By Tracey Wallace of NaturallyCurly.com
Hair is simply amazing. The human body and the mechanisms by which it adapts to its environment are mind boggling, and our hair color, texture, porosity and everything else plays a massive part in how well we succeed in a particular environment (or at least it did before we started living in these air conditioned covered boxes).
We all love and nourish our hair, but it’s so easy to forget just how magical these dead cells growing from out of our scalp really are.
Enter the Melanesians, a native group of people living on the Soloman Islands northeast of Australia famous for their beautiful dark skin and naturally blonde hair. Yep, that’s right. They don’t sport weaves, wigs, extensions, permanent dye, temporary dye, some weird henna reaction, or whatever else anyone uses to get the blonde look that’s so typical of the caucasian persuasion. Ten percent of these islanders actually come by it naturally.
The odd combination has got scientists wondering about how such a color combo develops over time. According to the Global Financial Newswires, many scientists have long thought that their blonde hair was a result of a diet high in fish, perhaps bleaching by the sun and salt water, or a reminder of the island’s historic relations with people of European descent.
In fact, the blonde Melanesians have blonde that is unique solely to them. According to the study in which scientists compared 43 blonde hair islanders to 42 dark hair islanders, blonde Melanesians have a variant of a native gene called TYRP1 that plays an important role in the melanin biosynthetic pathway. This variant is completely separate from what causes blonde hair in Europeans, and doesn’t even exist in the European genetic set.
What’s truly beautiful in this fascinating discovery, as so perfectly stated by the study author Sean Myles, a geneticist at Nova Scotia Agricultural College, is that “it’s a great example of convergent evolution, where the same outcome is brought about by completely different means.”
And that makes hair of all textures, types and colors absolutely unique and absolutely beautiful.
This is incredible! And thanks to reader Nikki C. for bringing this article to our attention! Ladies, what do you think?
There are just so many wonderful different people in the world! Just goes to show that we’re all just a few different mixtures of the same sorts of matter.
I would call the malenesian child black because he or she has dark skin. I would call the light skinned cute kid with blond hair and green eyes white because he has white skin. It is rather ridiculous to call the lighter skinned boy black and the darker skinned child not black.
So, are people from India Black, too? Many of them are darker than the average Black person. Are you really going to claim that people who don’t have the traits you approve of aren’t Black? Really? This site tends to be far too savvy for shadism. The Melanesian child is Melanesian. Did you notice the ending on that term? Doesn’t it sound familiar?
Indian
Polynesian
Micronesian
What do all of these groups have in common? They’re Asian. Dark skin does not make one Black, just like light skin does not make one white. One would think that with the history we have in this country, folks would know that by now. You don’t get to decide what people are. If I decided to call you a ham sandwich, would that make you one? Everyone has the right to be self-defining.
This is why I hate when journalists/writers without an understanding of biology write about the subject. It just makes folks even more confused about the differences between race, ethnicity, and genetics. SMH
I also think you should look up mongoloids, negroids, and caucasoids….you will find it interesting where scientists have placed aboriginals and those alike.
Scientists long ago discovered that the racial groupings you mentioned (“mongoloids, negroids, and caucasoids”) do not describe any biological reality.
then why are these groups currently in books….
check the field of forensic science…theyy use these terms in the area of reconstruction! funny how this is the only one you chose to respond to!
If the sperm that fertilised the egg is from a white man’s balls the child is not black but mixed raced. If a sperm leaves a black man’s ball and fertilises a white woman’s egg the child is also not black but also mixed raced. Such children can choose one or both races as their parents are from different races.
If they are Asian, why are dark skin people called Black and not African. I though the continent was African never knew it was called Black.
Side Note – BLACK: interesting conversation about the word “Black”; I’ve always used African-American to talk about my nationality and black to talk about my race, which I’ve defined as being connected to all dark-skinned people around the world and/or peoples recently decently from Africa.
In that case, I would include the Aborigines as black. But I’m also educated enough to know that race is constructed and highly subjective.
