REPORT
Choir at St James Catholic Church in Osu, Ghana
Black Women In Church Hats African Church
Uniform Hats African churches often included uniforms for their congregation to wear to church. And these uniforms often included a hat. For some churches this was a way to create equality among the parishioners as there was a vast range of financial differences. Others wore uniforms to show they were a part of a specific church group, and some had a range of uniforms to show the standing within the group.
Woman singing at the Christian Love Baptist
Church, Modesto, USA
Black Church Ladies
Black church ladies have a reputation for dressing to the nines for church. They attend a variety of different church denominations and in different countries. “Church hats are a peculiar convergence of faith and fashion,” writes Craig Marberry in his book (co-authored with Michael Cunningham) Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats. African Americans at times in the past were not allowed, by rule or circumstance, to dress up except for going to church. Church was also a place where they could have a leadership role. The attire of enslaved people in North
America could be prescribed in law by colonisers. “The Spanish governor of
Louisiana created the Tigon Laws of 1786, which forced women of colour to cover their hair,” writes Gina Castro in her article ‘Passing Down the Crown’. However, as she remarks: “Black women found a way to turn the tables by making the head wrap fashionable.” Also, as Nicole Kidder writes in her article ‘History of Black Women Wearing Hats at Church’, “Culturally, church hats became a strong symbol of the ability to triumph over hardships. Worn with the head held high, African American women strut with ‘hattitude’ while sporting these crowns.”
Conclusion The skullcap, to different degrees, is found in all Abrahamic faiths. While the wearing of religious headwear has declined along with the wearing of hats in general, many communities still wear head coverings daily for a range
of reasons. For groups such as young Jewish adults, their headwear can be an indication of the transition to adulthood. For others, such as Muslim men, their head coverings affirm their faith as they follow in the steps of the Prophet Muhammad, wearing either skullcaps
or turbans. While some Christian sects rarely wear hats, others wear them daily to allow for prayers throughout the day. As the world continues to change, and the hats within it do the same, what will the religious headwear of the future look like?
november 2023 | 51
All photos: Alamy
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