See What People Say About ‘The Anklets’ And ‘The Ashawo Tag’

What comes to your mind when you hear of anklets? How do feel when you see a lady wearing an anklet or worse a guy? which class of the people below do you belong to, hear Michael :   

“I can never get comfortable with seeing a lady wearing an ankle chain, it feels odd and alien.”

Hear Francis:

“Anklets are not part of our culture, they are ungodly, any woman who is wearing an anklet is only calling for attention from men like a prostitute”

Amaka and Osinachi think otherwise: 

“I feel ankle bracelets accentuate someone’s dress, I wear them because it makes me feel beautiful” -Amaka

“I find women wearing anklets daring and appealing” -Osinachi

Over the years, the symbol of the anklets is one that has generated controversy, with people having different views of it. The most common school of thought followed by Nigerians “Any woman wey dey anklets na ashawo” 

let’s talk about this piece of ornamental controversy, the history, symbol, and significance across people.

An anklet, also called an ankle chain, ankle bracelet, or ankle string is an ornament worn around the ankle. As with almost anything on earth, there is a history behind the anklet which differs depending on different aspects.

Some schools of thought trace the history back to Africa (for people saying its alien to African people), starting with ancient Egypt, pre-historic times, anklets were commonly worn by Egyptian women of inner cities. They were called khalakheel and were most likely worn by women of Alexandria. Beautifully hand-crafted, the jewelry were worn as an everyday ornament by women of all social classes, rich or poor, in ancient Egypt from as early as predynastic times. Anklets were worn even when performing daily chores and working in the fields.  The upper class of ancient Egypt, more specifically, was well-known for coveting beautiful pieces of jewelry and were very trendy and interested in fashion. However, typically, Egyptian royalty wore anklets made of more precious stones and metals compared to the poorer women in Egypt who wore inexpensive ankle bracelets for good luck and charm against good and evil spirits, than for wealth, fashion, and style.

The males of the old Yoruba especially the chiefs of the old Owo kingdom wore coral anklets ‘e shock you say man dey wear am’  

Moreover, Igbo wives of men of rank and status in Nigeria have long worn brass anklets, locally known as ‘ogba’ or ‘adala’, decorated with engraved, geometric and zoomorphic designs including concentric circles; spirals representing snakes; radial lines suggesting the sun’s rays; arcs or wavy lines representing water; and depictions of lizards or crocodiles. Such strong pieces were made by specialist blacksmiths who cold hammered the brass into the desired forms and once attached, they were sometimes worn permanently on their ankles till they become middle-aged. 

The anklets were not just for the Igbo wives, male Igbo “Guinea-Fowl” dancers even wore clusters of shells around both ankles for their performances, showing incredible physical agility and strength.

The most significant reason for women wearing anklets during the old times was as a symbol to show a married woman. The leg bracelet was gifted to the bride on her wedding night by the groom as a symbol of love. The details and beauty of the anklet show the wealth of the husband. In old Indian times, women wore bespangled leg chains that jingle when they are walking to announce their presence to the male folk to enable them to coordinate themselves before the lady. Some patriarchal societies use it to monitor a lady’s movement.

Demystifying The Waist Bead

The significance of this leg ornament has been bastardized as time elapsed, it has gone from positive to negative. A quick survey of people’s opinion in our society reveals the twisted narrative attached to the meaning of the leg bracelet, a cross-sample of random people’s opinion show their view

“Any lady I see wearing an anklet, I consider irresponsible” 

– Paschal

“I think any lady wearing an anklet is a lesbian” 

– Godwin

“It has a sexual appeal on ladies wearing it, it shows that they are daring”- Victor

One in every five-person we interviewed actually loves the leg bracelet or feels indifferent to it, some men feel a woman should only wear it inside the house for the view of her man or husband. If proper research is conducted, almost 80% of people will be among those mirrored above. 

Some time ago a meme went around social media saying thus:  

“An Anklet is a bracelet worn around the ankle. Widely recognized as a symbol that a woman is married yet available to other men for sexual activity with the husband’s consent and encouragement” 

The above statement has no basis and goes to show how further the symbol of the anklet has deviated from what it used to be. 

For ladies, we came across, the leg chain is only a fashion statement for them, something to show off those hot legs. Few, it appears wears it as an act of rebellion and as a dare in the face of society.

As the controversy lingers over this leg ornament, one thing is certain the symbol of the leg chain can not be boxed and it is something that has been with us from the beginning.