Can I Grown Into My Own, Please?

part of My Black Hair Stories by Sue-Ann Bel

click/tap below to listen (tap Listen in browser to listen right away):

or read the text below:

I grew up in a family where I sat cross-legged on the floor in front of my mother. Every week I was allowed to choose what colour beads I wanted to have in my braids. If my sister chose red beads, I chose blue beads. If she chose yellow, I chose purple. Apparently, I was already looking for my own individuality. There was plenty of choice. It was a wonderful world with so many colourful beads that I was allowed to wear.

Four daughters with black hair , my mother has countless braiding hours in her hands. And she is fast. She swiftly designs sharp straight lines, boxes, or sometimes round shapes on my scalp. Sections of hair or flat braided on my head, she could do it all. At the age of six, my mother taught herself to braid. In Surinam, Paramaribo, she practiced on coconut leaves. She folded the leaves over each other until they stayed together. Besides the coconut leaves, she also practiced on dolls. Dolls with blonde hair that were sent from the Netherlands to Surinam.

I have a lot of hair and especially thick hair, the thickest hair of my sisters. I often cried when my mother did my hair. Tears rolled down my cheeks. My father did his best to distract me from the pain. "I'm not a doll," I shouted to my mother. I didn't wipe away my tears because I wanted everyone to see how sad I was. Combing out my hair hurt a lot. I didn't like braiding my hair. When I thought of braiding my hair, I thought of the words hard and of pain. Afterwards, I was always happy with my haircut. I just never understood that combing out my hair had to be accompanied by pain.

My mom was a ninja when she did our hair. As a child I often came home with sand in my hair but she fixed it in no time. In 20 minutes my hair was clean and shiny again. My mother was and is a beautiful woman and her hair looks nice. How did she do it? Four daughters with black hair and also doing her own hair. But of course my mother could do that because she could do everything.

Want to know more about Sue-Ann Bel? Click here to read more.