Tafari Wraps: How This Mother-Daughter Duo Uses Head Wrapping to Heal
By Rachel Erwin, Columnist
Photography by Athel Rogers
Photo Credits of Athel Rogers
Head wrapping has existed for centuries, yet most North Americans don’t understand the cultural significance of the practice. Imani McFarlane and Delmeshia Haynes, the mother-daughter duo behind Tafari Wraps, are changing that one headwrap at a time.
Tafari Wraps, a Boston-based brand, sells colorful headwraps and accessories inspired by a fusion of African and Jamaican culture. The headwraps are healing, both spiritually and physically, and are made using Ankara and other luxurious fabrics from West Africa and Thailand. Some of the headwraps are considered “wearable art pieces,” which McFarlane makes entirely by hand. The packaging is completely compostable.
McFarlane says she has no need to sketch her designs before she begins. She creates her headwraps solely with her spirit.
“I like to visit the fabric stores, and once I see the fabric it's like it speaks to me,” said McFarlane.
Before McFarlane founded the company in 2006, she worked as a couture designer in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Then, she transitioned to working in the interior decorating industry in Boston. McFarlane, a Jamaican immigrant, faced judgment and racism as one of the only Black women in the industry, so she decided to leave. While unemployed, she took the time to heal and started designing what would become her first House of Tafari headwrap collection, now better known as Tafari Wraps. Originally, the company was going to feature African-inspired clothing and interior decor as well, but McFarlane decided to focus on head wrapping due to limited funds.
Haynes joined her mother in 2017. Spending time in New York City immersed in the fashion industry had inspired her to make the leap.
“I'm constantly surrounded by so much vibrancy and expression and confidence and you know, fashion is like...it's the oxygen,” Haynes said. “I would always see women and men wrapping their heads...I was walking up Broadway and in Prada’s window, one of their mannequins had a headwrap on, and I remember taking a picture and I was like ‘Okay, this is real, like there is a market for this.’”
Photo Credits of Athel Rogers
Photo Credits of Athel Rogers
Photo Credits of Athel Rogers
Haynes says working with her mother has been a healing process of its own. Growing up with a single mother who was an artist, Haynes acknowledges that she held some resentment for her in her childhood. She did not understand her mother’s unpredictable schedule and her struggle to make ends meet. Now, she cherishes the relationship they have cultivated.
McFarlane says working with her daughter has taught her how to step back and let others help out.
“For me, it was challenging at first because I lived on my own from a very young age and I’ve always done things by myself...I had to humble myself in so many ways and listen to her,” McFarlane said.
The pair strive to carve their own path in an industry that often feels toxic and uninviting. McFarlane says that it’s hard to be part of the fashion industry when you don’t have unlimited funding. It is easy to feel “less than.”
“We're not aligned with the fashion industry's timeline...it’s not about that. That’s part of the problem, those structures and systems,” Haynes said, echoing her mother. “We're just going to create what makes us feel good and radiates the best and highest parts of ourselves, and I think I'm learning a lot of that from her.”
In addition to running their business, Haynes and McFarlane have taught a series of “Wrapshops” where they share the art of head wrapping with people who are interested in learning more about its healing properties. These workshops began at the Boston YMCA in Dorchester and expanded to the Boston Public Library, Fisher College, Suffolk University, Tufts Medical Center, and more. In these classes, participants learn about the breathability and durability of different fabrics and how color choice can impact one’s mood. For example, wearing a blue headwrap can be soothing, while wearing green channels love and manifests wealth. Participants also learn about the history of head wrapping, the textiles used, and how to wrap their own heads.
McFarlane and Haynes agree that all people can participate in head wrapping, regardless of their race or ethnicity. The textiles they use are never ceremonial, and they say cultural appropriation is not an issue as long as the people wearing the headwraps take the time to understand the culture and history behind them.
“Women throughout the world, whether it's taking a scarf or bandana, wrap their heads,” McFarlane said. “It's an art...India, Venezuela, Mexico, it's literally a global thing — Russia, because it's cold. It is a global practice. It's about why you're wearing it and how it's worn. I would say...it's about respecting other people's culture. It’s about an appreciation of what we all bring to the table.”
Haynes added that the main textile used, Ankara, was actually imported to Africa by the Dutch using an Indonesian method of wax printing. In other words, the textile is truly global.
Photo Credits of Athel Rogers
Photo Credits of Athel Rogers
Both encourage those who seek healing to try head wrapping. McFarlane explained the many benefits, including the effect they have on cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. The treatment often leaves the scalp irritated and full of sores, but a cotton-gauze headwrap allows the pores to breathe and regulates patients’ body temperature at night.
“I just see that [the patients] transform and I'm like, wow, I love this,” McFarlane said. “It gives you that good feeling that I'm actually using the art that I've been blessed with to touch and change someone's life for the better.”
In McFarlane’s case, the headwrap has been a source of her own healing. Connecting to her ancestral roots is important to her, and she decided to grow her dreadlocks and wear her headwraps to identify her pride in her heritage to those who meet her.
“I was able to face whatever Boston had to offer me and all the trauma that I went through as an immigrant in this country at a young age,” McFarlane said.
“I found the art of headwrap, and it helped me heal.”
You can find Tafari Wraps online:
Official Website: https://www.tafariwraps.com/
Instagram Handle: @tafariwraps
YouTube Channel: Tafari Wraps
