Over time the way in which Xhosa women dress has changed but what has remained is how women have rmantained the respectful and humble look. Bourdieu (1984) observed that the body is used as a bearer of status, of power and of distinctive symbolic forms that are critical to the acquisition of resources. I believe that this is extremely true in that when a women was dressed in a respectful manner (practising ukuhlonipha), it was after she got married, thus changing her status as an individual. She was now expected to use her body to bear this status "upgrade" by dressing differently to the way she used to dress as an unmarried girl. As seen below, Xhosa women dressed in this way every day of their lives, this was before modernisation and the wearing of western clothing. In modern times, a majority of women only dress this way on special occasions and depending on how traditional and cultural a backround they come from.
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| Xhosa women dressed in traditional attire smoking pipes known as Inqawe in Xhosa. This is how Xhosa women used to dress originally. Everyday, not just ocassionally. |
Image sourced from Google Images. Keyword : Traditional Xhosa women
http://gtpculturesoftheworld.pbworks.com/f/CW2+Xhosa1.jpg
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| A modern Xhosa woman who has adapted ukuhlonipha (giving respect through the way in which you are dressed) to western clothing |
Image taken by me
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