Tignon law

The tignon law (also known as the chignon law^[1]) was a 1786 law enacted by the Spanish Governor of Louisiana Esteban Rodríguez Miró that forced black women to wear a tignon headscarf. Though the laws governing slavery were not in use, black women still were denied privileges and rights that were given to those that were white; for example, such restrictions on their appearance solely controlling their identity. The law was intended to halt plaçage unions and tie freed black women to those who were enslaved, but the women who followed the law have been described as turning the headdress into a "mark of distinction".^[2]

A young Creole woman in a tignon of her own creation. Note that the rosette in the tignon is repeated as either a brooch or in the linen at her neck. Painting from the Historic New Orleans Collection.

Background

The Code Noir, or black code, was a French law that restricted the lives of people of color living in French colonies. It had first been created to apply in the Caribbean colonies in 1685, but was extended to Louisiana in 1724. Spanish authorities instituted a similar law, first in 1769 and again in 1778.^[3] By 1786, Esteban Rodríguez Miró was the Spanish governor of Louisiana. He disliked actions some black women had taken, considering them to show "too much luxury in their bearing."^[4] White women began to urge Miró to act to restrict the fashion of non-whites.^[5]

Law

Miró added an item to a decree that he was already going to issue.^[4] The June 2, 1786,^[5] decree, formally titled the bando de buen gobierno or "proclamation of good government,"^[6] stated that women of color had to wear a scarf or handkerchief over their hair as a visible sign of belonging to the slave class, whether they were enslaved or not;^[7] specifying that "the Negras Mulatas, y quarteronas can no longer have feathers nor jewelry in their hair. [Instead, they] must wear [their hair] plain (Ilanos) or wear panuelos, if they are of higher status, as they have been accustomed to."^[4] Their style provoked anxiety among white elites, who sought to control racial distinctions through apparel laws. ^[8] Black women were demanded to submit to the law while they were working. This tactic was enacted to obtain control to prevent the free black community from being too powerful and putting a halt to exposure of one of their most attractive features , hair.

Effect

During the 18th century, laws restricting what black people could wear were not uncommon.^[4][6] Miró hoped that the law would halt plaçage unions^[3] and tie freed black women to those who were enslaved. While white women in New Orleans initially stopped wearing their hair in the style, Empress Joséphine of France eventually adopted the headpiece, and it became considered haute couture in the early 19th century before decreasing in popularity in the 1830s.^[9][10]

Virginia Gould writes that the true purpose of the law was to control women "who had become too light skinned or who dressed too elegantly, or who, in reality competed too freely with white women for status and thus threatened the social order."^[5] She also notes that there is no evidence it was ever enforced and the women who followed the law turned the headdress into a "mark of distinction".^[2] This law was used as a political tool disguised as morality regulation, intended to “remind black women their social standing” in colonial society. ^[11]

In popular culture

Systemically, white media has weaponized images of Black women in headscarves - like the Aunt Jemima stereotype - to sell the narrative that they are unattractive, servile, and submissive, reinforcing gender and racial hierarchies through caricatures and control. ^[12]

The laws used to prohibit Black women’s hair exposure as a symbol of oppression turned into a symbol of self expression and empowerment. Within the 1960s and 1970s, Nina Simone and Angela Davis were known for wearing headwraps as a statement of resistance against racial discrimination and injustice and as a reclamation of black beauty, pride, and culture. During the 1990s and early 2000s, artists such as Lauryn Hill, India Arie, and Erykah Badu to name a few showcased the reclamation of the headscarf as a beauty and cultural symbol.^[13] From fashion designers, celebrities, to media influencers , they have displayed the versatility of the once law abiding tool now stylish accessory that can be worn in various ways to accentuate an outfit and assisting with protection while sleep.

Publications such as Essence and Vice have discussed the law and its effects.^[14][15]

See also

• Sumptuary law