A guest post by Ankhesen Mié about the beauty of African women:
Growing up in the Cameroons, I adored the Fulani – we all did. We still do. There are over 27 million of them in Africa, but they’re a minority wherever they go because most of them are nomadic, and while they are indeed a beautiful people, they don’t all look alike.
As a child, I liked a milk delicacy they make (and only they make). It was so popular that whenever one casually strolled by (they’re an extremely laidback people), our parents would send us out to flag/him her down. They’d pour it from a gourd and we’d run home, bouncy and hyped like lottery winners.
As an adult, I tend to adore the Fulani fashion sense. A predominantly Muslim people, there’s a trade-off. The women will willingly cover their hair, etc…but if a Fulani woman sees something she likes at the market, her husband can’t play that “honey, it’s too expensive” ish.
The lil sis and I have Hausa family members on our mother’s side (I mean, really, who doesn’t?). There are over 35 million of them in Africa, and like the Fulani, they’re all over. Their language is actually one of the most widely spoken in Africa. Like the Fulani, the Hausa don’t all look alike, but their women do maintain an impeccable fashion sense. In addition to also being predominantly Muslim, they share so many similarities with the Fulani that members of the two groups often confused for each other.
The resplendent and mighty Zulu trace their ancestry all the way back the pharoahs. Some say they migrated south as the deserts expanded. Much of what people know (or think they know) about the Zulu is usually about their men. But I think we should pay a bit more attention to the women. Faces like these are perfectly worthy of being immortalized in statues and busts. Their fashion style is not as in-depth as the Hausa or the Fulani’s, but like many of their African siblings, the Zulu incorporate strong color and ornate beading into their looks.
Let this be testament to the vanity of women. Some of these Maasai women live out in the middle of nowhere, but you best believe they’ll be pimpin’ regardless. As with the Zulu, the focus on the Maasai usually falls on the men. Mais pourquoi? This lovely woman has such a pure, angelic demeanor. I find her picture mesmerizing. Her choice of colors flatters her skintone exquisitely. I don’t usually see silver in African apparel; the women often go with either gold or colors, or both. But the nighttime purple on her, coupled with the silver, is absolutely heavenly. They even go with the red dusting on her face, which I never would’ve guessed would match.
*sigh* Black women, seriously…you got to get your heads on straight. Look at us. Look at all of us. We are so beautiful! Nous sommes tres, tres, tres belles!!!
See also:
Merci, Abagond!
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This is a great post!
As a child, I liked a milk delicacy they make (and only they make).
I still love that milk delicacy. It’s called fura da nono in Hausa (Nigeria) and it’s absolutely amazing. I still take it from time to time, restaurants sell them in Abuja but it’s best to buy from the laidback women walking along the street and to drink it from the gourd.
Wrt Hausa women, I’m not sure if I’m related to Hausa but most of my family speak Hausa and we’re basically culturally Hausa which is I guess to living in Northern Nigeria where the Hausa are a majority. Hausa women take excellent care of their skin. I once visited a ‘traditional Nigerian spa’ and was not surprised that it was run by a Hausa woman from the very North of the country.
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i really wanna travel around africa…west africa first then the south african, then the islands like cape verde, madagascar etc… 🙂 this is a great post…i didn’t know about the milk of the fulani i’m going to look it up can you make it w/ a recipe?
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What a wonderful post, so lovely and so informative. A real delight.
Many thanks.
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Nice Post!
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Beautiful women! Thank you for this article.
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Fulani women are beautiful. People often mistake me for one of them when I’m in Nigeria and I’m always flattered. African women are gorgeous in general-I’m very proud of my heritage. Black women seriously do need to get their heads on straight…our unique beauty is what makes us so awesome.
: )
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What a fantastic testament to African women’s beauty! These women are completely beautiful!!!
I just did a post myself on beautiful black women of Suriname, South America, and will be doing another post on more of our black beauties!!
I also did a post on Lucky Dube the South African reggae artist who has a video called Ding Ding. In the video there are these fiercely gorgeous women dressed as zulu warriors, and I can’t tell you how looking at their beauty makes me feel!! Proud doesn’t do it justice. Maybe justified at last? In other words, the women are beautiful!!
Yes, the coupling of silver and purple set off by the beauty of the woman’s complexion is heavenly! No exaggeration! She’s a mesmerizingly gorgeous woman!
We black women MUST stop looking at our beauty through western eyes. We miss out when we put that distorting lens on our eyes as we view our beauty!
And we are beautiful!!
Thanks, Ankhesan Mie, and thanks Abagond!
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also the women are very beautiful in those pictures
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anna renee what is the name of video is it on youtube can you post it?
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Interesting insight. I suppose if you dropped me in the middle of that (coming from the States), I wouldn’t know what to do, but observe and enjoy!
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@ eccentricyoruba
In southern Cameroon, we call it pendi, and our Hausa don’t make it…at least not as thin and as sweet as the Fulani do. No one can do anything like the Fulani. I think it’s because of how they are; they’re so relaxed. They take their time with everything. They’re like Ents.