It’s obvious that the aborigines have different traits and genes than other dark-skinned people around the world; very unique people who have experienced a lot of oppression like the natives in our country. I wish them peace and blessings.
aibridges, I’m with you on that. These people are still fighting to preserve their identity in their own lands. It’s not ethical for anyone to just erase that by deciding that they are not who they say they are. Black people in the USA are still dealing with that kind of oppressive attitude. Look at how people have tried to decide what folks like Mariah Carey and Tiger Woods have a right to call themselves. I think we should let folks be who they are without trying to apply our preferred labels to them.
I went to college with this kid who was from China. One day someone was talking about race and they asked him where he was from. Later on in the conversation someone asked him something about being Chinese. He adamantly made it clear that he was not “Chinese”; He’s Hmong. Just because we tend to group all people from China into one group, it doesn’t mean that they are all one group.
These issues are interesting and complex.
I think you bring an interesting perspective to the conversation! I believe that some commenters would rather focus on the enthralling aspect of blacks with naturally blonde hair, especially since many people would swear there wasn’t such a thing and that the combination is crazy. What I took from this is that no one is “required” to look a certain way based on their racial background; genetics is in a sense unpredictable, and the diversity that results is remarkable. I could be wrong. This whole conversation to me is very thought-provoking.
Or maybe that should read “dark-skinned people with naturally blonde hair.” Like you mentioned, dark skin doesn’t make someone black.
THESE PEOPLE ARE BLACK. OK, SO WHY DONT YOU GO ONTO A WHITE WEBSITE AND TELL THEM THAT THIS KID IS WHITE. I BET THEY ALL WOULD BE LIKE “HELL NO”
JUST BECAUSE A CERTAIN GROUP OF PEOPLE DECIDE THAT THEY DONT WANT TO BE BLACK, DOESNT MEAN THAT THEY ARE NOT. CREOLE PEOPLE ARE MIXED BUT DEFINATELY BLACK. THIS KID IN THE PIC MAY BE MIXED BUT IS DEFINATELY BLACK. NOT PURE ASIAN. I AM 100% SURE THAT THIS KID HAS AFRICAN ANCESTRY. I WOULD LOVE FOR THEM TO DO A DNA TEST. OUR SOCIETY HATES BLACK PEOPLE SO PEOPLE FROM OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD HAVE THE SAME IGNORANT MIND-SETS AS CAUCASIONS. THEY WANT TO BE ANYTHING BUT BLACK, SO THEY HOLD ON TO NAMES AND CULTURE LIKE CREOLE, MELASIAN, BRAZILIAN, CUBAN, DOMINICAN… BUT GUESS WHAT…THEY ARE ALL BLACK. THEY SHOULD BE PROUD OF IT.
I’m creole, and proud of it. When I’m asked what I am, I say Creole, nectar that is what I an. I’m not ashamed that I’m black, but I’m also proud of the mixture that I am, which includes black, as well as other things. All of it is me. When someone asks what Creole is, I tell them. But me saying “black” and nothing else would be inaccurate, just as much as me saying”french” or “indian” and not acknowledging black would be inaccurate. If I were t say I was “french” u would have a problem with it, but if I say I’m “black” that’s ok. Well I’m CREOLE as close to 100% as u can get. & I’m proud
There is no race called “creole”. But whatever.LOL.
I could die happy, if I could study genetics for the rest of my life. That and linguistics are my favorite subjects. That’s probably because they’re kind of related.
The diversity really is remarkable to me, too! Being born and raised in a port city (New Orleans), I grew up around people with all kinds of backgrounds. I have seen some folks that I wouldn’t know how to even begin to figure out where they came from. I’ve met women down here who were Austrian-Egyptian, Black Japanese, Black Vietnamese, Cajun-Black Puerto Rican, and all kinds of other folks who identified as Black or of African descent. I think that they all have a right to be who they are. If they consider themselves Black, then that’s their right. If they don’t, then that’s up to them, too. Lord knows our Creole community sure hasn’t made up its mind about whether they are all Black or something separate entirely. *shrug*
I know what I am. :)
THE HMONG GUY IS CLEARLY CHINESE. JUST BECAUSE PEOPLE WANT TO BE DIFFERENT DOESNT GIVE THEM THE RIGHT TO DISRESPECT THEIR RACE. A LOT OF PEOPLE GET CULTURE CONFUSED WITH RACE. EVERYONE COMES FROM VARIOUS TYPES OF CULTURES HOWEVER, EVERYONE HAS A SPECIFIC RACE. WHETHER THEY LIKE IT OR NOT. JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE IS FROM JAMAICA, DOESNT MEAN THEY ARE DIFFERENT FROM THEIR BLACK RACE. IT JUST MEANS THAT THIER CULTURE IS DIFFERENT. THEY ARE ALL DESCENDENTS FROM AFRICA. WE NEED TO GET IT THROUGH OUR HEADS. WHITE PEOPLE HAVE NO PROBLEM CLAIMING WHOEVER THEY WANT.
