Tigrinya Adolescent ::

Illustration of a Tigrinya girl from Eritrea.

This piece was part of a hair study exploring traditional hairstyles of Eritrea and Ethiopia. Young Tigrinya and Tigrai girls wear their hair shaven on the sides, leaving some hair in the back and along the forehead’s perimeter for a braiding pattern called 'Gamme'.

This hairstyle reveals the girl is too young for marriage, where hair growth mirrors her growth into womanhood.

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