The Mountain Mumuila of southern Angola’s Huíla Province are a subgroup of the Mumuila people. Living in high rural areas, they preserve ancestral traditions. Women wear red clay hairstyles, bead necklaces (missangas), and metal or leather ornaments.



    by Kindly_Department142

    37 Comments

    1. alwaysfatigued8787 on

      Their hair reminds me of the meat helmets I used to make with my family in the springtime.

    2. Do you imagine if this was a tradition that started because many hundreds or thousands of years ago some lost Irish person show up to their village?

    3. Citrus_In_Space on

      Such a cool style. I first learned about it when I read Binti by Nnedi Okorafor (MC is Himba). If you want to see these aesthetics on a scifi backdrop, I highly recommend! 

    4. Very cool! Having worked with ceramics, I’m concerned about their lung health. I wonder if this clay has any impact, or there are other steps that mitigate the danger of exposure to silica dust.

    5. Like the Himba people in Namibia! I’ve heard that the ochre is also used for skin protection

    6. I feel like whenever africans are pictured doing anything europeans always me comments like…. This is amazing BUT… Like why the but. Ive seen inhaling clay as a but ive seen jokes about sonic even jaba the hut but no genuine comments about how amazing this culture is. Can someone explain why europeans do this???

    7. DonutWhole9717 on

      human ingenuity amazes me. and it looks really cool! i especially like the one with many braids

    8. I am all for preserving the culture and things like that,
      But won’t just free flowing shoulder cut hair just feel lighter and easier to work with? Whatever purpose the clay is solving, modernity and advancements have done it already with much ease than having to carry lumps of clay on your head.

      I know it is a controversial opinion and a lot of people want to say but won’t, that lump of clay on the head looks real uncomfortable and heavy.

      Every culture had some utilitarian use to it. If the utility is solved by modern advancements, I see no use in following any such practice that causes you any sort of trouble.

    9. Legal_Response6614 on

      Patting your head is the universal sign for ‘its itching but I don’t wanna mess up my hair’ 😅

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