ABSTRACT
All over the continent of Africa, hair art forms a vital part of body adornment for both men and women. The human head has historically functioned as a portable threedimensional canvas for creatively expressing individual, as well as communal, aesthetic, and social values. The head may be adorned in intricately designed headdresses, wigs, jeweled crowns, or hair sculpture. Due to the variety in thickness and texture-from the tightly curled to the wavy and natural-African hair easily lends itself to several hairsculpting techniques. In various African societies, hair art also developed in relation to the type of emphasis placed on other forms of body ornamentation. Thus, where elaborate jewelry, body painting, or cicatrices were intended to serve as the focal point, hair was cut and shaved to frame the visage accordingly. For example, married Swahili and Maasai women of East Africa traditionally shaved their heads completely to highlight large earrings, while Akan queen mothers in West Africa partly shaved the hair around the nape and forehead to distinguish their regal stature. Sometimes several techniques, including threading, braiding, twisting, cutting, and shaving, were combined to create unusual coiffures for special occasions.
