FeatureTHEAFRICANWOMAN'SWRAPPER.By George WonahThe African woman's wrapper, thispiece of cloth like a prized jewelencapsulates her feminine essence.No event –formal, religious,tradi onal or casual seems out ofplace for her to appear enveloped inher flowery wrapper.There is of course a varia on to herappearance as dictated by age; whileyoung and adventurous, she wouldwrap herself around with a singlesheet of wrapper, barely coveringher knees and revealing long, darklegsand beau fully shaped calf butas she gracefully ages, she wouldlengthen and double same fabric toThe African Woman's wrapper, thishighly prized possession o en servesas her lingerie.If you have had the privilege ofgazing upon her narrow waist, thenyou know how the wrapper flowsand stretches to accentuate herbroad hips and expands downwardsto accommodate her round,protruding behind.Have you seen her with her wrapperkno ed at the middle of her chest?The way it hugs her firm, full,voluptuous twin mounds. Look amoment longer and you would seehow the wrapper slightly partsaround her knees to lend you a peekthe sun or any harsh element. If youhave been privy to any of thesesights, you would treasure theAfrican woman's wrapper even morethan she does.The African woman's wrapper is onesubliminal wonder of a fabric thatcan be tweaked to offer a lot morethan it was originally designed forespecially with a crea ve owner.It is not uncommon to see how itfunc ons par cularly for the marketwoman as a safe –yes, the ul matesafe.At the right or le p of her wrapperis a special knot which holds anunbelievably large amount of nairafor con ngencies. This safe is onethat can only be 'opened' when allelse fails as not even natural disaster,the threat of hunger or death canget her to unknot that part of herwrapper.Trust me, it is almost impossible toget her to dip into that par cularstorage facility.'s wrapper, thispiece of cloth is highly sought a erand can be used as a kerchief.The African woman tormented bythe heat of the sun would loosenone end of her wrapper, bend herhead and use it to wipe the sweat offher face and that of her offspring.Oppressed by the scorching heat,she would leave her bed, spread herwrapper on the floor, use her headscarf as a pillow and serenadeherself to sleep.With her maternal ins nct in fullswing, she wouldgently unwrap herwrapper from her waist and rest iton her sleeping child to shield it fromthe cold night air.To refer to the African woman'swrapper as a mere piece of clothingwould be tragic for the culprit whodares… Her wrapper is not just anapparel, lingerie, safe, kerchief orblanket, it is the symbol of herfemininity, versa lity, pedigree andbelief.I s s u e 8 | w w w . g l a n c e n g . c o m | 2 5
StylecrushIt's the valentine season, and welove how media personality-Bolanle Olukanniexperiments with bold intense reds.I s s u e 8 | w w w . g l a n c e n g . c o m | 2 6
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