I promised that I would talk about the tribe who wears a hairstyle that’s similar to sisterlocks, so here it is: The Nyangatom tribe. Although they’re usually not as long as sisterlocks and sisterlocks are often styled in many different ways (other than what’s pictured in this post), one can still see the resemblance. How they do it is something that I can’t tell you. (If there’s anyone who knows how they do it, let me know!) Could this style have influenced sisterlocks?
The Nyangatom are located in south western Ethiopia and south eastern Sudan. This tribe is divided into about twenty clans. Each person is apart of the clans that their fathers are/were in, and each generation is given their own nickname.
Aside from these awesome hairstyles, the women of Nyangatom wear beaded necklaces made of either glass or plastic, or seeds. These necklaces were put into place to show one’s social and wealth status. It may also be used for beauty purposes, giving the illusion of an elongated neck. I thought that this tidbit was really neat, so I thought that I would zoom in on a couple of other tribes who wore necklaces for similar reasons.
At one point, women of the Ndebele in South Africa, commonly wore brass and copper rings (iindzila) around their necks, arms, and legs. 
Brass rings are still used in the Kayan (Karen) tribe of Burma and Thailand. While they traditionally wore these copper rings for some of the reasons that other tribes wore them, many wear them to attract tourists. The rings eventually move the collarbone and ribs down and are said to be more painful than how it looks.
Now back to the Nyangatom. The land in which they and their neighboring tribes live on was turned into Omo National Park in 1966. In 2005, the land was handed over to the African Parks Foundation (a European organization founded by a billionaire).
Government park officials coerced the Nyangatom into signing documents that they couldn’t even read. Little did they know that the agreement stated that the Suri (a neighboring tribe) agreed to give up the land without compensation. This put the Nyangatom, along with neighboring tribes Mursi, Dizi, and Surma, in danger displacement. Not only would they not be allowed to live on this land, they would no longer be allowed to use its natural resources.
In 2007, the African Parks Network (African Parks Foundation) terminated their management contract with Omo National Park. They claimed that there was too much “inappropriate” activity going on within the tribes on this land and it was getting out of control. They handed the management over to Agency for Tourism, Parks and Hotels of SNNPRS. (You can read about the termination of their website by going here).
Lets just hope that the current and future management doesn’t force these tribes off the land.
Photo credits: dlbezaire, floratheexplora, un_photo, and christiancaron2000. Other resources: African Parks Network on Wikipedia, the Kayan on Wikipedia, the Nedeble on Wikipedia, the Nyangatom on Wikipedia, Omo National Park on Wikipedia|
The richer the woman is, the more butter she uses. They may sometimes decorate them with beads and feathers. Their men tend to find this style very attractive.
