Is gele just another African hat?

Is gele just another African hat?

Source: Google Images (Tignon Headdress)

Growing up as a child in Nigeria in the 90s, gele was an unappealing part of Nigerian dressing for many young people and for the most part felt like something you would only grow to love when you got to a certain stage in life. This belief was usually reinforced whenever you spotted geles piled up only on the heads of mummies at church services or special occasions, with exception to your uncanny appreciation for it occurring whenever you participated in cultural plays or traditional days in schools and churches. Largely because those times afforded you one of the rare privileges of role-playing as an adult, and being an adult was the ultimate reach for many children. Adulthood just seemed like a no-holds barred phase with no responsibilities and so much authority where you got to do everything children couldn’t do. (I think almost every Nigerian child from the 80s and 90s has that one “Iya arugbo” looking photograph where you’re captured in traditional attire, possibly with a microphone in the hand from a play in school.)

Iya arugbo is a term that can be translated to mean old mother or old woman in Yoruba language.

Watching the fashion trend of Afro-inspired hats and head coverings showcased by females in African-American sitcoms and black culture between the late 80s and 90s, also reinforced reservations about the unappealing nature of the Nigerian hat. Spotting possible hat trends from: a Laura in Family Matters, a Maxine in Living Single, a Lena or Whitley in A Different World, a Hillary in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and most profoundly Salt N’ Pepa’s Ghanaian kente hats sent a subtle message on a cooler representation of an African inspired head covering. As the more ceremonial and elaborate African hats like the popular Zulu izicolo and West African head wraps were reserved for older women. A category gele would find itself — not so fashionable. Probably also because the West African head wraps were never tied to taste. At least in comparison with what we had back home.

Source: Google Images (Salt N’ Pepa kente hats)

The gele just like any fashion item or statement through its evolution has been accompanied with its unique challenge of acquiring the requisite knowledge and skill to spotting the particular style in vogue in order to compliment one’s dressing. Albeit in this scenario, tying. Otherwise, one would require the service of a friend or expert to successfully spotting this head gear and pulling off the look. A lucrative business opportunity home and abroad.

Thankfully, technology has further enhanced learning options for people via online tutorials on an array of styles and methods on how to tie your preferred gele. A viable option that has penetrated deeply into the Nigerian search engine optimization and content market such that it made the list of top searched items as confirmed by Google at its Google for Nigeria 2018 event.

In easing the stress faced in tying a gele and for people who still do not have the gele finger, an even more innovative discovery surfaced; the Automatic-Gele, also known as Auto-Gele. The auto-gele is a ready-made gele tied to perfection so that all that’s required is for it to be worn like a hat and strapped on, saving time, energy and frustration that would have been expended in the tying and retying process of getting the perfect one. Although the discovery has been around since the early years of the new millennium, the market for it gained ground last year in Nigeria. Just like the service of tying geles, many fashion entrepreneurs have also branched into the business of making these geles for clients.

Aware of the practicality of the auto-gele, I must admit that I have some reservations about many auto-geles because of the noticeable difference in look that detracts from the distinctive look of The Nigerian gele when hand tied. Making it appear just as a regular African hat worn in any other African country. In fact, my displeasure with the appearance of the auto-gele particularly an aso-oke infinity-pleated one, is its uncharacteristic resemblance to the Zulu izicolo of South Africa. (A very popular hat used in depicting the traditionally clad African queen especially through the eyes of the Western media).

Source: Google Images (“Black Panther Costume “Queen Ramonda of Wakanda”)

Source: Google Images (Collage showing resemblance between izicolo 1,2&4 and auto-gele 3,5,6&7)

Speaking to two gele experts Amusu Rehanat @thatrehanat of @r13_bespoke who is an auto-gele maker and Olubi Omoniyi @mslubbie of @lushbylubbie who is a makeup artiste and professional gele tier, gave better insight into this uncanny resemblance to the izicolo.

Omoniyi first off, talks about what she believes led to the need for the auto-gele; explaining that it stemmed from the time-saving need for Nigerians in diaspora to readily wear geles without going through the hassle of finding a gele tier. In explaining the shortcomings of the auto-gele, Omoniyi explains the noticeable difference just as I spotted and the restriction of the auto-gele to sometimes create that regal look that is seen with the hand tied gele because it is sewn. She adds that as opposed to auto-geles, hand tied geles can be maneuvered as desired to give fullness and elegance, highlighting the reason why hand tied geles are still preferred by many brides. Asides other factors like cost of producing one which is cheaper in the long run for most people in diaspora, she agrees with the practicality of the auto-gele.

Rehanat alludes to the history of auto-gele as she explains that majority of her clientele are people in diaspora as it would take a maximum of 40 seconds to strap on the auto-gele as opposed to 10 + x number of minutes expended in tying a gele. She also addresses the nature of the hat-like look of the auto-gele highlighting factors like technicality as a major reason for this. She explains that a large part of the technicality in creating a more natural hand tied look lies in the “curve” of the gele which is the place that seats between the ear and neck. It is that part that a lot of fabric is required in giving a fuller and more natural look. Otherwise, it creates a hat-like look. The auto-gele also requires the use of quality fabric in creating the desired effect. Perhaps the future and true staying power of the auto-gele craft would be tested by it’s innovative ability to fit into ever-changing and more complex gele styles other than the infinity-pleated or fan gele. An example would be the recent trend of irregular/unconventional gele.

Source: Google Images (The irregular/unconventional gele)

There tends to be a misplaced notion in Africa that the original, raw method of doing things is always better. That belief simply stems from the lack of trying out other available innovative alternatives. There also exists a rather disturbing perception about the African continent of refusing to embrace time-saving technologies and innovation. Innovation in itself is a connotation for improvement over an already existing concept. Auto-geles are innovative because they address the shortcomings of regular gele-tying as people who now wear geles in quick time can attest to.

This article hopes to have highlighted an issue that exists with retaining the originality and authenticity of African crafts and designs when deploying innovation and technology and a greater issue that comes with acceptance and shortcomings.

Thanks for reading!