Jimma headrest
€195.00
Personal items, headrests cradle the head along the jawline, lifting it off the ground. While some regions in Central and Southern Africa associate headrests with dreams and divination, they are purely practical in East Africa. Ergonomically, they align the spine, while functionally, they protect intricate hairstyles from dust or flattening. Hairstyles, which can take hours to create, are not merely for aesthetic purposes but serve as a visual representation of the wearer's social status, age, rank, and gender. The personal nature of the headrest is reflected in the vocabulary used to describe them in two of Ethiopia's most commonly spoken languages. In Amharic, they are known as "yagertera" ("pillow of my land"), while in Oromiffaa, they are called "boraatiz" ("tomorrow-you") (Moreno 2015, 194). Even after the end of their useful life, headrests retain the traces of their owners; several examples from the Metropolitan's collections have a dark sheen on the upper platform and sides, a result of the wood being infused with butter-based hairdressings (käbbe) and other materials used to shape and condition the hair.
The oldest preserved headrests on the African continent were found in Egypt and date back to the second and third dynasties of the Old Kingdom (approximately 2649–2150 B.C.). Many of these ancient Egyptian headrest forms, particularly the solid block-shaped rest, have parallels with East African headrests created some five millennia later. In Southern and Central Ethiopia, the use of headrests is believed to have started two to three hundred years ago. Among the most common forms are the single block, the columned rest with a curved platform, and the conical base with a curved platform, such as this example. Due to their portable nature, headrests were once widely used among the pastoralist groups in Ethiopia and other regions of East Africa. They are less commonly used today as many pastoralists have transitioned to sedentary farming or moved to cities. The diversity of forms in Ethiopian headrests cannot be strictly categorized by gender or assigned to a single ethnic group; rather, every form is carved by the Oromo, Sidaama, Gurage, and other South-Central Ethiopian peoples. Some shapes and ornaments are also shared with groups in nearby Kenya, Uganda, and South Sudan, reflecting the transfer of forms across the region.
02427
Data sheet
- Presumed dating
- Mid XXth century
- Size
- 16 cm
- Ethnic group
- Material(s)
- Wood
- Country
- Origin
- Soubry family collection, BE
- Condition
- Excellent
Personal items, headrests cradle the head along the jawline, lifting it off the ground. While some regions in Central and Southern Africa associate headrests with dreams and divination, they are purely practical in East Africa. Ergonomically, they align the spine, while functionally, they protect intricate hairstyles from dust or flattening. Hairstyles, which can take hours to create, are not merely for aesthetic purposes but serve as a visual representation of the wearer's social status, age, rank, and gender. The personal nature of the headrest is reflected in the vocabulary used to describe them in two of Ethiopia's most commonly spoken languages. In Amharic, they are known as "yagertera" ("pillow of my land"), while in Oromiffaa, they are called "boraatiz" ("tomorrow-you") (Moreno 2015, 194). Even after the end of their useful life, headrests retain the traces of their owners; several examples from the Metropolitan's collections have a dark sheen on the upper platform and sides, a result of the wood being infused with butter-based hairdressings (käbbe) and other materials used to shape and condition the hair.
The oldest preserved headrests on the African continent were found in Egypt and date back to the second and third dynasties of the Old Kingdom (approximately 2649–2150 B.C.). Many of these ancient Egyptian headrest forms, particularly the solid block-shaped rest, have parallels with East African headrests created some five millennia later. In Southern and Central Ethiopia, the use of headrests is believed to have started two to three hundred years ago. Among the most common forms are the single block, the columned rest with a curved platform, and the conical base with a curved platform, such as this example. Due to their portable nature, headrests were once widely used among the pastoralist groups in Ethiopia and other regions of East Africa. They are less commonly used today as many pastoralists have transitioned to sedentary farming or moved to cities. The diversity of forms in Ethiopian headrests cannot be strictly categorized by gender or assigned to a single ethnic group; rather, every form is carved by the Oromo, Sidaama, Gurage, and other South-Central Ethiopian peoples. Some shapes and ornaments are also shared with groups in nearby Kenya, Uganda, and South Sudan, reflecting the transfer of forms across the region.