’t generalise cultures existing in the same country/area (think, …British culture – exists across the UK, Britain and Ireland. Each one having it’s own culture within that ‘umbrella’ term).
Regarding Solange’s hairstyle get-up, would you also be offended by say modern day Africans, living in Africa, emulating ancient dress in the same way? & would they be less entitled (or more?).
Finally, what about modern-day Africans bringing the movement of MOBO full circle by adopting Black American style rap & hip hop music styles into their music – and music video performances. Seen that recently on a few of the BET programmes that have aired.
It’s all a bit more complex than you may realise. Isn’t it? IMO it is.
lol. true say.
Oratilwe,
Here’s the thing. Just a pseudo-friendly reminder… Most of your “non-African black siblings” of the world didn’t volunteer to leave their African cultures for chains, whips, and plantations. Instead some of their rival black African ancestors *chose* to trade/give/sell to Europeans and Arabs. As you are well aware, they were then literally stripped of their culture which included: language, religion, music, clothes, practices, and foods.
As a result they created their own. Many of those creations are a mixture of the indigenous (of wherever they were located), their European/Arab captors, and certainly whatever was able to be maintained from their various former African cultures. Don’t forget that your enslaved brethren collectively survived and coexisted as an African group – no longer individual tribes and cultures. They shared culture with each other. They created. They survived.
If you are someone that has the *privilege* of knowing your traditional culture and not having ancestors forcefully taken from their homeland you will never understand. Ever. Seriously never. The earth will open up and hell will freeze over, melt, and freeze-over again before you really understand the impact of needing to create your own culture and ethnic identity. The impact of not being able to even identify the *region*, let alone the tribes, that your ancestors came from.
While it is important to research, it should not be a prerequisite to adore clothes & jewelry, eat foods, or dance to embrace the plentiful possibilities of one’s ancestry as a member of the diaspora. It’s a truly melancholic yet beautiful experience to be able to say my ancestors survived the betrayal of some in the motherland and then survived the wickedness of those that enslaved them. Then *decided* to become connected with the continent they know they are apart of by clutching whatever they could in whatever ways they can.
It’s not appropriation – it’s connection. Step off your soapbox and be thankful you don’t have to worry about it.
Sincerely,
Member of the black African diaspora
P.S. I agree with you that use of the terms Africa or Africans dilutes the diversity of the land and homogenizes in the ways in which you mention.
@Tenbee that was the most beautiful and eloquent comment that I have read in a long time. I agree with you whole-heartedly and appreciate that you responded like a queen!
Agreed. Though, as you can prob tell, the likes of Beyonce does annoy me too.
Black child of the Diaspora here – Nah, I totally agree with the OP. I definitely can see many younger Black peoples as desperately wanting a connection with the homeland, but aside from the fact you can trace your DNA/ancestry to some extent (yes, it will require some work), throwing any old print, hair style, facial decoration etc on and labeling it generically “African” is plain stupid and shows you have put little to NO effort to REALLY understand the continent you so desperately want to feel connected to. THAT is your own fault (I say, “you” meaning a person in general, not you specifically). Google exists. Books exist. Plane tickets exist. Documentaries exist. In this day and age, you have no excuse to NOT be more specific when it comes to the culture you are trying to represent. To not take the time to learn about various African cultures is, to me, a clear disrespect to the hundreds, if not thousands of cultures which comprise Africa to this day, and personally, makes me question how much you REALLY want to be connected. Are you painting dots on your face because you think it looks cool and “African”, but you don’t know anything about the religious structures of various tribes, the social structures, the foods, the fabrics? Like, come on. Then how badly do you REALLY want to be connected?
And telling someone it is a privilege to know their culture is nuts. It’s a benefit, sure, but not really a privilege. It is a simple, non-emotional fact of being. The overwhelming majority of the world’s people have a direct tie to their culture – Africans of the diaspora are the only group who do not, so we cannot really say it is a privilege.
Black people are African. There are no non-African black people.
Afrikaans people have lived in Africa longer that black people have been in America. They are African and to say they aren’t is the same as saying black people in America who have lived there for centuries and have history there aren’t American
you’re clearly a white person in disguise. How are you going to say that the Europeans who invaded your land (Afrikaans) are more African than black people with actual roots there? You are an impostor and you are trying to prevent black people from appreciating their roots.
Please educate yourself on Afrikaans history and specifically the history of south Africa.
Through doing so you will find out that the relationship between the Khoi, San and the Boers was actually a beautiful one. The Boers even went on to defend the zulus in the 1st south African war and if you trace words in the language and traditions and customs a lot of it comes from the African cultures they had around them. The downside is what happened years after the harmony but even then that doesn’t make them less African than I. And being a non-white and non-native American doesn’t make you not American
Calling an Afrikaan an African is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Africans are black not white.
