Asase Ba Podcast - S3E4: History of Ghanaian Fashion and Hair ft. Asaaba
Transcript
[Asase Ba Theme Music]
Michelle
Hello and welcome to Asase Ba, a podcast that honours oral tradition and shines light on Ghanaian stories that are often untold or silenced. I'm your host, Michelle, and my pronouns are she and her.
Hey, everyone, I hope everyone is doing well. I'm glad to be back for another episode. So this episode will be an interview episode. I know, I've been kind of switching it up between solo and interview this season. And I've really been enjoying that, because the solo episodes, I feel like you get to know me a little bit more. And also, I get to do either research-based or reflective episodes, which I really have been wanting to tap into this season and moving forward as well.
So this episode, in particular, will be an interview episode. But before we get into that, I just want to thank everyone who's been supporting the podcast, everyone who has been sharing it, and supporting whether it's via donations, or just by telling people about it, retweeting it, etc, on social media. I just really appreciate it and I get really happy when I see that. I appreciate you guys' support.
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Alright, so let's jump into this week's episode. So this week, in today's episode rather, Asaaba joins me and Asaaba, pronouns she and her, is a history lover, occasional 3D artist and feminist. She enjoys learning new things about her Ga heritage, Ghanaian history and the many cultures of Ghana. Asaaba spends her free time tweeting about everything and nothing and dreaming up her next 3D piece.
I am so excited for this episode because I love learning about history. I love aesthetics and style and vintage aesthetics. I remember from early on searching that. Back in the Tumblr days, I used to search for vintage Ghanaian aesthetics and Asaaba does all of that on her Pinterest. And she does a lot of curation work on this as well and I was really, really excited to speak with her because we've been following each other on Twitter for a while.
But anyway, in this particular episode, Asaaba talks to me about Ghana's fashion, hair and style from the 1800s to the present, the colonial origins of the kaba and slit, and how we made it our own. And also her work as a 3D artist and much, much more. So very exciting stuff. Let's jump into this episode.
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Michelle
All right, so today I have Asaaba with me. Asaaba can you please introduce yourself?
Asaaba
Hi, I'm Asaaba and I live in Canada. I'm from Ghana. I'm Ga and I love history, and I do 3D art, and I'm very happy to be here on the podcast.
Michelle
Yes, I'm so happy to have you here. I've been following you for a bit on Twitter. And I'm always so in awe at the curation work that you do. I think that's how I found you on Twitter when you made this Twitter thread about historical hairstyles and the kaba and slits and I'm like, “oh, my god, I gotta follow this person.”
Asaaba
Aww that's so sweet. Oh, yes, yes. I actually remember very well. Yeah, that's when you followed me. And then I got to know about your podcast as well. So there you go.
Michelle
Yeah. So how did you get started with curating periods in Ghana's history?
Asaaba
Okay, so it all started with pretty much curiousity about how our ancestors lived, how they dressed, just how they actually looked in general. I did some history in high school and I always wanted to put faces to our people. And every decade I was on it because I'm a very visual person.
And I was always curious about how they dressed, how they made or manipulated their hair. Now I'm using that word for a reason. Um, what kind of makeup they use, you know, things like that. Part of their dressing was inspired by the colonialist. And which parts do they hold on to, for themselves, to still maintain their identity?
And unfortunately, because most of my sources were from Basel Missionary Archives and things, I would just come across a few on Pinterest. I still have many questions about what inspired this style for each decade. But it was always interesting to actually see the evolution of it all when I did find something.
Michelle
Yeah, that sounds really cool. So you've always had a passion for history, right? And it sounds like the logical step to merge your love for history and also visual culture was into this kind of Pinterest curation and Twitter curation.
Asaaba
Yeah bringing it into a digital place.
Michelle
Exactly. So what subjects do you focus on within your curation work? And why do you choose those subjects to focus on?
Asaaba
Okay, so for now, I tend to focus on mode of dress, mostly because that's what I actually tend to see more of when I look up images. So it was my initial curiousity, and then it was steered by what I actually was finding.
But when it comes to more detailed information on how people actually lived, the more reliable sources I guess, would be actual text or academic text, some of which are much older, some of which are not too accessible. But that's mostly why I focus on the dress and the visuals that we do have. Like I said, I'm a very visual person so that was the most comfortable kind of research I could do. And it's very nice to put a face to how people adorn themselves and just how they looked overall.
Missionary vs. Ghanaian Photographers
Michelle
Yeah, definitely. And it's so cool. When I was browsing through your Pinterest, and also your Twitter curation threads, just seeing images from the 1800s...I typically wouldn't think that that is as accessible within Ghana and our kind of history because we're more of an oral history culture.
