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

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