@ Gata
Whenever my elder sister says I look like a Fulani, I too take it as a huge compliment. Their women are too beautiful. Of course, I don’t think I look Fulani – at all. My Saudi Arabian ancestry is close enough to make people automatically peg me for Hausa, especially if I wrap my hair. When I was growing up, my schoolmates always taunted me as being one of the Mbororo – the “cattle people”.
@ everyone
Have you Googled the Himba women lately?
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Beautiful.
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Beautiful post and BEAUTIFUL Black women!
err uh… Moar pictures!!!! :-0
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Great post.
@eccentricyoruba
When I talk to other Nigerians they assume Im Hausa. I think its because my family is from the North and we are Muslims. However, we speak Igala not Hausa. I have cousins that speak Hausa but they are identify as Igala.
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@Y
damn, really? I have never even heard of Igala, and I lived in Nigeria for two years. I thought you were Igbo. I am half Igbo.
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@ Gata yeah its weird…
When they see my name some think Igbo, but when I get into the family history they will ask if Im Hausa.
People assume being Muslim with an Arabic name and being from central/Northern Naija = Hausa…Not a bad assumption because Nigerian Muslims are usually from the North and Hausa.
Yeah the Igala tribe is quite small and many people have not heard of us, but we are here!!! 😀
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Yes, the video is called Ding Ding Licky Bong! I don’t know what it means but its a positive vibe video talking about recapturing one’s joy after having taken a wrong turn in life. One may cry, but the tears are for joy this time.
Anyway the women dressed as Zulu warriors is the highlight of this video for me! Strangely, I went to Youtube and found a version of this same video without the scenes of the women in their warrior garb! Why would that part be edited out? Hmmm….
Anyway be warned, there is a bit of nudity! 😀
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I’ve always had a thing for Senegalese women 🙂 among others.
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@Ankhesen
Hausa don’t make it here either but as you said there is so much similarities between the Hausa and the Fulani that they tend to all get lumped up together. Most Fulani here speak Hausa, only a few speak Fula so it’s no surprise that we know the drink by it’s Hausa name.
@Y
The same thing happens to me! I get pegged as Hausa when I wrap my hair and even when I don’t people still think I’m Hausa. It doesn’t help that I know all about Hausa language and love Hausa food. I’m from the North as well even though I’m Yoruba. You’re Igala so I’m guessing you’re from Kogi state? I’m from neighbouring Kwara and both states fall in the North even though these days people don’t want to identify with the North (read: Hausa/Fulani and Muslims) so they call it ‘the Middle Belt’.
I can see where you’re coming from. I’ve got a Muslim name as well. I supposedly don’t look Yoruba and I was born and raised in Northern Nigeria. I do blame other Nigerians for stereotyping Northerners, it makes me mad that (mostly) Southerners can’t be bothered to learn that the North is not only Hausa and Muslim but is actually too diverse. Jeez. And for some reason I thought you were Igbo as well ><
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“…while they are indeed a beautiful people, they don’t all look alike.”
Not too sure what this is implying… do any of the ethnic groups have people who all “look alike”?
“The lil sis and I have Hausa family members on our mother’s side (I mean, really, who doesn’t?).”
Me.
—–
I want to really like this post, but two things come to mind that make me go “…hmmm”.
(1) The Fulani are mixed with Berber. And we all know that Berbers and other North Africans aren’t considered “black” to some people.
Just throwing that out there before someone else does.
(2) The vast majority of blacks in the Americas don’t have Fulani (or Maasai) roots (see the recent genetic study I posted on the “Some numbers on black Americans” post). Rather they have Mende, Fante, Yoruba, etc, roots, so I think it would be more compelling to black women in the Americas if women of these groups were covered.
But good post overall.
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Natasha,
Not at all Fulani and Hausa are mixed with Berber. Some are blacker than charcoal, and most certainly considered black African. The ones I knew growing weren’t considered anything else.
The vast majority of blacks in the Americas don’t have Fulani (or Maasai) roots (see the recent genetic study I posted on the “Some numbers on black Americans” post).
Where did I say they did?
Rather they have Mende, Fante, Yoruba, etc, roots, so I think it would be more compelling to black women in the Americas if women of these groups were covered.
Maybe to you personally, but this post was about black women’s beauty and some interesting African fashions, period. I provided a range of looks. Notice the effect – other people began sharing experiences and posting links.
Couldn’t you have just done that?
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good post! time for the black women really stand tall and be proud of what they are and have always been. well done ankh!!
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Ankhesen,
“Not at all Fulani and Hausa are mixed with Berber. Some are blacker than charcoal, and most certainly considered black African.”
I’m not using the darkness of their skin to judge how black they are. That’s a misleading practice. And I know the Fulani are considered black, but they are around ~14 percent Berber on average.
“Where did I say they did?”
I thought one of the goals of this post was supposed to be empowerment for black women? And most of the target readers are Western?… So.
“other people began sharing experiences and posting links.
Couldn’t you have just done that?”
Sorry, I didn’t know there was a response I was “supposed to” give to this post.
Carry on.
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As an African American, must I have Fulani roots in order to be overwhelmed by the beauty of a Fulani woman? Do I need Fulani roots to relate to the black Fulani woman?
And even be able to see my own black beauty that probably has Mende, or Yoruba roots, even as I look at her with her Fulani roots?