So before we weren't documenting us much, at least ourselves. So that brings me to my next question. You mentioned that majority of your images, the sources come from missionaries or at least archives. And within the archives, it's noted that the pictures were taken by missionaries and essentially colonialists and all of that stuff. And then a smaller portion of the work that you curate and the photos you curate is from Ghanaian photographers, and I noticed that's from 50s onward. Have you noticed any differences between those images?
Asaaba
Oh, yes, definitely. So I'll start from, let's say the older ones from about the mid-1800s. I think the way the missionaries were curating, they wanted to exhibit the work they do and their surroundings. So the people felt more like subjects as opposed to participants if I should put it that way.
I think the general style anyway was the unsmiling, very still kind of poses. And because of the nature of photography, back then, I would see some family portraits of Gold Coasters. So the wealthier ones, or the Royals. You'd see some missionaries living with their domestic staff, who are all Gold Coasters, and they'd have about maybe, let's say, eight of them at a point.
And you see them standing there and maybe the white family would be seated. Those were some of the things I was seeing—the missionaries supervising work. And then I started to see more of the actual Gold Coaster, like the religious one. So let's say the Catholics—as they call them—the priests and their families in European dress.
And then a lot of non-Christians in traditional cloths, women with their hair in the individual braids. But then those were still kind of, let me just say, conspicuously hidden. So they were still hidden in the scarves but you could tell that there was a very prominent hairdo underneath it. And I found that very interesting.
I remember there was an image of both a white female teacher and then a Gold Coaster female teacher, both in a class teaching. And the European woman was wearing the usual garb of the time, maybe late 1800s, with her hair showing, but then the Gold Coaster teacher had her hair covered.
And she also had the very old style cover, inspired by the actual European dress, with a very long wide skirt. And she still had a cloth on her and her hair covered. So it was very interesting to see that they're almost in an equal capacity. But then she still had to dress a very certain, very specific way. I don't know if it was by choice, or if they had to do it that way.
So that was something I definitely noticed. And then as we come to the turn of the century, from early 1900s let's say up to about the 1940s, then I started to see more imagery from Bruce Vanderpuije who owned Deo Gratias, one of the oldest photo studios in Ghana.
I actually visited when I went home in 2019. It's still run almost like a tourist site by his granddaughter Mrs. Tamakloe. Just beautiful imagery. And he tends to focus more on the Accra elite and some social life. You'd see educated gentlemen playing tennis and a wedding, and everyone is wearing the 1920s European dress, like the flapper dresses and things like that.
The men are in their suits with their hats. So I started to see more of that. So I really saw that change. Oh, and just to go back a step, so some of the other images I would see before we even got in the early 1900s, you'd see the ladies with the big skirts and then the frilly blouse, the big blouses, all loose-fitting, and then they'd have the beautiful updo: the Tekua with the gold.
And they'd have their hands and even toes adorned with jewelry and everything. And they were more Christian women, coastal elite women. So it was almost progressive seeing how the images would come across, where it's like, okay, “these are people we've converted” as opposed to, okay, these are people who are proud of themselves now. They're a big part of the fabric of the country.
And then, so now coming back to Bruce Vanderpuije...he was showing more cosmopolitan Accra back then. And then we go into, let's say late 50s. Definitely a good chunk of the 60s, James Barnor was widely recognized and I'm so happy that we're seeing more recognition for his work.
He captured more every day, very modern post-independence Ghanaians and the budding multiculturalism of the UK, so Ghanaians living in the UK, late Gold Coasters.
We have images from the 50s. We have Muhammad Ali, images that he took of him when he came to Ghana, and things like that. So we're seeing a very vibrant life, everyday life where I could feel more joy in the images. And he even took fashion editorials for Drum magazine. So you see women embracing their beauty.
And then we have Felicia Abban, who's the first female Ghanaian photographer. She was a contemporary of James Barnor and was taught by her father. And she happened to be one of Nkrumah's photographers. And most of her portraits (absolutely beautiful) showed mostly higher-class women and families.
They have their gold, and they're ntoma or mama, as we would say in Ga, with the Tekua and some who are dressed very modern, like maybe someone who just flew in from the UK. So very modern imagery of people who have the dignity and are very proud of themselves.
I did notice that shift. And again, it's just mostly what I have access to. I fully recognize that some of these were people who actually had the privilege to go to studios and take these pictures. So there's still a lot of regular people who may not have been represented in those images. But that's definitely what I have access to and what I did find.
Gaps within Historical Ghanaian Photos
Michelle
When you were talking about it, I actually started thinking of that in terms of who are the people that are being captured. Even when we get to a time where Ghanaian photographers are the ones doing the capturing and all of that, the people, the subjects, as you mentioned, are people that are more elite, that are richer, so it just makes me wonder: what are we missing in terms of our visual imagery of Ghana and Gold Coast?
