Dansinkran— Elegantly traditional
The Ashanti Region is said to be the country’s epitome of aesthetic centre of tradition, art and culture.
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And it is reflective in almost all facet of the lives of the people in the region, be it at funerals, naming ceremonies and other social events.
One of such attractions is the “Dansinkran” dressing, which literally is a small yet unique hairdo worn in most Akan communities in the country.
Origin
History has it that, Dansinkran was coined from the English phrase : ‘the dancing crown’. The colonial masters were said to have given the name which was later corrupted by the indigenes.
Their admiration for the unique apparel by queens of Ashanti during durbars, festivals and other traditional ceremonies to accompany the hairdo, which involves shaving the edges of their hair in a round form and decorating it with a dark hair-dye, warranted the name.
Qualification
It is a special dress code reserve for queens and fetish priestesses in all Akan speaking communities across the country.
The Ashanti Regional Director, Centre for National Culture, Dr Samuel Francis Agyei, confirmed to the Graphic Showbiz as he traced the history of dansinkran. Ashantis, Brongs’, Fantes, Akwapim’, Kwawus and Akim among others wear dansinkran.
Features
Dansinkran is made up of three-tier outfit that makes the dressing.
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The first segment is the round shaved hair called the ‘dansinkran’.
The second part is called ‘Atete’ which involves covering the upper parts of the body up to the breast level with a traditional cloth before the Ngusuo.
The Ngusuo covers the shoulder part of the body with a cloth and it is normally accompanied with the ahenema sandals and necklaces to match.
Occasion
The dressing can be worn at every occasion.
The occasion, determines which colour combination to be worn. It is chiefly worn, however, during funerals.