I have had Kenyan women say I look Kenyan and Nigerian men say I look Yoruba! I’m flattered either way because it all is black and that’s what this post is about!
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I just find it interesting that whenever “African beauty” is discussed, the usual suspects (East Africans, North Africans, Fulani/Hausa) come up. It’s akin to how the media tends to use biracial women in place of less mixed black women. It sends a message about black beauty. I’m not saying you can’t appreciate these women, I’m just presenting the other angle of this.
Again, carry on.
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Ankhesen Mié, Thank You for sharing your culture with us, these women are beautiful…
living in Europe, I got to meet other students from different countries (in Africa) and to me, their skin was just so toned and beautiful…they were very tight-lipped about their beauty secrets…
I had an Eritrean friend who did my hair, she refused to tell me what was in the jar but my permed hair was at it’s healthiest; I’ve never been able to duplicate/maintain it once I got to US….
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@eccentricyoruba
Yeah my family is from Kogi state! Apparently the area we are from used to be part of Kwara. My dad was born in Ejule and my mom is from Ayangba.
Funny you mention not wanting to be linked with the North. I remember my mom telling me some people do not consider Igalas Northerners because “true” Northerners are Hausa/Fulani and Muslims. Oh course, this an over-simplification.
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@ Natasha
But Ank is also representing Zulu and Maasai women, so it’s not really just North Africans.
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I like Seynabou (Senegalese model)
but I’m not obsessed!!! …really, I’m not. 🙂
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Natasha, she mentioned Massai and Zulu women as well as Fulani. I don’t understand where you are coming from. You seem a bit hostile to a post that, for everyone else, is opening a great dialogue. Perhaps you should, most respectfully, read it with new eyes.
Oh and this is WPHAT don’t know why my desktop computer puts this handle in.
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I liked this post because it is about beautiful black women, because it is partly based on personal experience of Africa and because it goes beyond “Africa is a country”. That the post has women from three different parts of the continent I saw as a strength, though I see the point of talking about those that Western blacks mainly came from. That would be good too, but that is not this post.
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i’m so jealous!
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Months ago, I was traveling in my university library and stumbled upon the section dedicated to art and fashion.*
Then I found a book on jewelry from around the world. I was stunned with the way ppl in Africa and India adorn themselves! Since then, I have not been able to find good information online about the meaning and way it is done. This isn’t just beauty, this ALL has deep meaning , although you do not cover that here.
I felt so good looking at this. If I knew more about my own background, I think I would know how to find good colors for my skin and wear jewelry.
I ask one thing: If I can’t find someone to explain how this works, where can I go? How can I feel it?
*For any book worms out there, the section I stumbled upon was GT 495-2370, using the library of Congress Classification System. University Libraries are the BEST!!!
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For instance,
the hausa woman,
she must be wearing atleast 10 different things! Its beautiful,but how does she do it?
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Considering the sophistication of African clothing and African jewelry, can someone tell me where white people historically got the idea to depict Africans in nothing but grass skirts?
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@Natasha
I’d like to see where you got that percentage on the supposed link between the Berbers and the Fulani. I think you’re very mistaken in comparing Hausa/Fulani to biracials and using Berbers as a reference. Do you know which particular clan of Berbers make 14% of Fulanis? Have you heard of the Tuareg? They are Berbers and they are as dark as any other African, in fact they look almost Hausa. Yes I know you’re not fond of using darkness of the skin to judge blackness but comparing the Fulani to biracials is just like saying someone with a parent from Kenya and another from Somalia is biracial. I just don’t get that.
In Nigeria, most people believe that the Hausa intermarried with Arabs that came to settle around West Africa several centuries ago. This does not make them any less black and really does not mean they are biracial. If you’re upset that Ankhesen did not profile any ‘pure’ or ‘real’ African ethnic group without any foreign DNA then I don’t even know what to say.
@Y
Squee! Kogi+Kwara FTW. Yep Kogi used to be part of Kwara back in the day till Kogi became its own state. There are still Yoruba people from Kogi but they speak a different dialect. Oh yes, ‘true Northerners’ are Hausa/Fulani and Muslim but at the same time the Southerners say that we’re not really from the South because of our dialects and the Hausa-influenced parts of our cultures *rolls eyes*. I’m claiming my Yoruba Northerner status no matter what other people have to say.
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@ Linda
“they were very tight-lipped about their beauty secrets…”
I agree with them being tight lipped. The continent of Africa has given away enough of its secrets to nations whose only interest is to exploit.
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In Nigeria, most people believe that the Hausa intermarried with Arabs that came to settle around West Africa several centuries ago. This does not make them any less black and really does not mean they are biracial.
Exactly. That’s a very Western attitude. Not to mention, many Hausa would find it insulting. If I were to tell my light-skinned Hausa relatives they weren’t black, I’d be slapped across the face and then disowned.
This a problem I’ve encountered online before. It’s like blacks in the West have one definition of blackness, and Africans have another. Many black Africans have Arabic blood. That type of mixing has been going on since the first Arabs set foot in Africa. It’s nothing new or “exotic” to us. Hence, those of us who have this ancestry do not consider ourselves “mixed” or “biracial”, regardless of our skintones. We’re just black…with some Arabic ancestors.