THE HMONG GUY IS CLEARLY CHINESE. JUST BECAUSE PEOPLE WANT TO BE DIFFERENT DOESNT GIVE THEM THE RIGHT TO DISRESPECT THEIR RACE. A LOT OF PEOPLE GET CULTURE CONFUSED WITH RACE. EVERYONE COMES FROM VARIOUS TYPES OF CULTURES HOWEVER, EVERYONE HAS A SPECIFIC RACE. WHETHER THEY LIKE IT OR NOT. JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE IS FROM JAMAICA, DOESNT MEAN THEY ARE DIFFERENT FROM THEIR BLACK RACE. IT JUST MEANS THAT THIER CULTURE IS DIFFERENT. THEY ARE ALL DESCENDENTS FROM AFRICA. WE NEED TO GET IT THROUGH OUR HEADS. WHITE PEOPLE HAVE NO PROBLEM CLAIMING WHOEVER THEY WANT. PERIOD
THE HMONG GUY IS CLEARLY CHINESE. JUST BECAUSE PEOPLE WANT TO BE DIFFERENT DOESNT GIVE THEM THE RIGHT TO DISRESPECT THEIR RACE. A LOT OF PEOPLE GET CULTURE CONFUSED WITH RACE. EVERYONE COMES FROM VARIOUS TYPES OF CULTURES HOWEVER, EVERYONE HAS A SPECIFIC RACE. WHETHER THEY LIKE IT OR NOT. JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE IS FROM JAMAICA, DOESNT MEAN THEY ARE DIFFERENT FROM THEIR BLACK RACE. IT JUST MEANS THAT THIER CULTURE IS DIFFERENT. THEY ARE ALL DESCENDENTS FROM AFRICA. WE NEED TO GET IT THROUGH OUR HEADS. WHITE PEOPLE HAVE NO PROBLEM CLAIMING WHOEVER THEY WANT….
I dunno why my picture won’t upload >.< In any case, the author of this article alienated about a bajillion black people like myself with albinism….
Why doesn't anyone talk about our blonde/blond? Hmmm?
That’s a great question. I would love to see how we all manage our textures of hair.
Unfortunately, I think that shadism and ableism may play a role in this. It’s even evident in this comment section. People perceived as outside of the enforced norms are mostly disregarded. I face it all of the time as a PWD.
Well, even if no one else says it:
My sister, in my eyes, you are a beautiful blonde Black woman. I have seen many other sisters like you in my years on this earth, but your smile definitely makes you one of the prettiest.
Thank you, beautiful woman.Why not indeed.
In Nigeria, most people I know with albinism have superhero 4c+++ hair and their hair is always thirsty.So I assume moisturizing is a top priority.
I have a lot of people in my sister’s family by marriage with reddish hair and lots of freckles all over their bodies.Ranging from light skinned to deep brown with red tones, with hair from strawberry blond to orange/red hair and light brown hair with red tones.My classmate,blended color 33 in weaves and wigs perfectly with her relaxed hair.
I sort of understand where you’re coming from although you seem to have misinterpreted the actual article…it literally states dark skin with blonde hair….most people are familiar with the albinism and what generally is associated with that. Once again I repeat, the article at no point says black or african with blond hair but rather dark skin with blond hair.
Love you and accept you as my sistah as you are so please be encouraged to know that all of us are not as ignorant as some you have already met. I think you bring up another great point about genetics, that the article was trying to make, that what we see (i.e. blond hair, fair skin, lighter eyes) all of it is based on genetics, by simply looking at a person you can not tell what that might be, whether due to albinism or the gene listed in the article, etc. It always saddens me to hear when people want to decide who gets to be a member of the group and they base it on characteristics like hair texture, skin color, etc. Have you noticed whether or not any of the unique concerns you might have or not have concerning hair care are covered in natural blogs?
