Gele (head tie)

Gele is a traditional head tie of Yoruba women.[1] It is from the Yoruba culture and of specific shapes and designs. Gele is worn alongsides other Yoruba women's outfits, like Iro ati buba, Komole and Asoebi wears.

Yoruba woman wearing Gele

Yoruba woman in Gele

It is a tied or wrapped around and styled piece of clothing around Yoruba women's head, used for fashion and occasions.[2] It has also been acculturized by some other Nigerian and other African ethnicites as a way of popular culture. Gele is also nowadays designed in ready to wear styles called "Auto-Gele" which are purchased by some who want to cut down the hassle of tieing one or getting someone to tie one for them.

Gele includes many designs, some long, flared out, some layered, some fanned out, some wrapped up and bunched. Gele is tied in many clothing materials including Aso-oke, Adire, Aso-olona, Damask, Sego, Senghosen, Jawu, etc.[3] Another type of headtie in Yoruba culture is Iborun which is a regular headscarf different from the Gele.