Entry · catalog no. 8354
Fulani braids
/ /fuˈlɑni breɪdz/ /foo-LAH-nee BRAYDZ
noun · West Africa and the Black diaspora; Black American salons · 2010s
✓ Verified
1.
A braided hairstyle named for the Fula (Fulani) people of West Africa: forward-facing cornrows, a center braid or two at the front, and braids at the sides, usually decorated with beads or cuffs.
“She got Fulani braids with gold cuffs for the trip.”
Origin & Attribution
The style is named for the Fula people, a large ethnic group across West Africa and the Sahel, and has remained popular among the Fula and Black people of the African diaspora; it resurfaced in the early 2000s when Alicia Keys wore it. Mainstream usage tends to rename the style: it has been called 'Bo Derek braids', after the white actress's look in the 1979 film '10', or 'boho braids'. When Kim Kardashian credited Bo Derek for cornrows in January 2018, Black women widely criticized it and corrected the record. The archive records 'Fulani braids' as the style's name and credits the Fula people and the Black women who kept the tradition alive.
1979
Bo Derek wears braids in the film '10', later labeled 'Bo Derek braids'
2018
Kim Kardashian credits Bo Derek for cornrows and Black women answer publicly
Region of origin
West
Midwest
N.East
South
Nationwide / diaspora
West Africa and the Black diaspora; Black American salons · 2010s
Spoken by
Black women and girls, braiders and stylists
$FULANIThe Record · cultural traction
▲ Steady26 yrs
ahead of the mainstream
65/100
peak cultural energy
Introduced to English by the culture — logged here before the mainstream caught on.
Cultural usage — the recordMainstream search interest
Recorded here
2026
point of first record
Cultural energy indexed from documented usage, search interest, and citation frequency. The recorded date is the archive’s permanent point of record.
Hear it spoken
By region — how it actually sounds
@auntiereg
Atlanta, GA
@deltasoul
Memphis, TN
Contribute your pronunciation
Citations & Sources
■
'Kim Kardashian Under Fire for Crediting Actress Bo Derek for Ancient African Braids,' Atlanta Black Star, Jan. 30, 2018
news
■
+ Cite a sourceEssence, article on Kim Kardashian, Bo Derek and Fulani braids (updated Oct. 24, 2020)
news
See also