From an african to a -supposedly- other african : No to that part about afrikaans.
And you aren’t about to compare african americans to afrikaans.
Oratilwe, while I share your disdain for the misappropriation of African Americans of African culture, I think the Zulu example is taking it too far. The reason is because Solange’s beaded hairpiece borrows from multiple African cultures and Zulu, of which I’m sure, she’s hardly aware of (Since you also pointed out that people’s understanding of African culture is dominated by the West African). But on the other hand, I feel like many African Americans namely Beyonce, borrow heavily from African culture as an entity without any sort of real understanding or without giving back. And to be quite honest, I doubt that it’s about belonging, it’s more of a marketing scheme. People watching the videos, don’t leave the experience in anyway culturally richer than they came. There is no exchange occuring here.
Wow… I’ve never seen it that way. Thanks x
Disdain???….itch, please.
Tell that to Europeans. They’ve been taking ish for centuries and this really isn’t about appropriation, it’s about inspiration. There’s a massive difference.
Dear non-African black siblings of the world
We, your black African brothers and sisters, are TIRED of you appropriating, misinterpretating, and not taking enough time to actually learn about our “African culture” but still telling the world about it in effort to seem more in touch or more “woke”.
We understand that you seek to be in touch with your roots but taking elements of any culture as a fashion statement or taking it out of context is appropriation and it is wrong. You taught us that. It is still wrong even of you’re appropriating a black culture and you are black because race does not equal culture. If it it did, the people who lead western lifestyles would be white. (Yep, that means no white wedding dress and walking down the aisle if youre black because that’s part of a European culture) .
Furthermore, there is NO SUCH THING as “African culture” or “African tradition”. Why not ? Because there are about 200+ different African cultures and traditions in Africa today. All of them are different and to list them as one is erasure. Many of them don’t even agree on certain things and most of the time when you speak about African culture or African anything you’re mainly referring to one culture that can be found in West Africa and it is wrong.
You think of African music as drums and ulilating but traditional Arabic music is the traditional music of many African cultures. To you African print is one with tribal print and geometric shapes but to some cultures particularly in South Africa, their traditional “African” print is made up of bright floral arrangements and another is literally scotch print- yes, the kind you’d find on a kilt. By you only classifying certain traits and patterns as Africans you are indirectmy stripping other Africans of their identity as an African. You are also proving that you have not taken the time to go learn about this “African culture” you so badly want to be a part of
.
We welcome you with open arms but this misuse of our cultures and languages is wrong. Solange Knowles even put her hair in braids and adorned itwith shells and she looks amazing but do you understand just how disrespectful that is to those of the Zulu culture because the only time someone would wear their hair that way is if they were a spiritual/religious healer/leader and that’s a high position in the culture….
Maybe I’m taking this too far but I’ve been on BGLH for about 4 years now and this has been going on.
I hope you understand this point of view
Sincerely
A black African woman
It’s a beautiful dress. It’s a beautiful way to pay homage to a dying art form.
Stunning!
Hmmm, yeh…..hmmm…..What a shame Beyonce doesn’t extend her affiliation with black culture to wearing black hair (both colour AND texture). Now THAT would impress the socks off me, and I daresay a few others.
Because the full complexity of blackness is rooted in hair color. Girl, have a seat. Luckily for the world, the magnitude of Beyonce’s impact does not rely on your approval. Bye.
You seem to have missed the point. It’s not only about her hair colour. Compare her to say, her (less euro-centrically accepted) sister and you may just come close to getting it. Girl Bye.
And you seem pressed flatter than a panini. BYE, GIRL.
Are you one of those Yahoo comment trolls who stalks any/all articles about Beyonce, JUST to talk about her hair? If so, please go back to where you came from. It’s getting old.
k.thanx.bye.
Actually I’m just one of many black women who don’t worship Beyonce, and has an opinion that disagrees with yours! If you haven’t noticed the increasing ‘whiteyfication’ of this ‘black’ woman, to appeal to a white majority, then YOU’RE the troll.
THAT IS HER SISTER’S JOB ……..
Appreciate her, but this is appropriation.
How sway????? FLATLINED!!! The internet is off its rails I tell you. What a time to be alive.
LMAO I don’t think most people know what appropriation really means
Exactly. The dress was inspired by of scarification. Who’d know any different if it wasn’t mentioned. Designers always have a basis for their work. I Studied fashion so I understand the process of taking something and reworking it into an idea for a design piece.
ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!
Her gown is just stunning!! Queen bey slays again!! ^_^
Yep.