In case people are mistaking the point of my post, it wasn’t to be educational or scientific so much as inspirational. I just wanted people to see. These are beautiful black women – period. We exist – period. And we don’t need weaves, bleached skin, blue contacts, or Western diets to be beautiful – period. I wanted to inspired black women in particular to look homeward. These are four tribes, and in a comment I mentioned the Himba. Who else faschinates you? What other fashions from Africa have caught your eye? Post links! Share! Feel beautiful with each other – that’s all!
Is it really that hard for us to just have some fun with one another?
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Himba, Himba!
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Damn it…it wouldn’t let me post the pic:
Himba, Himba!
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“This a problem I’ve encountered online before. It’s like blacks in the West have one definition of blackness, and Africans have another.
Not just Blacks of the West, but most Westerners in general.
I think that we have a tendency to think that REAL Africans look like this:
and that people who look like this are not “authentic Africans,” and must be mixed with another etnicity:
But according to anthropologists, ALL ethnicities came out of Africa. If this is so, then it is illogical to assume that Africans are all the same shade, or share all the same features. Genetically, Africa is the single most diverse mixing pot on the planet. Of course there are going to be differences in the way that peoples there look, even when they’re not “mixed.”
That was my entire point in the recent “Black women have booty” discussion. Only an ignorant Westerner thinks that all of the Black women in the world are shaped the same way.
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No doubt there is much phenotypical diversity in Sub-Saharan Africa, but alot of people are exaggerating it as a ploy to maintain hypodescent ideologies in the US and avoid social recognition of racially mixed individuals. In Africa itself, mixed race people are a recognized population.
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Even if the 14% Berber is true, thats hardly enough non-black blood to render Hausa/Fulani heavily mixed to the point of being comparable to biracials that are 50%+ non-black.
About 60% black Americans are 12.5% non-black, however I dont think black American women look so “mixed” that mentioning them while discussing black beauty undermines the representation of pure black African women.
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Miss Ghana 2010
http://rockiinboxxe.blogspot.com/2010/08/tribute-to-awurama-simpson-miss-ghana.html
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“But according to anthropologists, ALL ethnicities came out of Africa. If this is so, then it is illogical to assume that Africans are all the same shade, or share all the same features.”
Not my area of expertise but…
Think about how the modern dog evolved through selective breeding. Originally you had either the proto-dog or wolves who all looked basically the same. Over time populations of dogs were isolated and selectively bred by people to create the amazing variations in modern dog breeds we see today. All that genetic variation was there in the Proto-dog originally but you couldn’t see it. For example you would never imagine a chihuahua when you looked at a wolf, but the genetic potential was there nevertheless. Probably the same story with people. Humans started off in Africa then migrated around the planet getting cut off from one another and selectively breeding themselves, bringing out traits never (or rarely) seen in Africa, Like light skin.
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Quite a few Africans are walking around today with non-black blood coursing through their veins. This is the reality regardless of what anyone else may say/think. People here hardly go about claiming that there are not black because their great great grandfather was Persian. In most cases they don’t know about their foreign heritage at all (I had a friend whose grandma turned out to be part Greek after some DNA tests were carried out and no one knew how that happened).
Many black Africans have Arabic blood. That type of mixing has been going on since the first Arabs set foot in Africa. It’s nothing new or “exotic” to us.
The evidence is really in languages like Swahili and Hausa that have a lot of Arabic in them. And this brings to mind those Kenyans that have Chinese ancestry. Really just reading history, in particular medieval history concentrated on the whole of East Africa and the Indian Ocean will let anyone know that mixing is certainly not new or “exotic”. With so many different people transacting and conducting business, moving and settling in different parts of Africa there’s no way that mixing wasn’t going on. But this happened centuries ago which would explain why some people view this subject sceptically.
Moving on, I believe I’ve found a recipe for fura da nono/pendi but it’s in a Hausa cookbook and the recipe does not contain any milk! Just millet and water…strange.
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“Quite a few Africans are walking around today with non-black blood coursing through their veins. This is the reality regardless of what anyone else may say/think. People here hardly go about claiming that there are not black because their great great grandfather was Persian.”
Probably not if their great great grandfather alone was Persian but I’m betting they would identfy as mixed if their father was Persian. Henry Louis Gates actually interviewed some Kenyans who identified as mixed (Arab/African) on his PBS special on Africa a few years back.
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It’s kind of curious how some think that an individual being 10% group A and 90% group B by ancestry is exactly the same thing as being 50% group A and 50% group B or even 80% group A and 20% group B.
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But according to anthropologists, ALL ethnicities came out of Africa. If this is so, then it is illogical to assume that Africans are all the same shade, or share all the same features. Genetically, Africa is the single most diverse mixing pot on the planet. Of course there are going to be differences in the way that peoples there look, even when they’re not “mixed.”
Our species (Homo Sapiens Sapiens) developed in Africa. We are all Africans in this sense. I am not an expert here, but yes, I do believe there is a high genetic diversity among African people.
Well, humans in general are extremely diverse; it’s one of the things that make biological human races difficult, if not impossible, to determine. We are all way too diverse (even people of the same cultural “race”), and people of different cultural “races” often share more genetic similarities than those in the same cultural “race”.
