Friday, September 20, 2013

63. Mexas

Ladies in Mozambique love to change their hair.

Hair extensions, or mexas (MAY-shuhs) are relatively inexpensive here, and girls are always changing their style.  They can select short hair one week, spikes the next, and long curls for the end of the month.  It's a fun and feminine method of self-expression, and a matter of pride.

The downside to all of this hair-trading, however, is the real mess it makes.  The paths of Zobue are littered with fake hair!  Every step yields threads of discarded braids and chunks of twisted black curls.  Women only keep their mexas for a few weeks at a time, so there is a lot of discarded hair lying on all of the paths.  

Some schools even ban fake hair, because of the horrible mess that it makes for the surrounding community.

Putting in braids
Tabita shows off her half-finished braids
Discarded mexas, lying in the middle of the path

I guess in Mozambique, it's "hair today, gone tomorrow."  Hehe.

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