This exact same thing was on curlynikki….yall should just merge and get it over with
LMAO!!
+1000
Lol! I didnt think anyone else noticed!
Great post! Convergent genetics is something that I am extremely interested in! And, this genetic trait is not linked to any Europeanized strain of genetics which is what makes it so significant and worthy of study. It’s new, a completely unique. It might be on many different sights, and this platform could very well have similar information to others….but it doesn’t change the fact that negativity, whether thought or spoken, is best neither. Rock on BGLH :-)
Hey,
Much love to all the people who take the time to comment on this site, I enjoy your opinions a great deal! I have to say I think you are being a little unfair to bint alshamsa. Her responses are snooty but ultimately based in truth. I too am from a scientific background (no, seriously) and she is right in saying that the adorable child in the article is Asian. Black is a term that outside the western world subverts the very individual identities of dark skinned people all around the world! Whilst seeing a dark skinned person with natural blond hair is a visual phenomenon it does not directly correlate with the experiences we have as Afro Americans or Afro Carribeans (I’m a Londoner)and shouldn’t necessarily spark debates about trivialities such as whether it’s okay to have our hair blond or not. As much as I love this article I wish It had gone into more scientific depth. Instead it (in part) is still reinforcing those eurocentric ideals, especially with the comment “they don’t wear weaves or dye their hair.” Of course they don’t. They are rural indigenous people…
The children are beautiful, both of them (:
“Bint Aishamsa” you really do have a lot of time on your hands, you are dominating the comment section of this article :-)
Bottom line is that that kid is beautiful, that black people don’t all look a certain way…
no need argue with everyone with point of views that are different from yours! :p
You’re right! I do have a lot of time on my hands today. That’s the only time when I can post here. When I don’t have time on my hands, you don’t see me. :)
Seriously though, I think it’s rude for someone to say something to me and then have me completely ignore their remark. If a fellow woman of color takes the time to write something to me, I’m going to pay her the same respect by responding to it. I love conversing with the women here. I don’t even see it as an argument. It’s just hashing things out like we do whenever me and my girlfriends have a chance to spend some time together. I love all of the women here, even the ones who hate my guts. LOL
:D
ohh yeahh! these people are really Fascinating. i was actually lucky enough to take a genetics class where Sean Myles was the prof… and the way he spoke about this stuff, man… he had me ready to set up shop and do my own “black/blonde hair” research!!
it’s great though… just to appreciate all of our differences!!
Really? That’s so cool! I’d love to hear him lecture on it. He makes great points about the implications of convergent evolution. My mother and her sisters all have Fuch’s dystrophy and they’ve been studied for similar reasons. It kinda sucks having conditions that are rarely found in folks with your background, because it can take a lot longer for doctors to diagnose it. However, it does mean that you can sometimes get free healthcare, because lots of doctors and researchers want to study you. That helps when you live in the USA. :D
Melanesia is taken from the Greek words melas which means black and nesos which means island. Melanesia includes Papua, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Fiji. The people are very dark skinned with Afro hair and are thought to have their origins in East Africa migrating by ways of Indonesia.
THANK YOU, perhaps a certain someone will see this comment.
I googled to find out more about the Solomon Islands to see more pics and came across this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaita
Malaita is the largest island of the Malaita Province in the Solomon Islands.
Malaitans are of a varying phenotype. The skin varies from rich chocolate to tawny, most clearly darker than Polynesians, but not generally as dark as the peoples of Bougainville or the western Solomons, who Malaitans refer to as “black men”.[12]
It’s not uncommon at all for other cultures to refer to darker skinned people as “black”. And as someone else pointed out, the term “black” is not referring to the person’s genetic makeup.
@Tanya,
Word!! Best comment so far. I don’t understand how the people in the picture are not Black, especially since the term Black is not scientific but based on a social construct.
Beautiful. Why are most of the photos of children? Does they’re hair get darker when they grow up?
