Ijaw traditional attire you will adore
Would you like to see some interesting pictures of Ijaw traditional attires? Modern fashion influences Nigerian clothing. Local designers follow the latest trends when creating their Nigerian native wears, and still, many tribes follow their own traditions and wear traditional attires for different occasions.
Before we talk about Ijaw traditional attire, let us say a couple of words about Ijaw people. Who are they? Where do they live? You know that a territory can also influence Nigerian native wears and dressing style. So here we go.
Ijaw people
The Niger Delta part of the country is the native land for Ijaw people. You can mainly meet them in Delta state, Rivers state, and Bayelsa area in Nigeria, but they also occupy other territories of the country.
They are believed to originate from Oru people who were the earliest settlers in Southern Nigeria and they are often involved in fishing and trading.
Just like other tribes, Ijaw people prefer their own Nigerian native wears. Still, the influence of European, African, and other fashion trends make them choose fashion in Nigerian traditional styles and often select ‘modern looks’ instead of deeply traditional attires.
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Pictures of Ijaw traditional attire
If Nigerian clothing lines inspire you, you should look at impressive Ijaw male traditional attire and beautiful outfits for Ijaw ladies.
Search the web, and you will see some really beautiful pictures of Ijaw traditional attires. While there is not too many information about their native wears, we have found some images to share with you.
These Nigerians are in love with bright vibrant colors, for example, red, orange, fuschia.
You can also notice big love for the latest fashion in Nigerian traditional styles all across the nation, including Ijaw men and women.
Looking at the pictures of Ijaw traditional attires, you can find some common styles and looks with Nigerian native wears loved by other tribes. For example, you can notice some influence of Isoko, Urhobo, and Itsekiri cultures.
Many citizens of Nigeria love unique and bright fashion styles. Thus, not only Ijaw ladies but also their men are proud to dress up in eye-catching items of clothing.
Ijaw traditional attire for ladies
Ijaw ladies who are not married yet prefer dressing in a blouse, gele, and wear a wrapper on their waist.
Royal women don’t like to wear a blouse. They prefer using 2 wrappers instead of just one. Besides, they place a cute bead-decorated crown on their head, and their traditional style always looks fashionable.
It is difficult to imagine an Ijaw wedding without traditional outfits. Ijaw brides are dressed similarly to their grooms. Their traditional dress is usually sewn from the best materials. Besides, ladies are in love with coral or ivory beads (and these two colors overall) and can add a gorgeous head tie to complete their holiday look.
Some brides wear a special celebration decor on their head. It is usually of cute golden color and decorated with colorful beads of blue, pink, purple and other colors.
There are also beautiful ladies who choose to wear a beaded cap to match their other accessories.
While most Ijaw ladies prefer wearing long wrappers to cover their knees, some follow the latest trends and turn their wrapper into a skirt with the length just above the knee.
As we have already mentioned, all Ijaw ladies (just like other Nigerian women) are in love with coral accessories, especially on festive occasions. They wear bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and other cute little female things with just any traditional attire and for all possible occasions and events.
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Ijaw male traditional attire
Nigerian clothing style mostly depends on the event it is used for. Thus, Ijaw male traditional attire also depends on where the man is heading: to the wedding celebration, birthday party, office work, fishing, funeral, etc.
Regular everyday Nigerian native wears for Ijaw men consist of a shirt and trousers.
Ijaw male Nigerian clothing for everyday use is mostly made of wax materials.
Since the tribe has many exciting cultures and beliefs, its men wear amazing carved masks and special festival outfits for the tribe’s masquerades. Such clothes are believed to help honoring water spirits. This outfit is also comfortable for dancing to the drum beats.
When an Ijaw man becomes a groom, his traditional attire looks even more impressive to outline the new status. It is true that marriage plays an important role in the life of every family, but the traditional attire still depends a lot on the financial opportunities of the family.
For example, Ijaw men choose to wear beautiful coral bead for a wedding if they cannot afford more expensive accessories or just want to match the image of the bride.
Rich grooms can afford to get an ivory necklace which looks truly beautiful.
No matter how wealthy the man is, Ijaw male traditional attire for a groom is really impressive. It is known as ‘bayelsa’ and it consists of a long-sleeve shirt plus a wrapper. This traditional wrapper is pretty long. It gets worn over a male shoulder and is usually tied in the ankle-waist area of the body.
Here is another picture of the wedding ceremonial ‘bayelsa’ dress with a male shirt over a wrapper.
The happy couples also like to dress up in matching colors and styles. Such looks are always stylish, elegant, and impressive.
We hope you have enjoyed learning more about Ijaw traditional attire styles. Enjoying bright colors, Ijaw men and women have a colorful life full of interesting water-related legends, but this is a completely different story to share.
Do you find Nigerian native wears chosen by Ijaw people impressive and interesting? Would you personally dress in Ijaw traditional attire or choose to follow other fashionable trends in Nigerian traditional styles?
READ ALSO: Ijaw traditional marriage dressing
Source: Legit.ng