Because they're taking pictures of the elites, rich people. So there's an element of classism there. But it's interesting, thanks for going over the differences between the colonialists and the missionaries, how they took the pictures, versus Ghanaian photographers. That's definitely interesting.
So what are some of the challenges and the gaps within the historical photos that you curate? And I guess you touched on it a bit with the elitism and the classism. But are there any other challenges or gaps that you've noticed?
Asaaba
Definitely. So there are images that are not digital. Or let's just say accessible on digital archives, or already uploaded by fellow history lovers. So there's so many, like I said, that we don't have. There's so many that literally are left to the imagination.
There was a point when I was looking for images from World War Two because my grandpa fought in Burma in World War Two. So I'm thinking, okay, he was away. So how was life for the those who stayed behind, those who were actually on the ground? I know I saw very few images of American GIs, a few of the Gold Coaster soldiers who fought with them.
So I realized that there weren’t too many images of that era. So I don't know if it was intentional, or they're all under, let's say, Getty Images which isn't very accessible. Because I remember I used to try to find a few on there but there were very, very few for that period.
So that's just an example of a literal gap, where it's like, okay, there's nothing. And meanwhile, I could find, let's say, the ones from the late 1800s, where you have the ladies with their beautiful loose clothing with their hair with the gold-adorned, and they have their hair in braids and things like that. Let me say individual braids.
I was even finding duplicates because there was just so many out there. So it really depends. I can't quite put my finger on why it happens. And like I said, not much of everyday life when it comes to those I was able to find. So that's a very huge gap.
Michelle
Yeah, that's interesting. So even I guess, the monumental times within Ghanaian and Gold Coast history, it's difficult to find images for that.
Asaaba
That's right. Yeah. And then again, I'm just one person, you know. So that's just my personal research, it could be completely different for others. There are people who actually have access to some kind of archives, newspaper archives of the actual archives in Accra. So you never know, there may be so much more.
Another source would even be families, just what they have been able to curate by themselves. So maybe because people are pretty private, they want to keep their pictures to themselves and not put them out there. So that's probably part of why there isn't so much out there.
Michelle
Yeah. And I know pre-interview, you mentioned that a lot of the images are from the south of Ghana. So is that another kind of gap or challenge that you see, when trying to curate and draw a picture of Ghana back in the day?
Asaaba
Definitely, definitely, a huge chunk of them were either centred literally on the city of Accra, or at least on the coast. So you'd have like the Fante and then more Ga. Let's just say covering that entire coastal area, anything when it came to the actual hinterland...so let's say a bit of Eastern region, a few of those.
And I actually did find very few of the North. But that's the thing, you're right there, there are not that many out there that are actually fully representing the country at the time. So it's very, very heavily centred on the south, specifically, the coastal area and Accra.
Michelle
And do you have any reason why, could you guess why that is?
Asaaba
Right off the top of my head, it could just be where everything just happened to be concentrated, and what kind of images people were really interested in putting out. "I live in Accra. This is my modern city, this is how I want to be portrayed. This is what I want to put out there. So this is what I'll focus on." You know, so it just really could be as simple as that. But I cannot quite put my finger on that.
Yeah, that's a very valid point, you know why certain areas had the focus. It could even be the history, part of it too where maybe first contact and then how they progressed, and then tried to go further and further into the country. So I guess it kind of represented, "okay, these are our people, they're used to us, they've accepted us, this is proof of that." So let's say more on the missionary side, for example.
They're showing the work that they've done converting people and building churches and things like that. So they would definitely show more imagery of that. For Mr. Barnor, like I said, he's from Accra. He's a Ga person. He's showing his life in Accra and the UK. So sometimes it could be just where they're geographically placed, or their interest.
Ga Culture within Vintage Ghana Photos
Michelle
You're a Ga woman and you've curated as you mentioned, images from the region and stuff. So is there anything that you've personally learned about Ga culture based on your art curation work?
Asaaba
Funnily enough, no, not much when it comes to imagery. Many images were focused on missionary work and city life, working-class and elite people. There wasn't much about actual Ga culture. But there were different types of Ga people, for example, the Christians with Danish and British last names, those who are descended from European missionaries or merchants.
I did see a couple of images of a Jamestown chief, a Jamestown Queen Mother, so very few. There's even a beautiful one of a fisherman and his wife. They are dressed up the same way we would dress up for family portraits. So it's just the two of them and they're holding on to, I think his paddle.
I would see individual images of actual Ga people, different types of Ga people as I put it, but not so much about them in practice. So let's say pouring libation or praying or sprinkling Kpekpele during Homowo, or even the Wulomoi. So I didn't see much of that, especially in much older images.
