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Black Beauty: Perspectives, Viewpoints and Representations
  • ISSN: 2040-4417
  • E-ISSN: 2040-4425

Abstract

The Queen Moremi Ajasoro (QMA) cultural and leadership pageant is rooted in Yorùbá consciousness and cultural heritage. The QMA introduces contestants to Yorùbá histories, myths and cultural values, emphasizing a holistic conception of both (‘moral character’) and (‘beauty’). The pageant provides a space not only for the interpretation of Yorùbá knowledge systems but also for cultural empowerment and preservation. This article explores how the QMA pageant offers a way to negotiate and challenge colonial-based, social hierarchies in the conception of beauty in the contemporary Nigerian state. At the same time, the pageant also reinforces some European beauty standards. We examine the dynamics and interplay of western cultural domination, Nigerian multiethnic state politics and traditional culture through the making of a Yorùbá Queen.

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2025-04-23
2026-04-12

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/content/journals/10.1386/csfb_00092_1
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  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): cultural heritage; cultural pageant; ethnonationalism; moral philosophy; multiethnic state; Ooni of Ife; Queen Moremi Ajasoro; Yorùbáland

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