Traditional Yoruba cap designs
A traditional Yoruba male cap is a part of the native attire that is worn both in everyday life and for special occasions. It’s impossible to see a Yoruba groom without a traditional outfit. Although the styles are adapted to the present days and modern fashions, the Agbada and Fila cap are still the same as many years ago.
What’s the traditional Yoruba attire?
It’s somewhat surprising that modern Yoruba men, especially the ones who live in Lagos, wear traditional clothes very often. They don’t even wait for special occasions like weddings or so to dress themselves in pretty and eye-catching native clothes. Well, no wonder that the traditional clothes feel more comfortable for them than borrowed European styles. The native attire has been created in their homeland and is much more suitable for the climate and lifestyle.
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There are several possible types of traditional Yoruba attire for men.
- Agbada consists of four pieces and involves a cap, buba, namely, embroidered Agbada, and narrow pants, all these items often come in the same colour. The embroidery can either match the color of the fabric or contrast it.
- Babariga also consists of four pieces, which are: a cap, a shirt with long sleeves, a flowing buba, and embroidered pants.
- Gbarie consists of three pieces: a cap, a shirt with elbow-long sleeves, and pants.
A Yoruba native cap is a necessary element of each of them, it serves as an accessory that accentuates facial features and completes a male's traditional outfit.
What are the most popular Yoruba traditional cap designs?
The traditional Yoruba cap that men wear is called Fila, no matter what the style is. It’s usually made out of Aso Oke. Apart from Aso Oke, they use different other fabrics like damask, velvet, linen, or cotton to create nice Fila caps. The main idea, if you are choosing a fabric for a good Yoruba hat, is its ability to retain shape. There are certain Fila styles that look good only if the traditional cut is reproduced accurately.
So, there are the following Yoruba cap designs:
- A slouched Fila cap. It means that the top loose part of your Fila cap is slouched to one side. If it’s slouched to the left, you signalize the surrounding people that you are not married. If your Fila is slouched to the right, you let the people around you know that you have a wife. Slouched Fila hats look great if they are made out of soft materials that are draped easily. A Gobi cap. This is a popular Yoruba cap style, a variation of the slouched Fila that has an upturned design in the front part.
- A Kufi style. This style is popular among those Yoruba men who profess Islam. Quite often, such hats go together with dashiki clothes.
- An Abeti Aja cap. The name means “like dog’s ears” in translation into English. In fact, the cap really looks like a dog’s ears that hang sideways. This is a funny and lovely design that’s especially popular among young men nowadays.
- An Awolowo style. This is how the great Obafemi Awolowo used to wear his cap. It’s a very popular choice among both young and old Yoruba men.
How to wear Yoruba cap in a handsome way? Several tips
- There’s no special standard of wearing a Yoruba cap in a special way. You can do it as you like and in such a way that it enhances the natural attractiveness of your facial features. Some men find it better when their caps are settled lower towards their forehead and eyebrows while the others like it more when their caps are moved towards the crown of their heads.
- As well, there are no special standards of wearing a certain cap style with a precise attire type. It’s up to your liking what to choose for each situation. The only thing you should keep in mind is the matching style if you are getting dressed for a special event like a wedding. In such a situation, it’s better to choose a cap that has a matching color with your main garment. If you are wearing, say, Agbada with pants of a contrasting color, you have to choose whether your cap will match the Agbada or the cap.
- Caps that are worn for weddings and other festive events look great if they are decorated with embroidery. It’s especially stylish if the embroidery of your Agbada and your cap are of the same style. It looks very fresh and interesting if, for instance, your Agbada is embroidered with black on the white background and your cap has the same embroidered pattern but made in white on the black background.
- In case you are wearing an Abeti Aja cap, you can arrange its pointed triangular “ears” as you like depending on your mood or a situation. You can wear them straight pointed upwards or slightly folding like real dog’s ears. The latter option is popular with young guys. If you are wearing such a cap for a wedding ceremony, it’s probably better to have the “ears” straight and accurate.
- There’s no rule that traditional Yoruba caps should be worn with traditional attires only. If you like, you can match such a cap with European clothing styles. A bright colorful Kufi with traditional embroidery can be a great accessory to match a traditional Western suit and a tie.
There are many interesting ways to wear traditional Yoruba caps. It’s impossible to say that some of them are better than others. The style you choose is up to you, your preferences, your sense of comfort, and your taste.
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Source: Legit.ng