And it felt like maybe that was, let me just say, the lack of those images may have been proof of how much Christianity had been embraced, or how much people were moving away from those. Or it could just be as simple as Asaaba not finding the pictures. But that's definitely what I noticed. And it was very interesting to see Danish names, and like, “Oh, these are literally the ancestors of anyone with those names,” and it's almost like you can see the roots of certain families, especially those who may be considered elite.
Now, you see the beginnings and how the Ga identity kind of changed. But it didn't change entirely but changed for certain families. You know, how they are now, very linked to their European roots. I know my family, for example, we're trying to figure out who our first Ga female ancestor was. I've been bugging my dad about it. But who knows? Who knows what progress they'll make? But you know, interesting things like that. So it's really showing how different or how diverse the Ga identity was, and always has been.
Michelle
Awesome!
It's just very interesting that, of course, the missionaries, who are the primary people taking the pictures, of course, they'll want to conceal certain cultural practices. And they probably want to showcase propaganda or the kind of image they want to put out there, that they want people to subscribe to. So that's interesting, but not surprising, right?
Asaaba
Because that's how I thought, yeah, maybe they're hiding something literally.
Fashion in Ghana: Evolution of Kaba and Slit
Michelle
Yeah. So we talked in the beginning of the interview, about your work curating a century-old list of imagery of the kaba and slit and the evolution of that. So can you talk about that?
Asaaba
So I'll be honest, let me put it out there. I did get some help from one of my historian friends. He's called Hermann von Hesse. He's Ga. He's really into history. So got to learn about the influence of the missionaries and the Europeans on women's fashion and the kaba sorotu. You know, it really was an imitation of the European blouse.
The term he tends to use is “Euro African”. And so it will be those Africans of European descent, who had already been wearing blouses and European dress, and then they try to adapt it to local fabrics. As opposed to the usual dress that maybe the missionaries would have wore. You see, on my Pinterest, for example, you'd see the very loose blouse with frills and the very loose skirt, which kind of mimic them but still created their own identity in that sense.
And then you'd see these women from Cape Coast, Accra, who were already wearing European dress, or fusing it with the more Gold Coaster styles of the time. So that was their contribution to the kaba. And honestly, it was a class thing because non-Christian women along the coast, they went topless.
You'd be amazed at how long people were topless for. I remember seeing an image of a stamp or a postcard. I'm not too sure. It was a woman with her hair tied up, again, very conspicuous, conspicuously hiding her big braids underneath it. And she had a cloth for the lower part of her body. I think she had a very nice necklace on. Gold. And she didn't have a blouse on and this was probably from 1922.
So it actually continued for much longer than we would think if we hadn't done any research or anything. So, let's say even probably as recent as the 30s that "lower class" women were not wearing tops. So the kaba really came to represent class and in some cases, the actual Christianity of it.
So I remember from one of the images I shared or two of them, I shared what we call the “fashionable Fante ladies” back then, the late 1800s. And then I shared an image of women's fellowship, women who have very, very similar style, almost identical, just much simpler. I was like, "oh, wow." That style has literally represented Christianity for them.
So it was almost identical. So even though today they would wear white blouse with the frills and then let's say, depending on the church, some of them might have patterned slits or very wide skirts.
In the image, they're just wearing plain blue, and then they have the plain headscarf. So that in itself is very simple. And you immediately associate it with church duties and some kind of respectability and Christianity and things like that.
But the Fante belles were wearing that to be fashionable so I found that very interesting. They have the jewelry and their necklaces, and things like that. So as time went on, even from the 1920s, it was almost the same. Very, very loose blouse with the long skirt. I see some from the 30s don't have much of a sleeve, but still very, very loose blouse.
And then I started to see the change more so in the 50s, where you get the more cinched waist with the peplum style. Then you wear that with the slit. And of course, there was one I saw where it was almost like a tube kind of thing where it was sleeveless. I was like, "okay, grandma." I don't know whose grandma that is, but she was very fashionable.
This is where things started to evolve a bit more. I did see a few images from the 40s and it was pretty much the same. So for a good chunk of, let's say late 1800s, very early to mid 20th century, it was a very loose kind of blouse, even though the arms and the upper part would kind of change a bit.
And then things start to get a lot more modern in the 50s. I'm using modern loosely here, but in the 70s it was very simple. I did see that some people tend to take more risks with their styles. I started to see more patterns. Still not very adventurous.
And then we hit the 80s with the very puffy sleeves and the intricate patterns that go right down into the 90s. And then I saw some imagery even from the 90s where it was almost identical to what the Fante belles were wearing. Except that it became more linked to older women. So let's say something grandma would wear, cause she's not wearing something tight.
