Today's Tignon Laws

Some people have never liked us. Just the sight of us causes their blood to boil. Even when we were enslaved. Our hair in particular ticks them off. We were required to cover our heads when we leave the house before press and curls were invented. It has been my experience in the past, that my hair causes them to have a ton of conversation with me. Braids confuse them. Beads annoy them. Weaves make them crazy. My natural texture gets them angry. My locs scare them. But permed hair soothes them.

Not so funny story.... I was in grad school; there was an overly interested professor who concerned himself in things that had nothing to do with academics or my career. I wore my hair braided all through school. I didn't have the extra 40 minutes to do my hair in the morning, nor the money to get it done bi monthly. Braids were cheap in the 90's. Not even $100. But somehow my braids were not only unprofessional but unhygienic. He demanded I remove them. I didn't. Unbeknownst to him, I had parents who were educated and very involved in my life. I told them the first complaint, and I expected him to go the distance as a Karen. They were ready. When he took his complaint to the dean they scheduled an appointment with me. I told my daddy. They didn't expect the civil rights attorney that held the door open for me. They really thought that I had no people to back me up. Needless to say, I left with an apology.

When I became more spiritual, I wanted to protect my Ori (the personal spirit that lives in the head). Best way is with a headwrap. I've been wrapping my hair when I leave the house since 2008. Oh, did that annoy those people! But what could they do that didn't violate my constitutional rights? I got initiated in Palo in 2018. The reading from the initiation said I needed to keep my hair covered because it was cursed to others. If someone touched my hair they would come up on a bad one. My husband had to have emergency surgery. While in the waiting room, one of them asked about my headwrap. She interrupted a conversation I was having with an elder. At some point, I told her my hair wasn't compressible, and that's why I wrapped my hair the way I did. You know what came next.... She asked to touch my hair as if I'm some type of petting zoo animal. I declined and went back to my original conversation. She snuck up behind me and touched it anyway. As she went back to her seat.... she fell and hit her head 3 different ways before she hit the ground. We knew the rules. Nobody moved. The staff came out to aid her, because her face was busted up. She kept saying she was pushed. But they had cameras and told her she fell. No one touched her.

I do have some advice that you didn't ask for. If you decide to wrap your hair, you have to decide whether you do it all the time or just sometime. If you do it then don't.... People have questions. And not just them people. Sometimes it be your own people. Either commit or don't do it. If you do it all the time, it's just you. You do it part time, it's a costume. When I started wrapping, if my boss knew there were options, he would have voiced his preference and expect me to follow. If they want to still converse... Say it's for religious reasons. That ends the conversation. My license and passport have my head covered. If you wanna be part time, choose the times you wrap and commit.

Wrapping the head is a spiritual matter. This is why consistence is key. The only time I allow my head free in public is when I'm mourning. And no longer than a week. We are the only people with the hair we have. Be proud of that 4C kinky hair. Each strand is an antennae. When conducting rituals are really any spiritual work, you should be wrapping your hair. Spirits are always around and can get closer to you and influence your thoughts and behavior. The wrap is a barrier to that.

And with that... I'm a go

Bye!