The Art of Gele

The higher the hair, the closer to God. Dolly Parton proudly said this portraying a southern hairstylist in the movie Steel Magnolias. I have come to realize that this saying seems to be true of a fun cultural tidbit in my current location. I have lived in Yorubaland, Nigeria since 2021. As Americans will use makeup and jewelry to complete our outfits, Nigerian women will use the gele (Source). The gele, pronounced gay-lay, is a hair wrap or a hair tie used to cover the majority of the hair and the upper part of the ears.

Historically, the gele originated in ancient Egypt and began in Sub-Saharan Africa as far back as the 1700s. It was used to indicate marital and social status. The more elaborate the fabric style, design and quality, and even how tall it stood, the more prosperous you were (Source, Source). Deborah Makafui explains, the gele “serve[d] the utility of identifying a woman’s marital status; if worn to the right, she is married, while if worn to the left shows that she is single” (Source). Practically, the head wrap protected people’s hair and heads and kept them cool from the hot sun (Source).

In current times, the gele is a trendy fashion accessory with the younger generation. Where I live, the gele is an everyday accessory to the older generations. It is usually the same fabric from which the gown or dress is made. As a westerner, I usually only wear a gele to church or to a program. The gele can range from a simple handkerchief covering the hair to more elaborate. The more elaborate designs call for more folds, practice to tie them, or acquiring an experienced wrapper. The geles worn to special programs and events tend to be more complicated a design and usually made from a stiff fabric called as aso-oke, a hand or machine woven cloth specifically designed for a head wrap (Source). There are other types of fabric, but aso-oke is the current trend in the fashion world (Source). (See the Top Middle Photo Below).

Following step-by-step instructions or a wiki-how can be very confusing if you have never tried to wrap them yourself. It seems you need to know the special code to discern what the instructor is even talking about (Click here for different gele instructions). Looking at all the designs can also be very daunting. With my artistic background, I enjoy tying the gele in different designs, whereas most Nigerians and westerners only know how to tie one or two types.

There are lots of established rules in life. For example: to make a good meringue you have to use room-temperature eggs or there is no crying in baseball. With geles, there are no rules. Your imagination and determination are your only limitations. In fact, cheating is allowed.

One of my strengths is to back engineer how someone does something. Looking at the different gele designs, I made it my mission to figure out how to actually do it. Once I learned that people cheated, the sky was the limit. Women, from the beginning of time probably, have cheated to make certain hair designs possible. I especially love the cheats for Edwardian and rockabilly time periods for hair designs, but that is for a different post.

Cheating may be a strong word, smoke and mirrors may be a better description. You can use a bunched scarf under the gele to create the illusion of more volume. You can use straight pins to keep a piece of wayward fabric where it should stay to defy gravity. There are even auto-geles available. An auto-gele is a premade, pre-folded design made into a hat. It is sometimes adjustable with Velcro or glued in place to hold its shape (Source). Auto-geles give women the experience of wearing a more elaborate gele without the time it takes to wrap it themselves. Headbands and fascinator hats are also acceptable head coverings, at least for church services and some programs.

Custom made fascinator.

Headbands for the win!

8 pins are used in this gele

Fancy Hats make good cheats!

Auto-Gele

Red fascinator hat

One deterrent to tying the gele for the average Nigerian is the time and patience to actually tie an elaborate gele themselves. Professional wrappers also get frustrated with wrapping them. Comfort Babatola confirms,

Tying the Gele is an art in itself. It takes great patience and precision. I remember as a child always watching my mom tie the Gele for a special occasion and wondering, 'what in the world...?' Now I find myself doing the same, getting frustrated over tying my gele, because sometimes it just takes forever. Don't ask me to tell you how long it takes. Let's just say, I pre-tie my Geles weeks, and sometimes months ahead of the special event. So all I do is just put it on like a hat whenever it's needed (Source).

I also get frustrated. With every Instagram post, there were countless trial and errors and many an angry outburst (you can ask my Prince Charming if you don’t believe me). Only the nice ones are photographed and practice makes better, never perfect.

Gele wrapping for me is an artistic outlet for my personal style to shine in Nigerian culture. They are definitely a trendy fashion accessory. What are your thoughts on the gele shown here? Have you a favorite design? Is your interest piqued to try to wrap your own gele? Send a fan letter or comment below. Until next time, happy new month.