She would just wear something very simple and a little frill here and there and then tie her ntoma or mama around her waist on top of that. And then they would still have the silk scarf. It really showed how long that had survived. And even women today still wear it, but it's become just everyday wear as opposed to something super fashionable or maybe for occasions or things like that.
Then of course we get into the 2000s where I did see a mixture of very simple styles where it's just a nice little cute off-shoulder, and then the fish style. I don't think they still call it that. But the fish style of the skirt, the slit. And then of course, we have the ones that they used to have on those calendars that the seamstresses would have, so the ones where they're much more intricate, but still, some kind of fish style. And then we come to the 2010s, 2020s.
Michelle
I'm excited to see how it's gonna evolve. You mentioned when you go to the seamstress, back in the day, and they had these books or these posters, and then you pick the style, and now you just kind of show them an Instagram image and you're like, "oh, I want this Aunty."
Asaaba
And I'm really curious about how that's evolved. So, I mean, back in the day, would they just take the cloth and say, "okay, you know what to do," because it was so common back then. And then now it's so customized and everyone's really showing their individuality. It's still on-trend. You have your own style, but at the same time, it's similar to what everyone else has out there. You're still keeping in line with the style of the kaba and slit at the time.
And a lot of the European and African missionaries popularized sewing and needlework. A lot of people were making their own clothes and becoming professional seamstresses and stuff. I don't know how much they influenced the style but that could have also contributed. Just them showing how to make certain things that could have been like, "okay, this is how we make it" and then before you notice, everyone is wearing a similar style, and then it becomes so normalized that this is how we have it today.
Missionary Origins of Ghana Kaba and Slit
Michelle
Yeah. And what struck me the most about what you said, and in discussing the evolution of the kaba and slit, is how closely linked it is to "Christian attire", as mandated by the missionaries. I never knew that that was the origin of the kaba and slit. That's so interesting. By interesting, I mean, "hmmm." It just shows how deeply embedded the colonialists and the missionaries are within every facet of our culture, including the way that we dress.
Asaaba
Mmhmm. I remember when I first heard about it, I was like, "wait, are you kidding me? They influenced us that much?" But then it made sense, because it became like, okay, this is on offer covering. A "good Christian lady" must cover-up. So it all made sense. I was like, "you know what, I get it. I get why it happened that way." Not too happy about it but hey, it's real life.
Michelle
And at least now we've made it into what it is today, and we've changed some stuff up. So that's good in regards to that. But interesting, interesting, the origins of it.
Asaaba
I'm really glad that we made it out.
Ghana Hairstyles: 1800-2020
Michelle
What about our hairstyles? You made this Twitter thread about the evolution of our hairstyles, and I was living for it. I was like, "oh, my gosh", because several years ago, I was really trying to learn more about the types of hairstyles that we did back in the day, especially with our natural hair. So it was really cool to see this in the images that you curated. Can you walk me through that?
Asaaba
Sure. Yeah. As I mentioned earlier, I only probably got as far back as maybe 1860s. And many of them were really focused on the south so that's really what I could find. I've seen various haircuts. I have one photo with a lady...maybe the front part of her head shaved up to a point, which I found very interesting, I haven't quite figured out why or if that was literally just a style, or if there was any significance to that.
I see some version of even Bantu knots, what we call Bantu knots now. Still in that era, in the 1860s 1870s, I have the wife of a missionary, a Gold Coaster woman. So I see a middle part and then the sides are a little bit puffy.
So it's almost like they're trying to tame the hair, in a sense. Keep it all tucked away. So that's definitely what I noticed for that era. And then in the 1890s, I guess these are the more fashionable women who were probably a bit more free, not so linked to the missionary work so much, or to the church. So that's where it gets...goodness, absolutely beautiful.
So you have the updos, where it's literally made up. And you can tell they had a lot of hair. And some of them had gold. Some of them just had it tucked in with some kind of a headband and the hair was still very visible. And there's some who would cover it completely, but you'd still see some of the hair peeking through. And you'd see that they're hiding something very, very beautiful.
And then I'm starting to see a bit more change, let's say in the 1920s-1930s where the hair was very similar to what the flappers did. So let's say the women who lived in the UK, US, specifically white women, right? So they would have their hair in the short bob with the little cute curl on the side.
We had our own similar version, where they would have some of the hair kind of tucked away on the side in a little loop. So it's almost like oh, that's an interesting way of mimicking that.
Or little braids that were looped, and then tucked into the side into the hats. That was their way of doing that. I even have an image of someone who still have the Tekua. So that still survived. I know more modern Tekuas, they would use some black thread to make it. So it became more synthetic, as opposed to using their actual hair as some kind of balm to put it up.
Michelle
For the Tekua, you said like it became more synthetic, so what were they using before, if not the thread?
