Hair Thursdays - Egyptian Inspired Braids

Anybody remember the Prince of Egypt? I live in a small, mainly religious town and the people I talked to about it usually had NO idea what I was talking about. It's an animated movie made in the late 90's by Dreamworks about Moses. Even though I'm not Christian, I love this movie (along with Rankin Bass' The Little Drummer Boy).

It introduced me to a major influencer in my life - Ancient Egypt. I loved Ancient Egypt as a kid. Even one year, my aunt gave me a couple of coloring books of Ancient Egypt with colored pencils and a whole book about Ancient Egypt itself. I still have that book, along with several others that my family gets for me. I love to watch documentaries about Ancient Egypt and the finding of more and more tombs and mummies. Heck, I've even seen a mummy when my local art museum had an Egyptian exhibit. (I probably heckled my mom into letting me go, so...). I spent hours playing a city building game called Pharoah that my grandmother found at Target and instantly bought for me, and the soundtrack has remained stuck in my mind forever.

Before you get your panties (or boxes, if you're a man, not judging) in a bunch, crying out "Egypt isn't a part of Africa, and you said this month would be African American History month on this blog", hold your horses. Egypt is part of Africa. Don't believe me? Here's a map. 

Even though Egyptians are not as dark skinned as their more southern counterparts and it can be quite easy to confuse Egypt for being a part of the Middle East, Egyptian history is a part of African history. 

All that explanation for a tutorial on Egyptian Inspired Braids. Oh boy. 

What do I mean, Egyptian Inspired Braids? Many (mostly upper class and rich Ancient Egyptians) would wear wigs 1. These wigs usually had braids, curls, tassels (like Moses' adopted mother in Prince of Egypt) and precious metals and stones attached to them so their owners could show off their wealth. They even liked to buried with them, thus leading to a lot of these thousands year old wigs being in museums, for us to gawk at. You have to remember, Egypt is a desert and it gets insanely hot there, so it's easiest to just chop all your hair off and wear a pretty wig rather than suffer through the heat with long hair. Not to mention delightful things like lice. 

Wig from 12th Dynasty (1887 - 1813 B.C.)

The most common, simplest and most stereotypical wig that comes to our minds when we think of Ancient Egypt is the braided kind. Films and television are especially guilty of this, including Elizabeth Taylor's portrayal of Cleopatra. 

Does this movie ever show a bald Cleopatra? I doubt it. 

If you use your search engine and type in 'Ancient Egyptian Wigs' or 'Ancient Egyptian Hair', you'll end up with a lot of results for braided wigs. This trend of braiding hair like this could have (I'm not historian here) led to what we know today as box braids. A lot of celebrities wear them and they are popular amongst the African American community. 

Beyonce with blonde box braids. 

So, do you want your dolls to look like an Egyptian? Well, set your music onto the Bangles' "Walk Like an Egyptian" and start braiding. Yes, it's that simple. The complexity comes with how much braiding you have to do. This can take a good, long while. If you're using an American Girl doll, you may be pleased to know that their wigs use Kanklelon fibers, which are used in a lot of wigs and hair extensions! This is your chance to practice getting better and better at braiding. The tighter the braid, the longer it takes. 

I often do this to sort of 'perm' my doll's hair into waviness. I do this for Kaleia often, since I like her hair wavy. Her hair is the only one who stays hair stays wavy after a couple of brushings, unlike the rest. But to show a thick and a thin braiding, or at least attempt to, I did Kaleia's hair in braids and my mom did Nanea's. 

I put Kaleia's hair into ponytails with her braided hair for the first time! it was so cute I *had* to take a pic!

This hairstyle is so simple yet it can be manipulated to do a lot of things. A lot of the girls in my school had box braids but didn't stop there. Buns, a braid of box braids, anything is possible! Decorations (like beads or jewelry) can be added for a layer of fancy. It is easy to see why this hairstyle is so popular. 

The ever popular half bun box braid style.

Simply beautiful!

Tia Mowry with a box braid bun.

Sources 

1. http://www.ancient-origins.net/history-ancient-traditions/changing-beauty-use-elaborate-wigs-ancient-egypt-005484