Dansinkran Hairstyle Fashion and Its Socio-Cultural Significance in Akan Traditional Ruling

Kennedy Asenso

doi:10.7176/jcsd/49-05

Abstract

The value of hair to women seems to be succinctly expressed in the words of Martin Luther that ‘hair is the richest ornament of women’. For many women of African descent, hair is emotive, symbolic and an inseparable part of our identity. The objective of the study was to examine socio-cultural significance of Dansinkran in Akan traditional ruling. For this study, the researcher used personal interviews with some Akan Queen mothers on their Dansinkran hair styles and utilized qualitative research methods, with heavy emphasis on literature review. The researcher employed a case study design in the research. The study unravelled that; Dansinkran hair style enhances thinking capacity of the Akan Queen mothers as they used charcoal, it detoxify every chemical in the hair and allow the brain to function with its full capacity. The researcher recommends that in writing of our country history as a means to preserve and conserve it, the inclusion of history of hairdressing would make it richer and also add to the existing repository of knowledge. Keywords: Dansinkran, Culture, Hairstyles, Identity, Symbolic. DOI : 10.7176/JCSD/49-05 Publication date :June 30 th 2019

Highlights

The practice of hair shaving among both men and women has been a culturally specific practice. Bell (2008) put forward that, Hair is one of most important aspects of beauty culture, within the Black community
Different hairstyle had come over and over again, but Akan Dansinkran hair style has remained peculiar to the Akan Queen mothers of Ghana and has remained unchanged for centuries
This chapter reviews the topic on empirical literature on the following related thematic areas: Indigenous hair-styling culture of Ghanaian women Akan hair-styling techniques and etiquette Dansinkran hairstyle of Akan queen mothers

Summary

Introduction

The practice of hair shaving among both men and women has been a culturally specific practice. Bell (2008) put forward that, Hair is one of most important aspects of beauty culture, within the Black community. Against all this acculturation background, Akans Queen mothers have been able to maintain their Dansinkran hair style as a means to preserve and conserved their cultural identity. Different hairstyle had come over and over again, but Akan Dansinkran hair style has remained peculiar to the Akan Queen mothers of Ghana and has remained unchanged for centuries.

Results

Conclusion