Asaaba
That's the thing, it was some kind of balm. They would literally have the person's real hair, and then they would shape it. The only thing I can compare it to is maybe hair gel right now. So they would do that. So you'd literally see the hair, and then they would put the gold in it and things like that.
So that's one style of it that I would see. The earlier ones I was seeing were more braided. Others were just kind of maybe combed and put up. And then I'm starting to see more where they're put together with the gel or balm when they put that together.
But the actual Tekua one that I knew of as a child, some people would braid around, and then they would have maybe some softer props in the middle, and then put the hair up, and then tie around it to shape it, and then put the gold in. So it wasn't their actual real hair that was being used. I was actually amazed to see that there are older versions where they use their real hair.
And then I see for the 1940s-1950s, you have the side part with big cornrows on the side. I don't know how else to describe it but that was the style I did see more. So it was more like a single side parting. And then in the 50s, I see more of what we would call perming today with the hair relaxed and curly.
And then some women would have their hair with a middle parting, but then possibly braided underneath maybe like a single braid or two braids or something. But then they still have a silk headscarf. So you just see the middle parting peak a little bit and then they cover the rest of the hair with the headscarf.
Michelle
Oh I love that it's a silk hair scarf, because you know, that's what we’re preached to do nowadays to keep our hair protected. So our grandmothers knew. They always knew.
Asaaba
Oh, yeah, so that was a big thing. So there was even a point when I saw that I was like, "this is the 1950s." It really had so much to do with that time. And then you come to the 60s, that's where the hair gets really, really conspicuous where it's like, "I am showing this off. I'm wearing the beehive. I'm wearing the braided bun."
You have the wigs, so it's almost like their version of the weave. And then the very ending of it, you start to see more of the afros. It was very, very interesting. Like getting into the 70s you see the afros. Some people still wore very puffy kind of wigs very, very big hair.
So that was the order of the day back then. Very, very big hair. And then you come down to 80s and 90s. Even in the 90s I'm seeing very, very similar perming to the 50s. So you have someone with very curly hair, and, you know, not really split too much. It looks very similar to some of the 50s images I've seen, you know how 90s hair was: the relaxed, the high low cuts, some relaxed hair that's a little wavy. I tend to see more of that, and then the updos as well. Very, very interesting. Some with, let's say some hair dangling on the side, just try to add some pizzaz.
Michelle
There's this puff that, I guess my mom or whoever used to do it for me when I would go to the salon. It was probably the late 90s, early 2000s when I was a child but then you were wearing these "grown" styles. You looked like a little lady or like a little woman kind of thing. And then it's like just poofy like hairdo and that was the style back in the day.I was feeling myself.
Asaaba
You know how the hair will be like folded in? That was very 90s and you'd see them with the kaba and slit. Oh, it was beautiful. And then the early 2000s had their own version of that. But then we started to get the ponytails and the more young Nollywood hairstyles that we would see with more colour, and more bobs.
You can literally see how much our hair changed, how much weave we used to wear. Different versions of weave. A lot of our grandmas and people were wearing those beehive wigs, and this was not with their hair, they're actual wigs. So it was very interesting to see.
And then of course, now we have more of the Brazilian, Peruvian hair and stuff like that. Still have our own natural hair but then it's still very, very different. It's so unique to this era right now. Meanwhile, I did see a bit of repetition back in the day, so it's very interesting to see how it all played out.
Michelle
That is so cool. I love hair history. It's so interesting to see the way that our hairstyles evolve. And how it speaks to the current climate of things, and how fun it is. Black hair is often politicized. But then often, sometimes, it's not that deep. We're playing with our hair, we've always played with our hair. And we're just doing cool, fun things and changing it up.
Asaaba
Just feeling beautiful. Whatever your definition is of it. I mean, it was enough to just be like, "I've done my hair, I feel amazing. I don't care what you say."
Ghana Fashion in 3D Art
Michelle
I love that. I want to circle to your 3D work, and the beautiful 3D animation and 3D art that you're doing and showcasing our fashions and hairstyles within, you know, the 60s 70s 80s. Can you talk more about your 3D art and what your process is for that?
Asaaba
I initially started out because of a friend of mine, her name's Rochelle. And we'd always been interested in writing stories and she was already doing a lot of 3D modelling so she found this program, and then taught me how to use that along with Photoshop.
The very first ones I did, at least with a historical backing to it, I think I did the 1980s first. It was literally me just experimenting with actual props that I already had. So let's say for example, I had a skirt and then maybe a blouse with fills and stuff. So I'd hide certain parts of the clothing, try to blend them together, and then put African print on them.
