Isicholo or Married Woman's Hat

Zulu women of South Africa traditionally indicated their married status by wearing unique hats called isicholo. The wide hats have a circular basketry frame and is overlaid with grass fiber dyed with red ochre. The hat is based on the hairstyles of past generations when the hair was directly dyed and styled into a truncated cone shape. The hats, though now only worn on special occasions, symbolize a woman's maturity.