{UAH} Hanah and Rose which beads are u supposed to wear. See Angolan Braids & Beads
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Braids, multi-coloured beads and horns made from mud: Stunning photos reveal sculpted hairstyles worn by tribal women of Angola
- Mario Gerth, 38, from Erfurt, Germany, visited the Mumuhuila and Mucawana tribes in southern Angola
- Banker and photographer discovered African hairstyles are ever-changing, yet deeply rooted in tribal traditions
- Wearing a rich and colourful beaded wig means a woman has had her first period but is not ready for marriage
- Girls wear a vikeka necklace from puberty until they marry a man, which may take up to five years
- The married women of the Mumuhuila tribe wear an ostrich feather on their heads to show their status
By Deni Kirkova for MailOnline
Published: 11:54 GMT, 4 December 2014 | Updated: 14:18 GMT, 4 December 2014
Sculpted with mud into dramatic horn shapes or intricately braided and covered with hundreds of brightly coloured beads - the eye-catching hairstyles worn by the tribal women of Angola are practically works of art.
Bursting with colour and decorated with beaded diamond and bow shapes, buttons and shells, the fascinating styles are the result of thousands of years of tradition.
Mario Gerth, 38, from Erfurt, Germany, captured the images when he travelled to the African nation, which shares a southern border with Namibia.
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A young woman of the Mumuhuila tribe from southern Angola wears waist-length beaded strands of blue, green and red woven into her hair
The banker and photographer says: 'African hairstyles are ever-changing, yet deeply rooted in a shared past stemming from tribal traditions.
'Every tribe has its own style, and then within one tribe we can find even more styles - for men, woman, children, for those who have been widowed, and many more.
'Hairdressing in Africa is always the work of trusted friends or relatives.
'Hair in the hands of an enemy is believed to become an ingredient in the production of a dangerous "medicine" that would injure the owner.
'I found this aspect very interesting.'
Married Mumuhuila women from southern Angola wear huge, heavy vilanda necklaces made from hundreds of beads day and night
Travelling to southern Angola, Mario visited the Mumuhuila and Mucawana tribes and was able to photograph a collection of different hairstyles.
The women he pictured are known to spend several hours each morning making themselves as beautiful as possible, and their first task is to take care of their hair.
Mario says: 'Using elements such as butter, oil, cow dung and herbs, these fascinating women can create a style out of almost everything.
'Beads, shells and colours from stones help them to create their masterpieces.
A unique hairstyle worn by a woman from the Mumuhuila tribe, from southern Angola, where mud is used to turn hair into stiff horn shapes
A woman of the southern Angolan Mucawana tribe, left, wears a kapapo headdress made of waste materials, while, right, a young Mumuhuila girl wears a colourful beaded wig that indicates she has had her first period but is not yet ready for marriage
Married women of the Mumuhuila tribe wear these immense, weighty neck-pieces fashioned from hundreds of multi-coloured beads
'For example, the Mumuhuila people of Angola use mud in their hair to imitate stiff horns.'
Gerth admits to being fascinated by the 'inexhaustible wealth' of hairstyles that 'know no limits' in their elegance.
'Upon seeing my pictures people start thinking about their own hair,' he says.
'They think about things, like what is it telling the world, such as: "can I transfer a message with my own hairstyle?"'
Married Mumuhuila women wear an ostrich feather in their hair, left, while a young girl wears a vikeka necklace from puberty until marriage
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