Maybe manipulate certain hairstyles, props that we already had, and so on. I just really wanted to do this for fun, and just see how it came out. And I was really surprised at how well it worked out. Literally experimenting with props I already had and merging that with my interest in our visual history over the years. And so it was purely by chance, and I just decided, "hey, guys, look at what I've done." I did them over three weeks. I did the 1950s to modern times, like 2020s. I got a little tiny following, but it was really nice. I was like, "oh, people actually interested in this stuff." Yeah, it was really, really fun.
Michelle
It was so cool. Because I think what really drew me and I'm guessing what drew others as well is just seeing our fashions come to life in this kind of modern age, using modern technology. And it's 3D as well. Because we don't often see it within this kind of medium. So seeing that, it was so cool and I loved it.
Asaaba
Thank you. Thank you so much. Yeah, it was just a passion project for fun, and I was like, you know what? Let me just try and merge those two and see how this works out. And yeah, I'm really glad y'all liked.
Michelle
That brings me to your comics that you produce with your, I guess do you call your company?
Asaaba
Our little studio.
Michelle
So I was on the @qimaraws Instagram page, and I saw that you've produced a couple of comic series on Instagram. And the one that I was reading through is the one about the woman who goes to her father's hometown to learn about her family history. And I was like, "this is so cool” because it's basically merging the 3D art a little bit in a comic book, sort of graphic novel fashion. I'm such a nerd. I love comics and graphic novels. I used to read a lot of those when I was in uni, high school, and I was living for this. So can you tell me about the comic and how you got started within comics, graphic novels?
Asaaba
It circles back to the same friend, Rochelle, who is so amazing. I'll tell you a little bit about how the story itself even came to be. So on Facebook, there was an old schoolmate of mine, who had a friend. You know, how you can see stuff they comment on, even if you don't want to.
And he was participating in these writers' prompts. So there was a friend of hers, who is a writer and columnist called Nana Elekeme or at least that's the name he goes by. And so he would literally just start a sentence or put a phrase, and then we create our own stories. So I did a couple of those and one of them started off with this character saying, "I hate surprises."
Before you notice, you're just writing and writing and writing. Before I knew it, I had a whole story, and I decided to— no spoilers—but I decided to go in that particular direction.
I'm always interested in how someone would feel, trying to get to know a whole new person or someone who had never been part of their life but was still such a huge part of their life. In her case, this was her father whom she had never met.
And when it came to the visual part of things, we were just looking for different content to create. I'm always looking for an excuse to 3D model something and just have fun with it. I think it was Rochelle's idea to say, "okay, let's do this story" because we've done another one, which did come from another writer's prompt.
So we decided to do that one. We created the imagery and then created every single part. And then she had taught me the Photoshop thing. So we made the backgrounds and everything, she was a huge part of it, literally bringing this to life. And then my favourite part, to be honest, I created a little mini family album.
Michelle
Yesss! I thought that was so cute. Come on attention to detail! I love it.
Asaaba
Thank you so much. That was one of my favourite parts because I was like, "what's a family without a family album, you know?" And I decided, "okay, let's do something with the grandparents, let's do something with her Auntys." Let's do something with every single part of her life where maybe she would have missed out or have not been born. You know, what was going on back then?
And then so of course, I went straight to Pinterest, Googled a little bit. I did find some videos that the “good old Brits” had taken of their subjects. So I could see how they would dress and I figured this was a very modern family at the time. So this is how they probably would have dressed and things like that.
Oh, man, it was so much fun. I was like, "okay, let me give grandpa this suit. Let me give grandma her huge hat and her gloves." It was something like, you know what, let me really bring my love for history and family albums and just put that in there. And really focus on her trying to find out so much about herself and really where she came from.
Michelle
Yes, and it came. It came together so beautifully. I was like stanning. I was like "oh my god, like how did I just find this out?" Because I saw that it was posted several months ago and "I'm like, oh my god this is amazing."
Asaaba
Yeah, I didn't really scream it from the hills too much on Twitter, but on Instagram, I was constantly sharing it. I don't have too many followers but I loved the reception. I got so many followers from it, like on our page @qimaraws. So I figured hey, people love it. You know, why not?
Michelle
I guess my final question for you before we wrap up is you've talked about these things that you do—the curation work, the 3D artwork—and it's basically an interest of yours. It's a hobby, right?
Asaaba
Yes.
Michelle
So what is it like, you know, approaching this as a hobby? I recently listened to Tea with Queen and J. It's a podcast, an amazing podcast. And I've also discussed this as well: about the importance of having hobbies, not trying to monetize everything and keeping certain things sacred. So how do you see your work as a hobby? How do you approach it?
Asaaba
My main approach is really just to do it when I feel like it. I'm not going by anyone's calendar or schedule, we're mostly doing it for ourselves, in a sense. And when I say for ourselves, it's stuff that we're interested in and stuff that we find beautiful, and we're projecting or sharing, right?