By all means, the only thing that makes certain people think “all Africans are/look the same” (but not all Europeans) is white privilege. Simple as that.
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So…back to black women being beautiful and Africans having awesome fashion senses (and away from this Western obsession with people being “mixed”)….
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“No doubt there is much phenotypical diversity in Sub-Saharan Africa, but alot of people are exaggerating it as a ploy to maintain hypodescent ideologies in the US and avoid social recognition of racially mixed individuals. In Africa itself, mixed race people are a recognized population.”
It would be pretty hard to overstate this unprecedented spectrum of diversity—at least on a genetic level. If you were to look at all of at East Asia, the entire area would be awash in pink circles. Europe would be almost a solid blue. Africa is even more genetically diverse than is the “mixing pot” of the United States. The peoples of Africa are NOT one people, but many. Just as we wouldn’t consider every people on earth who has light skin and straight hair to be the same “race.”
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Sorry.. Ank! Looks I slipped in one last post 🙂
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That beading is an art form in and of itself! The secret of their fabulous skin? Shea butter. A friend of mine brought me some from Nigeria. Let me tell you, all shea butter is not created equally! I have purchased shea butter before, but this one is the best. It goes on like cream and you don’t have to use too much. Apparently it’s called uro(sic), where he’s from. He is Yoruba. Shea butter and black soap in conjunction will do your skin good! That, and I suspect diet, contribute to their great skin in some of these countries. Maybe they just have naturally flawless skin? They are not eating chemical laden food imbued with ‘enhancements’? Kudos for this post Ankhsen!
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I love the way Fulani women darken their lips and paint their faces. I saw some Fulani women today with the traditional hairstyle which is quite rare to see because it seems almost every Nigerian women relaxes these days.
@Herneith
Shea butter is Yoruba is called ori
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From what I can gather from a Google search fura da nono is a drink made from cooked millet (fura) and fermented cow’s milk (nono). A recipe I came across mentioned the additions of spices and sugar, and included yogurt as a substitute for the nono.
I sometimes drink Lifeway brand plain kefir for its probiotic properties, and I think it would probably make an even better substitute than yogurt.
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Ah! The Europeans have discovered the Himba!
http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/XjUpY4QN1nsjn7ymt2OYFYgoo1_1280.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=0RYTHV9YYQ4W5Q3HQMG2&Expires=1288572969&Signature=SXzT2%2FI%2FOr7qKlUq9YhpF4RJLJA%3D
and are standing ready to appropriate!! lol!
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@ eccentricyoruba
Funny, it seems here in the states, beauticians are starting to get away from relaxers as being to damaging to the hair (especially long term)
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@ King
Ah! The Europeans have discovered the Himba! and are standing ready to appropriate!
*twitch* Yeah…I try not to be concerned, even though it does concern Moi.
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Black women had good skin when I was growing up. Not much makeup and Ivory soap probably responsible. Pressed powder and lipstick was standard. Diet consisted of what the modern Black calls slave food, but portion size, more manual labor and walking counteracted the ill effects.
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I love ivory soap. There is only one grocery store that sells it by my house. I stock whenever it’s on sale
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What an earth is this talk about percents?? Sounds like 1890’s german and swedish racial biologists. You know, they were the original race purists and for them it was very important to define how amny %% of what race you were: they were after all trying to find the Pure German White man.
When I was in Africa back in the 80’s what I noticed was that there are whole lot of different shades and shapes and sizes of people. Ok, there are tribes and such who have diffenrent cultures, but in general I just saw multitude of different kinds of people. From very light brown to the blackest of the black. And that was great!!
For me, as a white guy, it is weird that some blacks try to define the blackness by percentages: who is 12,6% this and who is 3,567% of that etc. It sounds crazy. As crazy as the “scientific” studies in nazi Germany, where they were trying to define how much “aryan” you are by the same method. And that, as we all know, was a whole lotta bull.
What Ankhesens post brings out is this: there are beautiful women in Africa, from north to south, from east to west. Different looks and styles, sure, but they are all black and beautiful. 100% that is. 😀
And on the tuaregs: I’ve seen guys who are absolutely black and guys who’ve had almost blond brown hair among them. I do not think that tuaregs think too much about the color of the skin. I think their self defenition of a tuareg comes from totally different place than racial purity or mix.
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hmmm interesting
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i find it interesting that EVERY time someone does a post pertaining to the beauty of bw admixture is always brought up and used to question the authenticity of black women’s beauty…i find it very interesting and obnoxious to say the least…
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@Sam,
Well, you’re from a very small, very homogenous country apparently lacking in large scale social conflict and seem to get your ideas about American social relations largely from mid-20th century pop music. You probably have little inkling that denial of racial mixture, hypodescent, and one drop rule concepts have been systematically and purposefully employed by phenotypically and genotypically extreme individuals to suppress the mixed race population in the US over the decades.
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And I find it interesting and obnoxious that such discussions always bring up affirmations of “racial purity” which would make Adolf Hitler blush in embarassment.
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@ Natasha W
I parly understand the point Natasha is making about the “exclusion” of West African types (the Zulu are represented). However, she may be falling into the same trap that when Eurocentrics, non-blacks fall into, of assuming that blacks = broad nose, big thick lips, etc.
