Negra Jhô Afro Hairstyles

Ladeira de São Miguel, 4 - Pelourinho, Salvador - BA, 40026-030
History and Culture
Negra Jhô Foto: JMarilá Photos

One of the biggest names in Brazil in handmade head twists, braids and turbans.

Valdemira Telma de Jesus Sacramento, Negra Jhô, has the gift of the art of braids, twists and turbans created in a genial way by herself, Daughter of Ogum with Iansã. A warrior woman, she made a revolution in Pelourinho when she arrived here in the late 1970s, effectively contributing to the emancipation of black identity, a forerunner of the empowerment of natural hair, transforming the way black men and women looked at their own aesthetics.

“When people ask me if I have a salon I answer: No! I have a house of love, where I welcome and am welcome,” teaches Negra Jhô.

From the beginning to the present, she places her chair in the middle of Pelourinho to braid the hair of passers-by, tourists and locals. As she herself likes to tell, “Women sit in this chair and as queens they rise!” In fact, men and women, old, young and children, white and black … everybody wants on their heads the art of Negra Jhô, specialist in the symbols of aesthetics, culture and religiosity of the African ancestry. Today, her salon, ops, I say, a house of love, is a national reference in Afro hair, being sought by tourists, famous and Bahians.

The life of this woman is intertwined with the very history of the contemporary Salvador city. She is directly involved with several Afro Blocks (Carnaval groups) and, in order to keep the African Culture alive and to preserve the ethnic values, Negra Jhô ministers workshops for children and adolescents, making partnerships with several institutions such as: schools; colleges; quilombola communities; Afro Block & Olodum School; Filhos de Gandhy; Ilê Aye; Banda Didá; Irmã Dulce Hospital; Deam (Women’s Protection Department); Axé Project; among many others.

Kimundo Institute

This woman of pure political consciousness directed the Kimundo Institute a little more than ten years ago, which seeks to keep the African Culture alive and to preserve the ethnic values, developing activities that value the self-esteem of the woman of any ethnic group, as well as its strength, beauty, dance and freedom. It teaches the valorization of color, hair, black beauty, through the art of hair ornamentation (braids) and turbans, besides promoting workshops for children and adolescents.

She also promotes the show “Corôa de Ouro: Torços e Turbantes (Golden Crown: Twists and Turban)”, authored by her. In the exhibition, it shows 21 stylized turbans, made by the Kimundo Institute. In addition to the exhibition, there are also mediations and workshops of turban and afro stamping promoted by Negra Jhô herself and by the educational sector of the UdoKnoff Museum. There have already been some editions of this show and in one of them, at the closing, there was a parade that showed the twists and turbans of the show, besides the costumes produced by Afro-Bahian griffes and designers.

Feijoada da Negra Jhô

And you think it’s over? There’s still more! She moves the streets of Pelourinho with the famous Feijoada da Negra Jhô, which begins with a procession where she leads a group of musicians and dancers in a celebration to the Orixás and manifestations entities of African culture. “FeiJhôada” has become a cultural festival, with the right to dance, afro aesthetic parade and musico-cultural presentations that mix samba, afro, pagoda, semba, kuduro and axé. Always keep an eye on her networks to know the date of the next issue.

Service

Negra Jhô Afro Hairstyles
Address: Ladeira de São Miguel, 4 – Pelourinho, Salvador – BA, 40026-030
Hours of Operation: Monday to Friday, from 09h to 19h. Saturday from 9am to 8pm. Not opened on Sunday.

Kimundo Institute
Address: Rua Frei Vicente, nº 04, Pelourinho.
Hours of Operation: Saturdays, from 09h to 18h.
E-mail: kimundo@bol.com.br
Phone: (71) 3321-8332