Cornrows, also known as canerows, have a long and rich history that goes beyond being just a fashionable hairstyle. It is believed that cornrows were used by slaves in the United States as a tool for communication and escape.
Slaves were not allowed to read or write, so they had to come up with creative ways to communicate with each other. Cornrows became a way to transfer information and create maps to the north, where slaves believed they could find freedom.
The history of cornrows can be traced back to Colombia, South America, where Benkos Bioho, a slave who led a rebellion against the Spanish in the late 1500s, came up with the idea to use cornrows as a way to pass information and maps to other slaves. Women would create maps and deliver messages through their cornrows, which were also called canerows to represent the sugarcane fields where slaves worked.
One style of cornrows had curved braids that were tightly braided on their heads. The curved braids represented the roads slaves would use to escape. This way, they could remember the route without arousing any suspicion from their owners.
In addition to carrying maps, slaves also hid gold and seeds in their braids. The gold would be used to finance their journey to freedom, while the seeds were used to plant crops once they reached their destination. This helped them to survive once they escaped and began building new lives for themselves.
Cornrows were the perfect tool for communication and escape because they did not attract any suspicion from their owners. Slave owners did not realize that such a simple hairstyle could be used to convey such complex information. This is a testament to the creativity and ingenuity of the human spirit in the face of oppression and adversity.
In conclusion, the history of cornrows is much deeper and more complex than most people realize. They were not just a fashionable hairstyle, but a tool for communication and escape for slaves. They allowed slaves to pass information and maps to each other without arousing any suspicion from their owners. The history of cornrows is a reminder of the resilience and ingenuity of the human spirit in the face of oppression.The history of cornrows is a fascinating testament to the resilience and ingenuity of the human spirit. It's incredible to think that such a simple hairstyle was used by slaves to communicate and escape from oppression.
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