So it's not so much about being commissioned to do something. It's a recipe for disaster in the long run, before you know this, you're doing stuff that maybe you're not so interested in, because you have to satisfy people or do it for money or things like that.
There are so many people who tell me "oh, you should be doing this and getting paid" and stuff like that. I'm like, "yeah, yeah, good idea." But deep down, I'm like, "no." I want to keep it fun. And not just me, like, you know, Rochelle too. I mean, eventually, if depending, we may be able to do that, but right now, it's really just… funny enough, part of my self-care, even though some of these take so long.
It's really, really fun and calming. So I find that whenever I do too much at a time, then I take a long break because I'm constantly doing this, adjusting the nose, adjusting the skin and stuff. When it starts to feel like work, I take a bit of time, and then you know, kind of regroup and things like that. But that's really how I approach it. It's my happy place and I want I really want to keep it that way.
Putting a Face to Past Reality
Michelle
Yes, I love that. I love that. So is there anything you'd like to add that wasn't covered? Any final words?
Asaaba
Just kind of my inspiration behind all of this. Again, it's just personal interest. So I am not so much of an expert when it comes to the actual subject matter of how people actually lived and things like that. But it's just something that I felt was necessary, at least putting a face to our people.
Even showing how similar we are, or how different things are. One thing that I found really interesting, I mean, it's a very small thing, but some images from the 70s, where there are mothers. They were maybe over 40 or something, and they're wearing halter necks, halter neck dresses, what we call "show your back."
Now people do not respect that. But this was very recent history. So you see the shift and how people became more conservative and things like that. And it just shows that things were really not perfect, they've never been perfect, they never will be perfect. We're just beautiful people adorning ourselves with what we have.
Sadly holding on to a lot of what the Europeans brought to us, but still making things our own. And we were very real people before. We are very real now. And I really, really wish we would document ourselves and each other more. And that's why I'm very happy when anyone takes a selfie. It's like you're curating a bit of yourself. People will look back and say, "oh, yeah, this was my mom's cousin. Look at her having fun." It really puts a face to so many people and, you know, puts a face to the past really.
Michelle
Yes, I love that. And we have so many different technologies that we can use to document and curate our surroundings and all of that. So we will definitely leave lots and lots of material for the generations to come. So yeah, that was beautifully said. So how can listeners find you or support your work on the Internet?
Asaaba
Actually, I'll start with my Twitter. I speak a lot about everything on there just a warning. So I'm @AsaabaGH and then on instagram.com/qimaraws. And you can't miss it, the moment you see it, you'll see the 3D art. The most recent ones I have up there are mostly body positive. And, you know, because my focus tends to change a lot. I mean, I'm human. And yeah, so that's mostly where we put up our art. And I mostly share on my Pinterest as well, which is pinterest.com/AsaabaGH.
Michelle
I really enjoyed this conversation with you and learning about our visual history, in terms of the way we adorned ourselves, our hairstyles and also your work as a 3D artist, so thank you so much!
Asaaba
Thank you and thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it. I love your work keeping track of everything digitally and you know a lot of oral history. Keep up the amazing work!
Michelle
Thank you!
***
Michelle
Yes, so I hope you enjoyed this episode! So much cool stuff being shared, so much interesting things about our history in terms of fashion and style. Again, if you enjoyed this episode, something resonates with you, feel free to share this on social media, share in your text messages, WhatsApp, engage, comment, let me know what you enjoyed about this episode and follow @AsasebaPod on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. So I'll be back in two weeks for the final episode of season 3! Yes, the final episode! But anyway, until next time, bye!
Episode Notes
History lover Asaaba joins Michelle to discuss Ghana and Gold Coast fashion, hair, and style from the 1800s to the present, photographs taken by colonialists vs. Ghanaians, Ghanaian photographers James Barnor and Felicia Abban, diversity of the Ga identity, the colonial origins of the kaba and slit, depicting our fashions through her 3D art, the importance of hobbies and more!
Join in on the conversation! Use the hashtag #AsaseBaPod.
SUPPORT
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SOCIAL MEDIA
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GUEST
Asaaba is a history lover, occasional 3D artist, and feminist. She enjoys learning new things about her Ga heritage, Ghanaian history and about the many cultures of Ghana. Asaaba spends her free time tweeting about everything and nothing, and dreaming up her next 3D piece.
Social Media
https://www.instagram.com/qimaraws/
Website
https://www.pinterest.ca/AsaabaGH/
HOST
This podcast is produced, edited and hosted by Ghanaian Canadian Michelle (pronouns: she/her). She is also the creator of the theme music.
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