The truth is that most black people have button noses in Africa. Broad thick noses and big lips are one of the extreme on the spectrum of black peoples features, along with thin lips on the other.
Have you heard of the Tuareg? They are Berbers and they are as dark as any other African, in fact they look almost Hausa.
The Tauregs are, on average, 80% black African. That makes them relatively the same mixture as African Americans, but we wouldn’t argue that African Americans aren’t black.
Anyhow, many people saying they’re mixed with Arabs, also fail to realize that Arabs are mixed with Africans, too. Arabs (Arabian peninsula) are about 30-40% African in ancestry. This would have been higher 1000s of years ago.
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i find it interesting that EVERY time someone does a post pertaining to the beauty of bw admixture is always brought up and used to question the authenticity of black women’s beauty…i find it very interesting and obnoxious to say the least…
It really is.
And I find it interesting and obnoxious that such discussions always bring up affirmations of “racial purity” which would make Adolf Hitler blush in embarassment.
Well…yeah.
What Ankhesens post brings out is this: there are beautiful women in Africa, from north to south, from east to west. Different looks and styles, sure, but they are all black and beautiful. 100% that is.
Well said, as usual.
So let’s get back to the focus. That said:
Igbo Alert!
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“The truth is that most black people have button noses in Africa. Broad thick noses and big lips are one of the extreme on the spectrum of black peoples features, along with thin lips on the other.”
A, excellent example of the “broad nosed African.”
And yet another example of the stereotype!
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Swazi Alert: Her Royal Highness Sikhanyiso Dlamini, eldest daughter of King Mswati III.
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From Ethiopia: Amhara Alert!
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I used black soap and shea butter and apparently I have good skin. Women here are scared of shea butter because they believe it darkens their skin. I don’t see it to be honest but I’m “lucky” that shea butter doesn’t darken my skin. *Facepalm*. Wrt black soap there’s the manufactured kind and the local kind so those being marketed as “natural” are not always so. Black soap bought in my hometown smells different from manufactured brands and is soft like dough.
@BleuParfumRoses
That’s basically fura da nono the only problem with those of us who’ve tasted the drink from the Fulani themselves is that we know following a recipe will never be as good as buying it from Fulani women themselves.
@King
I really believe that when natural hair becomes mainstream in the US, it will also become mainstream here because women follow African-American hair trends.
@Sam
And on the tuaregs: I’ve seen guys who are absolutely black and guys who’ve had almost blond brown hair among them. I do not think that tuaregs think too much about the color of the skin. I think their self defenition of a tuareg comes from totally different place than racial purity or mix.
Exactly my point. I didn’t get how saying Hausa had a % of Berber ancestry made them biracials. Still don’t get it.
@Mel
Anyhow, many people saying they’re mixed with Arabs, also fail to realize that Arabs are mixed with Africans, too. Arabs (Arabian peninsula) are about 30-40% African in ancestry.
I always thought that Afro-Arabs were descended from slaves owned by Arabs throughout the Middle East. The way I see it, everyone is mixed so we need to stop making a big deal out of it.
@Ankh
Lovely images!
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It also depends on what part of the south you live or your ancestors migrated from.If you are from east Tennessee, Oklahoma, North and South Carolina your African ancestors more than likely came from West Africa. In other parts of the south and original New England states your African ancestry could have come from other locations in Africa. Blacks even look different in different parts of the US, because of this without taking into account of mixture. Slaves were smuggled into the US after the importation of slaves was abolished and other countries had abolished slavery, because of the labor demands of cotton growing and harvesting. The US was getting slaves from wherever they could. Black people in West Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia looks different than West Africans.
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West Africa!!!
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Y and eccentricyoruba,
I think basic soaps, even though they are thought to be more harsh, actually do better on women’s more acidic skin.
Now I buy triple milled soap with olive oil; a luxury I feel I deserve in my old age.
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King,
That’s a gorgeous pix from West Africa. I noticed African women use color much better.
With the exception on the runway, black women’s makeup in the US is mostly a variation of white makeup. In 2010 hardly any color.
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@King
The short-haired woman in you west Africa link was GORGEOUS! I feel like copying her eye-makeup for tomorrow.
@Hathor
Agreed. Most women in the West have abandoned color in their day to day make-up routine. I used to wear eye-shadow everyday but stopped for some reason. I’ll have to get back in the habit of wearing eye-shadow again.
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@ Hathor
I KNOW! I Love that pic!
@ Y
They ARE! You should! 🙂
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King, those women are gorgeous! And their hair is pimp!!!
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The way I see it, everyone is mixed so we need to stop making a big deal out of it.
*nods* ‘Tis very Western thinking. Not everyone co-signs.
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@ Ank
I know, just look at them!! Whoever did their hair could make a fortune in America!!!! If I could braid, I could make a fortune! Hmm… now there’s a thought 🙂
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Which reminds me…Oromo Alert!
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Ohh…now that’s tight!! MOAR please!!! (with closeups of the braidwork!)
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I couldn’t wait!! OROMO ALERT!!!
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Too cute!
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I used that picture of the Oromo woman myself:
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@ abagond
Good choice.
Mine is BIGGER though!!
