The Neck That Turns The Head

Where vulnerability meets authority and beauty

(The following is the first of this year’s MA Quarterly Essay series, and Part 2 of an investigation into the symbolism of neck rings in African ornamental culture. Read Part 1 here. In three more essays coming in May, August and November, we will explore neck ornamentation among the Edo, Ndebele and Zulu.)

That the neck supports the head, and the head is the most important part of the body, are anatomical facts. To many African peoples, however, the neck is more than just a support for the head, it possesses its own particular symbolism and aesthetic appeal. A brief review of the symbolic importance of the head among African peoples is, nonetheless, necessary to contextualize the subsequent discussion about the neck.

The Head of the Matter

To most African peoples, the head is where spiritual power resides and nowhere is this made clearer than in the spheres of art, philosophy, and in some cultural practices. The Bambara of Mali believe that the head is the summing up of the human personality since it is the major sense organ through which humans receive impressions from and communicate with their surroundings. Similarly, among the Mende of Sierra Leone and Liberia, the head is the center of life, completely superior to and master of the body. This understanding of the head as the most important part of the human body has metaphysical implications. To the Yoruba of Benin, Nigeria and Togo for example, the physical head is complemented by an inner head known as ori, which contains ase, the divine power of Olodumare the Supreme Being. A person’s ori is a personal god who rules, controls and guides their life, and caters to their interests. Meanwhile, the Mende, map the unfolding of an event, journey, or discussion, to the body: the feet are the beginning and the head, the culmination. The Mende also label matters of the most importance the “head of the matter” as reflected in the expressions: “Njepeye ngui to” (This is the head of the dispute, the key point in the matter), and “Mufuilo nguhu soo” (We have reached the head, the most important point, the last point). These beliefs and associated body politic representations hold true for most communities on the African continent as evinced by proverbs and other wisdom sayings about the head, art in which the head is almost always disproportionately emphasized either in size or attention to detail, and various society masks which are worn either on top of the head or on the face itself. Additionally, the practice of preserving and venerating ancestral skulls occurs in communities across the continent, and even today remains an important aspect of indigenous African religions.

BaKota Reliquary Figure (Image Credit)

Consequently, as the head’s most immediate support, African peoples associate the neck with its own beliefs and body politic representations. To explore the dimensions of these beliefs and representations, we turn to proverbs and verse, two quintessentially African ways of communication, for insight.

Authority and Vulnerability

The Hausa say: However long the neck is, the head is above it. This expression is also found among the Rwanda, the Maasai, and many other African peoples. But the Fulani say: The blood of the head cannot bypass the neck, and the Yoruba say: It is the neck that supports the head. Similarly, the Mamprussi of Ghana, and Togo say: It is the neck that keeps the head high. Meanwhile, the Hausa who inhabit much of West Africa, say: The head and the load are both the possession of the neck. The implications of these proverbs are clear. If the head is used to refer to decision makers, leaders, or the most important issues, they owe their stability to the neck on which they sit — their auxiliaries and constituents.

The neck’s connection to the head ennobles it but also makes it a site of vulnerability to authority and power, benevolent or malevolent. The Urhobo of Nigeria say: The trap of one’s in-laws always catches one by the neck, referring to the Urhobo belief that a man is always indebted to his wife’s parents, regardless of his wealth and social status in society. Meanwhile, the Tuareg of North and Western Africa say: To him who puts a cord around his neck, God will supply someone to pull it. When the Ashanti of Ghana say: Because I fear to be killed I have made my neck short, they are referring to the preferred method of execution by decapitation in past Ashanti society. The Ganda of Uganda say: A poor person is made to pay damages using his neck, in reference to the past practice of tying up offenders too poor to afford bail, bribes or fines, using ropes around their necks. Similarly, among the Hausa, the hands of offenders were tied to their necks as a way of punishment and so they say: Having little knowledge is like having your hands tied around your neck like a slave. Absolute vulnerability to human power is for human necks, nonetheless, or as the Maasai say: The neck of truth cannot be broken.

The vulnerability of the neck is not always to a malevolent force, thankfully. The Yoruba ask: Where are you coming from that you have no rope on your neck? In this case, the rope around the neck symbolizes not the punitive control of a more powerful entity, but parental guidance which, ideally, would teach a person appropriate behavior. Meanwhile, the Idoma of Nigeria say: The tortoise adorned itself with hard shells, but its neck is bare so that relatives might touch him, implying that successful and self-sufficient people still need love and kindness from others.

