CHARLESTOWN, Nevis - YEJIDE Njambi Parry has beaten the odds to preserve black culture through an authentic movement she created, Bac-2-my-ROOTS.
She is emerging as a culture icon whose goal is to preserve and enhance Black Beauty, Culture and Heritage through creative means. “Black people are not comfortable with their identity. We need to learn about ourselves, our hair and embrace it. The only way that we can be comfortable with our identity is if we accept and respect the characteristics God gave us. He made all of us in a unique way.” Yejide said in a recent interview.
Yejide’s interest in natural beauty processes can be traced to her childhood. At the age of 12, she was already braiding natural hair. Her passion grew when she connected with the Rastafarian movement as a young adult. She said she was attracted to the movement because its members embrace a natural way of life: “Being one with nature and accepting themselves and their afro-centricity.”
She began to learn about herbs. This was not difficult because her grandmother knew a lot about local herbs. She also began doing her own research by talking to elderly people on the island, reading books and online publications, and attending seminars and workshops.
Yejide, born to Ernestine (deceased) and Claude Parry of Hamilton Estate, believes a people’s history and heritage offer them security: “It also enables them to appreciate their surroundings, nature, their body, their inner man/woman, their self! And when they are comfortable with themselves and their surroundings they accept who they are and where they came from.”
With this in mind, Bac-2-my-ROOTS was created.
Bac-2-my-ROOTS located at Fig Tree, Church Ground was established in December 2005 and has pioneered the way to preserve African heritage. The business operates within a wholesome, unique and afro-centric environment, very relaxing to clients. Her aim is to provide a motivational and educational approach to helping each ‘brotha’ and ‘sista’ through his or her journey, whether it is for hair care or African awareness.
“It is not about conforming to other people’s standards or perceptions of your hair, it is not about destroying your hair through chemical warfare, we are not about perpetuating false expectations of your hair, but rather, accepting yourself and your hair in its most natural form, the God-created way!”
Yejide is seeking to change the concept of locks in the Federation, bringing lock and natural hair from its ancient, royal and afro-centric roots to present time. According to her, “Rekindling, reclaiming, and restoring our roots and culture.”
Bac-2-my-ROOTS specialises in using transient African methods, herbal recipes, techniques, aromatherapy and simple backyard remedies. Natural hair is shampooed, groomed, treated and styled using an all natural line of homemade products, specially developed using the best ingredients from mother nature to enhance the unique qualities and texture of natural hair.
No chemicals are used. The local and exotic herbs making up her blends are a pleasant surprise! Skilfully mixing these ingredients, which includes essential oils, flowers and other plant parts, she whips up hair oils, shampoos, leave-in-conditioners, lock butters and many other products made to enhance growth, correct breakage, thicken thinning hair, and treat dandruff, itchy scalp and balding. A few of the local herbs Yejide uses are rosemary, thyme, oregano, white sage and stinging nettle. These herbs yield dramatic results when added to the various blends she creates.
Yejide attaches great importance to Cornrow, two-strand twists, Bantu Knots, Senegalese twists, flat twists, Chauzi (woolwraps), Henna Treatments. She explains that Cornrow is African hairstyle used by slaves to hide corn seeds when they were transported from one plantation to another or from one island to another. They would replant the corn seeds wherever they got to, and so making sure they were not left hungry.
At Bac-2-my-ROOTS, Dread Locs, an authentic hair style, is emphasised as an integral part of African culture. “This can be traced to as far back as the Egyptians; the evidence exists on the pyramid walls, and to present time, as seen in the Masai of Kenya and the followers of Chaik Hamada Bamba in Senegal. It denotes spirituality and a sense of royalty,” she said. And above all, she went on to say, “It’s natural. Our hair, before the invention of combs, brushes and other tools, locked naturally. We as black people have a unique quality to our hair, where the makeup of each strand allows them to intertwine or lock naturally, the way nature intended.”
An additional plan for Bac-2-My-ROOTS is to create a botanical garden which will be a major attraction to tourists, school parties and the community as a whole. The organic herbs making up this line would be cultivated, harvested and stored. A small factory will be constructed to lovingly create these special delights. This will also create employment and an educational background for persons who are interested in this field of organic agro processing.
Yejide can, with adequate financial support system, establish an afro-centric museum that can attract tourists. But, like many other local entrepreneurs, her challenges are financial. She complained about the red tape in accessing funds as well as high bank interests. Another unfortunate challenge that exists is that certain institutions view black beauty as something negative, something taboo.
But she will not give up. Her fulfilment is that black people will eventually accept their black beauty, “all of it, from their heads to their toes; hair skin and all!”
“I love it when they appreciate themselves, when they accept they are somebody. They are black and beautiful. I enable them to appreciate themselves and thus turn away from the myth that black isn’t beautiful. We need to take the kinks from our minds and not our hair. After all, God made no mistake when he made us black with kinky hair.”