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Looking at Fulani, Amhara, Himba, Hausa, Zulu, Tuareg, and Oromo has put me in a good mood. 🙂
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Now, now, boys….don’t make me have separate you two.
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@ King
Believe me, those African braiders make money when they come to the US.
In Nigeria it only cost the equivalent of 20-30 USD to get cornrows, freestyle, whatever style of braids you want. The same styles in the US can run up to 220 USD, especially when we are talking micro braids.
My mom went to Nigeria and got fake locs and it only cost like 30USD, she was begging the girls to take more money because it was so cheap. If those girls were in the US doing the same style, they could have made 150+ easy…
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exactly if everyone has something mixed in, (including whites) then why does it seem like the majority of the time people only want to bring up admixture when it pertains to bw…can we go on the beautiful ww thread or beautiful aw thread and start nitpicking on their racial admixture and who is truly white or asian…can we do that please…and then use that to demean european/asian beauty that would be something new…
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@ Y
Hmm… $30 just covers the shampoo here!
When you think about it, there are a lot of beauty shops in the U.S. I wonder if anyone has really considered sponsoring/hiring talent from African countries. It would be interesting to see if there is any market for authentic African braiding. I bet you’d do fairly well for yourself offering something as unique as that.
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“exactly if everyone has something mixed in, (including whites) then why does it seem like the majority of the time people only want to bring up admixture when it pertains to bw…”
Well, the thing is that claims about what constitutes a “bw” tend to be much farther reaching than for other groups. So Adriana Lima, Jennifer Beals, Mariah Carey, and others have all been deemed “black women” on this website (though interestingly you’re unlikely to seem them or even Halle Berry at the top of a “most beautiful black women” list without a great deal of protest). That’s why questions about admixture are more likely to arise when it comes to “black women” than it is for other groups.
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Great. Nice. Lovely.
Can we get off the subject of mixing now?
Here’s a Maasai bonus to help us focus. Talk about being pimp…
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Beautiful, vibrant colours!
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I LOVE Massai jewelry!!
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SENEGAL!!!!!!!
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gorgeous pictures
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Any further comments on mixing on this thread will be deleted.
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To all:
Where did I say I thought this post was a bad one or that these women weren’t really black?
Point it out to me, I’d be interested to know where I wrote that.
The biracial reference I made was because it’s the same idea: presenting only one or two forms of black beauty. Not because I think they are the same or have the same amount of admixture.
And to all the people who say I am stereotyping Africans into having one look, please come again.
Obviously you all are new to this blog or haven’t read any of my other comments here. I am of direct West African descent and have spent much time in Africa, as well as with other Africans in the states. And I don’t have a stereotypical “African look” so I am well aware that Africans come in many forms, without admixture.
I think most of you all believe that black Americans look different from their ancestors (I don’t, but keep reading) due to admixture (which is similar in percentage to that of the Fulani). How would this post go over if some pictures of black Americans were presented as West Africans? Would you all say that they were representative? If not, do you see where I’m coming from?
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And King…that woman you posted is FINE.
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eccentricyoruba,
I posted the study in the “About” section on your blog. All the info you need is there; it will require knowledge of mtDNA origins.
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Here’s an informative article on the use of waist baids in Africa with particular focus on the Yoruba. It has some nice images.
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The vast majority of blacks in the Americas don’t have Fulani (or Maasai) roots (see the recent genetic study I posted on the “Some numbers on black Americans” post). Rather they have Mende, Fante, Yoruba, etc, roots, so I think it would be more compelling to black women in the Americas if women of these groups were covered
I greatly disagree. The only time I ever really felt any connection to African culture was when I saw Fulani. They made me proud of my features and was the first time I really saw people that looked like me. Remember, most dosen’t all.
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@eccentricyoruba
I have some of those. My aunt got them for me when she went to Senegal
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“My aunt got them for me when she went to Senegal”
SENEGAAAAL!!!!
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Thank you, Ankhesen and Abagond. This post was long overdue.
Traditional African beauty is the one which touches me the most.
Some more pictures:
http://niaonline.org/bride/wp-content/themes/parallelus-unite/includes/timthumb.php?src=/bride/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/afarbride1.jpg&w=566&zc=1
Some of the pics above are featured in a calendar titled “Women of the African Ark”. Google it.
A bit different (no woman pictured here) but still beautiful:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-516490/Out-Africa-The-incredible-tribal-fashion-inspired-Mother-Nature.html
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Wimbum Alert!
These are my people. 🙂 My family belongs to the Tang Clan.
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I love seeing pictures that show the variety of beauty in my darker-skinned sisters…merci beaucoup, Abagond! : )
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By the way, African women do not need make-up to be beautiful. Look at this one:
http://album.foto.ru:8080/photo/18422/
The way this one looks at me makes me makes me melt:
http://album.foto.ru:8080/photo/18374/
And, frankly, who could resist such a smile?:
http://album.foto.ru:8080/photo/18337/
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My family belongs to the Tang Clan.
Oh, exploitable… 😀
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Eh oui, tant de beauté…
Although perfection is arguably a myth, here’s a Bakongo woman who, by my sense of aesthetics, comes quite close to the myth —
Btw greetings from Douala 🙂
A+
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– My family belongs to the Tang Clan.