Beauty

Beyond its relationship to the head, the neck is endowed with its own aesthetic appeal. It is subject to ideals, the most common of which is that it be straight, long, well-muscled in men, gracefully poised in women, and flexible — that is, willing to bow to authority. While moral character trumps physical beauty (the Sukuma of Tanzania say: Have a crooked neck but not crooked morals, and the Igbo of Nigeria say: A woman who carries her head on a rigid neck as if she is carrying a pot of water will never live long with any husband), a neck which conforms to beauty ideals remains valuable currency. The Yoruba say: Straightness is the beauty of the neck, and among the Maasai, a thickly muscled neck is an indicator of a warrior’s virility and strength. Meanwhile among the Ganda of Uganda, a proverb which states: One with a short and thick neck is exemplified by the forager (or the weakling); his head bears a bundle of firewood when it goes and comes back bearing a bunch of plantains, refers to how a person’s physical presentation will eventually match their behavior, the way a lazy person who cannot work for themselves would develop a short, thick neck from carrying not only their own loads, but the loads of others. For women, the desirability of a long, poised neck is near ubiquitous across the continent. In an Ancient Egyptian poem a woman is celebrated as:

Long of neck, bright of nipples

True sapphire is her hair

Her arms surpass gold

Her fingers are like lotus flowers.

Meanwhile, a Yoruba praise poem to the Òrìṣà Osun who embodies the ideal of feminine beauty goes:

Osun, because of ornamental brass, has a long neck

Because of ornamental brass, has long arms.

Long necks are also a criterion for feminine beauty in the Fulani concept of Pulaaku. Pulaaku encodes both the virtues and values that a Fulani person should have and the ideal physical attributes. By Pulaaku standards, a woman should have a neck like a gazelle’s and a waist in harmony with the proportions of all other parts of her body. The comparison to a gazelle shows up in another poem celebrating an ideal woman, from the Mbosi of the Republic of Congo:

Your neck curves beautifully

Like a boa powerfully coiling up an anthill

Your neck is a young gazelle’s,

The folds of your neck

Are like the smooth trunk of a palm tree.

This poem mentions neck folds which are a particularly desirable feature among the many African peoples. Among the Mende, for example, the ideal neck is “long, firm, and flexible, though not too long, like a giraffe’s or a camel’s and not too short, like a tortoise’s… [It should be] ringed with indentations so that it appears segmented into rows; the deeper the indentations and the more distinct the rings, the better.” Such a neck, dubbed “mbolo genye”, is considered the essence of physical beauty beyond discussion or debate. The term “genye” refers to a careful and artistic cut meant to enhance a thing’s beauty. Genye speaks to the Mende’s esteem for civilizing cuts on the earth (through agriculture — the Mende find beauty in well-organized farm beds) and the human body. Thus, in making a person with a ringed neck, Ngewo, God, the Supreme Being and Divine Artist, took the time to design and carve something special, bestowing a delicacy, grace and refinement which does not fade but remains as a manifestation of Ngewo’s loving attention. And so, the Mende say: If an old woman tells you she was beautiful in her youth, ask to see the back of her neck. The implication here being that when all other charms have faded, a crease will remain at the back of the neck as indelible proof of past glories. Additionally, neck folds are most visible in the well-fed and so are an indicator of abundance which comes from hard work, good planning, and good fortune, all of which are highly desirable in Mende culture. So desired are neck indentations among the Mende, they say of neck folds: God gave it to you. Moreover, in Krio, the creole language of coastal Sierra Leone, lined necks are considered bonya — a gift which only God can bestow on a person.

Mbolo Genye (Image Credit: Uknown, Pinterest)

Finally, as the noble supporter of the head and an easily visible part of the body, the neck lends itself as a site for ornamentation intended to display power, prestige, and wealth. This makes the enticement to vanity, which fine ornamentation might induce, a common subject for proverbs. The Bemba of Zambia, for example, warn: Take good care of your neck; neck ornaments are not difficult to find. Meanwhile the Esan, an Edo people in Nigeria say: He who has a gold necklace round his neck does not know its worth. Admonitions against vanity notwithstanding, a neck well adorned with protective amulets or decorative necklaces and neck rings made from valuable materials, is an almost universal indicator of wealth and status resulting from hard work or favor and protection from parents, husbands, rulers, the ancestors, or the gods. Reason, perhaps, why the Kikuyu of Kenya say: The [borrowed] ornament of another person tires the neck.

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