With so much debate going on concerning the Yoruba elaborate headtie called Gele, an historical source has proven that the ethnic group from Southwest Nigeria truly invented the fashion piece.

Recently, some Igbo (Ibo) youths on social media have been claiming to co-own Gele, even going so far as to call it Ichafu, a corruption of the French word for Chiffon.

However, sources and photos from the 40s and 60s show that Ichafu is a scarf that wraps closely around the head, unlike Gele, which forms an elaborate satellite-dish shape on the head due to excessive use of fabric.

Since Igbo share the same country as the Yoruba people, over time, cultures influenced one another, and so Gele became a thing among Igbo women.

This was documented in a 1944 African Conversation Piece by anthropologist Sylvia Leith-Ross, who distinguished the Yoruba two-yard voluminous head-dress from the traditional one-yard (simple) Ibo head tie (Ichafu). She recorded that the Yoruba style had been introduced to the Ibos, where some associated Gele with changing morals.

According to her, the quest for some form of independence displayed by Igbo women stemmed from the introduction of Yoruba Gele, which people in their society saw as inspiring immorality.

She wrote, "She had nothing new to tell me about careers for girls, but gave me an amusing sidelight on the parents' attitude: 'Some girl teachers or nurses are expected to give their salary to their parents, but more often the parents allow them to keep the money so that their natural desire not to be outdone by their companions in frocks and finery should not lead them astray, and also so that they should have a little money of their own when they do get married.'

"Surprisingly modern, this comprehension on the part of the parents of their daughter's wish for independence, indeed almost her right to it. But surprising, also, the alleged cause of so many lapses from virtue. According to Mrs. Edwards, it all dates from the introduction of the Yoruba style of head-tie, which needs a piece of cloth or silk two yards square, while the Ibo head-tie only needs one yard square. This extra square yard seems responsible for more immorality than any other change that has taken place! Indeed, it is almost enough to say of a woman or girl: 'She tie head for two yard,' to prove that she is immoral, for virtue alone would never suffice to pay for such extravagance.

"As soon as Mrs. Edwards had left, the very lovely wife of a Roman Catholic headmaster appeared. She had kept, or rather had gone back to, the native cloth which draped her upright, slender figure in deep wine-coloured folds. I looked anxiously at her head-tie, a rich bronze-green silk bound tightly round her well-shaped head, with just one little corner standing out to give a touch of well-bred originality. It was obvious that she had used a square of one yard only, so I was quite safe in asking what she thought about the two yards square controversy.

"She replied in almost the same words as Mrs. Edwards, and added, morality left aside for the moment, and vanity coming to the fore: 'Besides, it go make woman's head all too big for body' (though the big Yoruba women can carry off this voluminous head-dress far better than the slimmer Ibo).

"Yes, the Ibo women are vain, but generally in a legitimate way; that is to say, they do carefully deliberate on the choice of colour and design, and on what tints will go together. Even the plainest head-tie is given a graceful twist. But my informant agreed that when they attire themselves in European frocks, their taste disappears altogether."

In another document, Walter Schwarz, a British journalist and author, revealed that "For their national dress, Nigerians have adopted the traditional costume of two of their major groups, the Yoruba and the Hausa. The agbada consists of baggy trousers and a loose shirt worn under a voluminous robe, with a distinctive cap in cloth or velvet. The agbada is equally effective in dazzling white or gorgeously patterned."

He also described the elaborate Gele, calling it tall head-ties.

He said: "Nigerian women have adapted traditional styles with considerable ingenuity. Most distinctive are the Yoruba, whose rich robes, often hand-dyed in indigo and finely patterned, and tall head-ties make a group of them look like birds of paradise."