– Oh, exploitable… 😀
Yeah…it hit me as soon as I pressed Submit.
@ Dahoman X
What do the Russians say about us?
@ Femi
Elle est tres belle. Perfectly so, in fact. Love her eyes.
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@ Dahoman
Merci for this one:
http://niaonline.org/bride/wp-content/themes/parallelus-unite/includes/timthumb.php?src=/bride/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/afarbride1.jpg&w=566&zc=1
She is absolute perfection.
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Sorry – I meant this one: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_kvBoN8VZfNc/SabTLqCRZ_I/AAAAAAAAAxk/6rnjOjqWJDA/s400/Picture+1.png
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Ok, I just need to say: East African women (from Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea, etc.) have to seriously be one of the most beautiful group of women who ever walked on earth! West Africans, too, of course! Love the Maasai woman in purple and silver ensemble; she’s heart-stoppingly gorgeous.
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Have to agree. Great postings celebrating the much envied beauty and diversity of African women.
That last picture was real beautiful!
Its so true what they say about pictures and their ability to convey 1000’s of words…
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Probably nothing interesting if I were to judge by the general look of the site, but I wouldn’t know anyway, as I don’t speak a single word of Russian (alright, maybe “niet” and “da”, but only if they’re not written in Cyrillic…)
This site just happens to host those beautiful pictures I wanted you to see.
By the way, Sister, do you know that French song by Marc Lavoine titled “Les Yeux Revolver”? It goes like this:
Elle a les yeux revolver
Elle a le regard qui tue
Elle a tiré la première
Elle m’a touché, c’est foutu
I ask because I think I just found the culprit:
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@ Dahoman X
Non…mais merci!
@ King
I have immortalized you…at least for now.
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i’m loving all these beautiful images.
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Here is the definitive proof that perfection exists in this world:
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Ahhhhh, Dahoman, merci, merci…elle est un ange.
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@ Ank
I’m immortal!!!! lol!
Great post, over at your place!!! You found even more examples of it! Wow!
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Women in black :
And more eyes :
(No, I’m not an eye-fetichist).
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@ King
Scary, isn’t it?
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[…] is different again in Rwanda which would change again once you reached Libya or Scotland. (Read this post for a tough challenge to Western standards of […]
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Good, good, good post. Makes me wish I knew more about the countries you mention. I live in South Africa and ever since I moved here have been confused by the proliferation of ‘light’ black beauty and handsomeness. I understand it now but it still disturbs me. I remember seeing an ad on TV during Oprah for lightening cream that would do just as it says for black men and women’s skin. Down the road from my house is a corner store that recently adorned their painted and graffitied windows with slick Coke ads. The ad features two young black women and a young black guy drinking Coke and generally enjoying life (you can imagine the smiles as they drink). But their skin is so light they look almost white. It’s weird.
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@ kimlovesjozi
I just came back from Douala and this time I’ve noticed a few women with some obvious side effects of chemical depigmentation. Some quite shocking. I used to think some women just have natural skin disorders and I thought usually only black women who live in Western countries use skin lightening stuff but it’s widespread in Cameroon and apparently in many other African countries. I don’t know of anybody in my family having ever used that stuff. Among those who use it, it seems to be some kind of taboo.
Many of the products still sold in Africa contain mercury compounds or hydroquinone which has been shown to be highly toxique and possibly carcinogen. It’s a multi billion $ market, not only in Africa but also in South East Asia. Several francophone African women are battling against those products. I suppose there are activists also on the anglophone side.
For those who understand French
http://www.icicemac.com/actualite/blanchiment-de-la-peau-un-fleau-entre-dans-les-ma
http://lepangolin.afrikblog.com/archives/2009/11/07/15707119.html
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Wow. Great pictures! I love the diversity of human culture. Thanks for posting those awesome images! I definitely dig the various hairstyles and decorations presented. And the beauty of those women…mmmm… 😛
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West African!!! (modern)
http://www.nairaland.com/attachments/185800_sen10_jpgcfe48a83af4aef4976bf83e2e19d5665
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This article was a great read and very informative! Interestingly, I have been told by many Senegalese people in Korea that I look like the Fulani women in Senegal. After hearing this so many times, I decided to research the Fulani women in Senegal and I then came across this article.
…and yes I agree that Fulani women “are very beautiful!”
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I give you credit for adoring Fulani women. I love them too. I wish I could find myself one to take as my wife.
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It’s been a long time since I posted here.
Let’s share some more pics:
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2760/4210841502_46d7009a69_z.jpg?zz=1
http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4003/4159217521_2ab598d716_z.jpg?zz=1
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THE FULANI FOLLOWED BY HAUSA, IRRESPECTIVE OF THE COMPLEXION, HAVE BEAUTIFU L FEATURES MAKING THEM UNIQUELY DISTINCT. SO ALSO MANY OTHER TRIBES.
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My husband and I, members of the African Diaspora, recently learned a portion of our heritage through DNA testing. Through my maternal lineage, I descend from the Hausa people, specifically those who currently reside in Cameroon. I’m on the hunt to learn more of my identity and came across this blog post. Beautiful pictures!
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man on duty
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