While toady cornrows are just another cool hairstyle, not so long ago they played a major part in the struggle for freedom and even saved lives, no less!
During the slavery era in South-America, braids were used to convey well-encrypted messages. For example, in Colombia, a slave who wanted to indicate her friends she plans to escape wore braids in a style called “de-partes” (departs in french), whose characteristic was thick and very tight braids to each other and the scalp, also they were gathered into a ponytail above.
Moreover, cornrows hairdo was used by enslaved Africans to maps of secret trails to escape the plantations and their guards.
Bonus fact 1: They also hid gold used to hide gold, and all sorts of seeds in their braids, which later helped them survive and start a new life!!
Bonus fact 2: In the old continent braid patterns and hairstyles were used to denote a person’s tribe, age, marital status, wealth, social stature, religion, and more.