If you click on the first link, you’ll see the adults.
more often than not phenotypic similarities between groups hint at a genetic relatinship…like the evolution of the island finches. The wide set noses are not something that you see often in asia(indians, japanese, chinese etc) or “whites”
MICHELE ANTOINETTE, WIDE SET NOSES ARE OFTEN SEEN IN AFRICAN PEOPLE. NOT WHITE. STOP TRYING TO PUT THEM IN THE MIX
what are you talking about, I clearly said that wide set noses are not something you often see in asians or whites!
This isn’t true at all. I’m Africa– West to be exact, I don’t have a wide set nose. I have many Korean friends with said “wide” set noses. It’s not a ‘Black’ trait. It’s a genetic trait. Please stop speaking on behalf of every race on this thread. It’s annoying.
Genetics determine looks, NOT race. To consider only the latter is simplifying things and ventures into racist caricaturing territory.
THERE ARE PLENTY OF CAUCASIONS TRYING TO CLAIM AFRICA NOW AND THIS IS WHY WE LET THEM. WE ARE TOO ASHAMED TO CLAIM OTHER PEOPLE WHO ARE OBVIOUSLY BLACK. THERE ARE EAST AFRICANS WITH VERY DARK SKIN AND NATURALLY STRAIGHT HAIR. THEY ARE NOT CAUCASION, THEY ARE BLACK. BLACK PEOPLE COME IN DIFFERENT SHADES AND WITH DIFFERENT HAIR TEXTURES. THEY ARE ALL BLACK. WHITE PEOPLE TRY TO CLAIM OTHER RACES AS THEIR OWN. SOME LATINOS AND ASIANS CONSIDER THEMSELVES WHITE INSTEAD OF ANOTHER RACE. 9 TIMES OUT OF 10 THEY ARE WRONG. THEY ARE NOT WHITE EITHER. PLENTY OF OTHER RACES HAVE AFRICAN ANCESTRY. WE NEED TO CLAIM IT AND TAKE WHAT IS OURS. EVEN IF THEY DONT WANT TO BE BLACK, THEY ARE BLACK. I AM CLAIMING THIS CHILD AS BLACK. HE MAY BE PART ASIAN, PART WHATEVER, BUT DEFINATELY BLACK. BLACK NOSE, EYES AND HAIR.
Why are there ignorant people commenting on this? it’s really pissing me off his article was for us to enjoy and find fascinating. These are dark skin people wit no white in their genes with blonde hair coming out their scalp. they are not light-skinned they are dark. that is amazing. an article like this has never come out before. So don’t try and put us down for showing some interest if you didn’t care why comment?
reading thoroughly is truely a gift!
There are native australians that also have natural blonde hair, which is the oddest yet beautiful thing I’ve personally seen. I realized this when I camped in the Outback of Australia and we had aboriginal tour guides, of whom called me “Sista” even though I am clearly African American. They were the most welcoming and beautiful people I’ve ever met!
I think this is very interesting, mainly because its not something you see in black people, unless they are mixed, and even then they’re hair usually isn’t as blonde, nor that texture. The fact that they have a different gene, truely amazes.me. I think the people that are trying to down play the artice, or don’t see the interesting part of it, may just have a jealous bone in their body. They’re hair is amazing. So many people pay to TRY to get their hair like that.
This is a nice article and interesting. I also feel like the old adage if you have nothing nice to say don’t say anything needs to be put here the admin felt like it was interesting so she posted it. If you find it not interesting don’t be negative.
amen! Dillxp. amen. if you don’t find the article interesting or have nothing to contribute other than your dislike/disdain….i mean – why bother??? it’s like wasted energy. simply go to the next article…
I think all the people attacking Merry’s comment are just angry and bored. Interesting article. I love diversity.
Well, I find it very good to know what I learned about this article even if I knew all of that.
documentaries in french television often picture a view of the culture of these islands. but yet, I think that albinos have their own genetics that make them stand out also, even if they don’t have a pigmented skin. And also, the redhead ladies of my family (with freakles and all) could be a mystery for a lot of people.
Should I ad that I’m a french girl from african descent (my family is from cameroon and none of them are mixed).
Even green eyes in general is a genetic variation that should be unique and do you know a lot of people that have a sort of brown-orange skin? We can go on…