![A South African person wearing an umqhele](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b8/Moving_Spirit_06_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-Moving_Spirit_06_%28cropped%29.jpg)
An umqhele ([umǃʰɛle], plural imiqhele)[1] is a traditional Zulu circular headband made of fur.[2] Imiqhele were worn by Zulu men prior to colonization of South Africa, especially by soldiers and elites,[3] and are worn by male members of the Nazareth Baptist Church.[4] They are also worn by Ndebele people, who make them from the tails of cattle.[5] Nazareth Baptist Church imiqhele are frequently made from the fur of leopards, antelope, or serval.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ Chakravarty 2014, p. xii.
- ^ Chakravarty 2014, p. xiv.
- ^ Chakravarty 2014, p. 115.
- ^ Chakravarty 2014, p. 116.
- ^ "Shylet's umqhele (headband)". Galway City Museum. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
- ^ Chakravarty 2014, p. 181.
Bibliography
[edit]- Chakravarty, K. Gandhar (2014). African Nazarites: a comparative religious ethnography of Rastafari and Ibandla lamaNazaretha (Doctoral thesis). University of Montreal. hdl:1866/10536.