Editing Cornrows (section)

===Africa===
[[File:SMITH(1890) p211 JOHANNIS, KING OF ABYSSINIA.jpg|thumb|Portrait of [[Yohannes IV|Emperor Yohannes IV]] wearing traditional Ethiopian braids.]]
Cornrows originated in Africa,<ref name="cornrow noun" /> where they likely developed in response to the unique textures of African hair,<ref name=":14" /><ref name="White 1995">{{Cite journal |last=White |first=Shane |last2=White |first2=Graham |date=1995 |title=Slave Hair and African American Culture in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2211360 |journal=The Journal of Southern History |volume=61 |issue=1 |pages=45–76 |doi=10.2307/2211360 |issn=0022-4642|url-access=subscription }}</ref> and have held significance for different cultures throughout recorded history.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2011-06-12 |title=History of Cornrow Braiding: African Orgins 1.d |url=http://www.ccd.rpi.edu/Eglash/csdt/african/CORNROW_CURVES/culture/african.origins.2.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612120134/http://www.ccd.rpi.edu/Eglash/csdt/african/CORNROW_CURVES/culture/african.origins.2.htm |archive-date=2011-06-12 |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=ccd.rpi.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The evolution of cornrows - Reader's Digest |url=https://www.readersdigest.co.uk/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/the-evolution-of-cornrows |access-date=2024-02-27 |website=www.readersdigest.co.uk |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Dreadlocks {{!}} Hairstyle, History, Cultural Appropriation, & Locs {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/dreadlocks |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> Early depictions of women with what appear to be cornrows have been found in [[Stone Age]] paintings in the [[Tassili Plateau]] of the [[Sahara]], and have been dated as far back as 3000 B.C. A similar style is also seen in depictions of the ancient [[Cushitic]] people of the [[Horn of Africa]], who appear to be wearing this style of braids as far back as 2000 B.C.<ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of African history and culture: Ancient Africa (prehistory to 500 CE), Volume 1 |publisher=Facts on File |year=2001 |isbn=978-0816044726 |editor=Willie F. Page |page=36}}</ref> In Nubia, the remains of a young girl wearing cornrows has been dated to 550–750 A.D.<ref>DeLongoria, M. (2018). Misogynoir:* Black Hair, Identity Politics, and Multiple Black Realities. ''Africology: The Journal of Pan African Studies'', ''12''(8), 39-49 (40).</ref> Cornrows have also been documented in the ancient Nok civilization in Nigeria,<ref name=":3" /> in the Mende culture of Sierra Leone,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-06-12 |title=History of Cornrow Braiding: African Origins1.c |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612120129/http://www.ccd.rpi.edu/Eglash/csdt/african/CORNROW_CURVES/culture/african.origins.1.b.htm |archive-url=http://www.ccd.rpi.edu/Eglash/csdt/african/CORNROW_CURVES/culture/african.origins.1.b.htm |archive-date=2011-06-12 |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=ccd.rpi.edu}}</ref> and the Dan culture of the [[Ivory Coast|Côte d'Ivoire]].<ref name=":2" /> 

Women in West Africa have been attested wearing complex hairstyles of threaded or wrapped braids since at least the 18th century. These practices likely influenced the use of cornrows and headwraps (such as [[durag]]s) among enslaved Africans taken to the Americas.<ref name="White 1995" /> In Ethiopia and Eritrea, there are many braided hairstyles which may include cornrows or "shuruba", such as Habesha or Albaso braids, and Tigray shuriba.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Shine My Crown |date=2023-06-20 |title=Albaso Braids: Modern Ethiopian Braids & Hairstyles |url=https://shinemycrown.com/hairstyle/albaso-braids/ |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=Shine My Crown |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-04 |title=20 Ethiopian Hairstyle Ideas – Forever Braids |url=https://foreverbraids.com/ethiopian-hairstyles/ |access-date=2024-03-01 |language=en-CA}}</ref> Though such hairstyles have always been popular with women, Ethiopian men have also worn such hairstyles. In 19th century [[Ethiopia]], male warriors and kings such as [[Tewodros II]] and [[Yohannes IV]] were depicted wearing braided hairstyles, including the shuruba.<ref>{{Cite web |title=African Ghana Wall Mask, Woman with Braided Hair, Hand Carved Ebony. |url=https://www.roadshowcollectibles.ca/products/african-ghana-decorative-wall-mask-woman-with-braided-hair-hand-carved-ebony |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=Roadshow Collectibles}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ali |first=Kiya |date=2019-04-16 |title=Returning to Roots: Braids Make a Comeback |url=https://ethiopianbusinessreview.net/returning-to-roots/ |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=Ethiopian Business Review |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Aning |first=Laurencia |title=A hair journey through time {{!}} Hair Journey with Laurencia |url=https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/laurenciaaning/ |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=blogs.brighton.ac.uk |via=University of Brighton}}</ref>

Cornrow hairstyles in Africa also cover a wide social terrain: religion, kinship, status, age, racial diversity, and other attributes of identity can all be expressed in hairstyle. Just as important is the act of braiding, which passes on cultural values between generations, expresses bonds between friends, and establishes the role of professional practitioner.<ref name=":3">{{cite web |title=History of Cornrow Braiding: African Origins 1.b |url=http://csdt.rpi.edu/african/cornrow_curves/culture/african.origins.1.a.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623170048/http://csdt.rpi.edu/african/cornrow_curves/culture/african.origins.1.a.htm |archive-date=2015-06-23 |access-date=2015-06-20 |publisher=Csdt.rpi.edu}}</ref><ref name=":14" /> Braiding is traditionally a social ritual in many African cultures—as is hairstyling in general—and is often performed communally, as White and White explain:

{{Blockquote |text=In African cultures, the grooming and styling of hair have long been important social rituals. Elaborate hair designs, reflecting tribal affiliation, status, sex, age, occupation, and the like, were common, and the cutting, shaving, wrapping, and braiding of hair were centuries-old arts. In part, it was the texture of African hair that allowed these cultural practices to develop; as the historian John Thornton has observed, "the tightly spiraled hair of Africans makes it possible to design and shape it in many ways impossible for the straighter hair of Europeans."<ref name=":14" /> }}