The Mbalantu tribes of Namibia are located at the southernmost tip of Angola

The Mbalantu tribes of Namibia are located at the southernmost tip of Angola 🇦🇴 The traditional headdresses worn by Mbalantu women are well-known. Girls of the Mbalantu tribes start prepping their hair at the age of twelve.

Then, the girls have to put a thick paste on their hair that is made by mixing finely crushed omutyuula tree bark with fat. This thick concoction is applied to the girls’ scalps when they are young and left there for years before it is eventually freed to reveal the hair. Afterwards, sinew strings are used to tie the fruit pips of the bird plum to the tips of the hair. At the age of 16, these young women have lengthy sinew strands anchored to their hair.

Girls get their hair braided into four long, thick braids called eembuvi prior to undergoing the Ohango Initiation (a ritual that gets them recognized as women) in the same year. As they are now considered female, they undergo yet another hair transformation to match their new image. Hair is given a fresh application of the tree-bark and oil concoction to stimulate growth.

When the long plaits are styled into a headpiece, it is a sign that the wearer is a married lady. According to historical accounts, this headgear was so cumbersome that “top ends were typically tied to a piece of rope or skin, which was secured across the forehead in order to distribute the burden more equally.”

A lady was expected to maintain this look for a while after she was married, but she was expected to update it if her status changed, such as when she had a baby. While not being as long and thick as the Mbalantus, these distinctive Eembuvi braids reemerged in the 1990s as Box Braids and have since become an inspiration to many people across the world.

The Mbalantu hairdo served as an inspiration for Shuri’s Black Panther appearance.