It’s an oddball that I speak about slavery at this time and chance moreso as Nigeria seems to be void of colonial control for what 62 years now but there’s news the metal chains that stuck to our ankles are wrists are vanished  but we are still chains only difference is now they’re faded into laws and policies. A short back story that is all too familiar with some of house it’s how the British after the log was drawn over countries landed Africa 1861 as a result of the Berlin conference of 1844 where the African countries was shared amongst the European  countries and with the activities of slave trade and others Nigeria became a British colony in 1914 merging the northern and Southern states which led to a massive increase rate of British trade, economic and political influence . 

They are pieces on the economic,political and different shades to the post effect of colonialism one part that is mostly in the shadows is the moral aspect. 

Morals are simply standards of behavior, what is believed to be right and wrong and they differ accordingly to people, cultures, race and person.  Before the British colonial period there existed morals that the people lived by varying by the region, from eating cultures to fashion choices some were peculiar, others differed to a great deal . 

Currently in this space and time they are choices or practices that are seen as evil and has earned the disapproval of many  a typical example is the wearing of ankle bracelets(anklets), waist beads etc 

What if these practices where not foreign and they had belonged to us this whole time, when the British came they had to break into us one way or the other and they chose to use us against us, a very beautiful way of you ask me . They came and condemned our ways in order to introduce theirs. 

In a present world wearing an ankle bracelet is seen as a one way ticket to prostitution, if there’s one thing the society holds dear it’s religion and time after time it is the benchmark to judging character but even wearing of ankle bracelets were mentioned twice in the holy bible,  Isiah 3:17-18 and mind you not in a bad light. The history of ankle bracelets dates back to ancient Egypt where women wore ankle bracelets to show prestige, wealth, feminity and status. In bringing it down home, I’m ancient Nigerian culture the beads where mostly made by the brass smiths ion requests and mostly bead. Some even had bells, so when a tingling is heard, men are to know a woman is near. Ankle bracelets have also been associated with lesbianism, lesbianism as an act doesn’t need a fashion accessory to point out the sexuality of a person. When the British came it is safe to say they took the cultural idea and refined it to a more modern and stylish fashion and brought it  back to us only that our people now saw what they worshipped as inferior. Ankle bracelets are pieces of ornaments and should be seen as nothing but that 

Asides from ankle bracelets another controversial fashion choice are waist beads. Wearing of beads on the waist fashioned and is deeply rooted in the culture of Africa. Beads are Africans top accessory and wearing it anywhere and everywhere possible is a way of showing  prestige and pride. Waist beads are worn by women to exhibit feminity, age, beauty, sexuality and fertility. Just as the beads are work the removal of the beads are also determined by the culture of the people. Bringing it home to Nigeria, waist beads are worn by the Igbo, riverine, Yoruba , Hausa and Benin tribes. Popularly known as “jigida” in the west, waist beads where worn as a symbol of rite of passage if a young woman outgrows her beads she gets new ones . These are worn as a symbol of confidence and femininity, fertility, beauty, weight tracking, protection( often giving my deities) sexual desires. In linking the beads to wealth, royalty or women of high status wore more expensive and fancy beads compared to the rest. In the Igbo their waist beads where mostly made with coral beads and copper held together and known as “Mgbájí”, it was worn as a necessity during traditional marriages and other special occasions.

In the riverine communities, waist beads were worn to symbolizes fertility and femininity, and were made from beads, cowries, fish line and copper and tiny sea stones in some riverine cultures only a woman’s husband should see her waist beads as it also symbolizes sexuality and desire. 

In the North, the Hausas call it “jigida” and that beads were  be used to ward off evil, preserving virginity, and protecting girls from getting raped. They are also worn for adornment, enhancing femininity and sensuality. Due to the marriage culture when a woman wears bead it is believed is ripe to be married. 

Leaving the waist beads and ankle bracelets train, tattoos and dreadlocks are another controversial fashion choice in modern day Africa, although it has perks there is no denying that either way tracing it has a path down Africa. Tattoos are marking on the skin which may be permanent or temporary and are used to symbolize varieties of meaning. Although many other parts of the world like Polynesia had tattoo an art of ancient culture. Tattoos are said to have originated from Egypt as a tattooed mummy was discovered about 1500 years BCE. For eons,tattoos were seen as a way of curing disease, protecting against spirits, showing affiliation towards certain groups/tribes, and reflecting personality traits such as bravery, courage, and social status. In ancient Nigeria man cultures the Igbo tribe more than others practiced tattoos great warriors had tattoos across their backs to symbolize their strength. Every family in ancient Igbo had a symbol and in order to signify who was from the clan their markings where engraved on their body and with time it generated to using charcoal markings so when a woman marries she would change it to that if her husband’s. 

 Majority of what trends as fashion world, Africa housed in plenty it was what made us strong ,with the advent of colonialism and development we lost what we had, and felt it was inferior and evil while they took it back home modernized it and live in its fashion while our people condemn the practice of what used to be ours.