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Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

La coiffe est une chaudière blanche.

English translation:

a white head wrap

Added to glossary by Bashiqa
Nov 19, 2012 11:15
11 yrs ago
French term

La coiffe est une chaudière blanche.

French to English Art/Literary Anthropology Slavery and clothing
i'm well aware that this is NOT a white boiler placed on the head, but the translation is only slightly less mystifying than the "gaule chaudière" in a previous question.
TIA for your contributions and references. This morning is becoming a serious learning session.
Chris.
Proposed translations (English)
4 +2 a white head wrap
3 +1 A white chaudière headdress
3 -1 Headgear is a white fascinator.
1 -1 bowl hat
References
Coiffe chaudière
This may help
Picture & French definition

Discussion

B D Finch Nov 19, 2012:
@Bashiqa Try Googling '"West Indies" "head wrap" "women"' (I get 19,800 results) and look at the sort of results you get. Yes you get more if you substitute "turban", but they are generally not written by black women and are not relevant to the "chaudière". I've known lots of W Indian women in England and travelled in W Africa and am sure what I heard them call these things was "head wraps" or just "wraps" (though that could be confused with a wrap (or wrapper) dress. I suspect the Wikipedia article wasn't written by a black woman.
Bashiqa (asker) Nov 19, 2012:
@ BD Women in many parts of Africa and the West Indies often cover their heads with intricately tied scarves which may be called scarves, head wraps, or turbans.
You pays your money and you takes your pick. the above is from wikipedia.
Bashiqa (asker) Nov 19, 2012:
@ BD Oops!!
Don't have many West Indians or Africans in the back of beyond, where I live. But, you have given me an idea. There is, I think, one girl in my grandaughters class from Guadeloupe, so perhaps i'll ask the question and let you know the answer.
Sensible ideas have just gone out the window as daughter has called to ask me to 'look at the chaudière' as she has no hat water
B D Finch Nov 19, 2012:
Snack!? "Head wrap" is the term I hear used by W Indian and African women and backed up by my references.
Bashiqa (asker) Nov 19, 2012:
@ All Why do my questions bring out the best in you all. Thanks for all contributions. I left a comment on Catherine's entry with a reference to 'turban' which is what I will use, with suitable explanations, as I think this is closest in 'style', if turbans have any style that is.
Fascinator does not appeal at all, perhaps because of the horrendous creation that Princess Beatrice wore at William and Kate's wedding.
Headdress sounds too Indian and the wrap ought to be for the evening snack.
Sango's 'bowl hat' sounds like a truncated version of the bowler!! Perhaps it is.
In future I'll stick to my technical translations on nuclear physics - much simpler.
Sian Cooper Nov 19, 2012:
Damn, cc, I take it all back - pictures I went onto Google Guadaloupe, and here are some pics of coiffes chaudières! 'Fascinator' sounds pretty good for one of these things perched on top of your head, eh.

http://www.google.gp/search?num=10&hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch...
Sian Cooper Nov 19, 2012:
sorry here's the link It's a pdf
http://www.google.gp/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&source=web&cd=5&ved=0...
Sian Cooper Nov 19, 2012:
Call it a chaudière... Ref my posts on the gaule question - I have also found a creole dictionary, which has the following entries

chodiè
1) chaudière (as in the sugar industry previously mentioned)
2) chaudron
3) coiffe traditionnelle créole

Proposed translations

+2
1 hr
Selected

a white head wrap

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/head-wraps?before=1329614786

http://mypersonalblogccm.blogspot.fr/2009_11_01_archive.html

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Note added at 1 hr (2012-11-19 12:48:59 GMT)
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Or "tignon":

'Faustin described Creole culture as an amalgam of language, couture, style, cuisine and mannerisms, giving examples along the way.
“The Creole attire is a dead giveaway: The white dress and shirts, and the tignon (head wrap) which makes a statement on the status of the woman —whether she is engaged, married, or single—just by the way it is tied. The bigger the wrap, the bigger the status of the woman.”'
http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2011/09/12/amid-brillian...

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Note added at 1 hr (2012-11-19 12:49:20 GMT)
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http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2011/09/12/
amid-brilliance-mas-creole-pride-makes-statement
Peer comment(s):
agree Sian Cooper : I'm convinced - upped to agree!
4 hrs
"Head wrap" is what anglophone West Indian and African women call what francophone/creole WI and African women call a 'chaudière'!// Thanks Sian!
agree Yolanda Broad
12 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Despite my earlier comments, i have to give you the points. thanks for your answer and discussion points."
-1
59 mins

bowl hat

Rimless hat

http://www.etsy.com/search?includes[]=tags&q=bowl+hat

Pics of "Coiffe Chaudière" here
http://www.philippe-apat.com/coiffe.html
Peer comment(s):
disagree Jocelyne Cuenin : but it's not what your 2nd link shows!
1 day 7 hrs
Something went wrong...
+1
5 hrs

A white chaudière headdress

See my discussion entries

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Note added at 6 hrs (2012-11-19 17:28:25 GMT)
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I have found the full explanation of the coiffes now, including chaudières.

http://mamjo.over-blog.com/article-7281539.html
Peer comment(s):
agree cc in nyc : Or perhaps "headgear/headwear is a white chaudiere"
12 mins
neutral B D Finch : Not what they are called by anglophone West Indian and African women. See my answer and refs.
3 hrs
Fair enough!
Something went wrong...
-1
5 hrs

Headgear is a white fascinator.

A possibility...

Encountered when visiting the Design Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Some references:

What is a fascinator?
A fascinator is a head piece, or style of millinery, commonly made with feathers, flowers, jewels or beads that attaches to the hair by a comb, headband or clip. The word originally referred to a head covering similar to a shawl made from wool or lace. The term had become virtually obsolete by the 1970s. In the early part of the 21st century, “fascinators” started to make a comeback but the meaning had slightly changed. The new definition refers to a head decoration that often accompanies mainly formal or party attire but is frequently seen these days paired with casual-wear as well.
http://thefeatheredhead.com/what-is-a-fascinator

A fascinator is a headpiece, a style of millinery. The word originally referred to a fine, lacy head covering akin to a shawl and made from wool or lace, but mostly feathers. In the modern usage, it refers to a woman's alternative to hat for formal attire; it is usually a large hair decoration on a band or clip with elaborate trimmings and decoration like a formal hat and it can incorporate a base to make it a miniature hat. [...]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascinator




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Note added at 5 hrs (2012-11-19 16:18:19 GMT)
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For images, try Google Image – perhaps this link will work:
http://www.google.com/search?q=fascinator headwear&num=100&h...

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Note added at 9 hrs (2012-11-19 21:10:38 GMT)
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Royalty notwithstanding, here's the online dico's definition of "fascinator":

fascinator  noun
1. a person or thing that fascinates. [Well, not that definition.]
2. a scarf of crochet work, lace, or the like, narrowing toward the ends, worn as a head covering by women. [<- That's the one we want here.]


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Note added at 9 hrs (2012-11-19 21:11:06 GMT)
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The link: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fascinator?s=t
Peer comment(s):
neutral Sian Cooper : I like the concept, cc, but I think in this case it could be misleading, I think the Creole headgear is much more of a biiiiig winding thing, rather than a delicate feathery lacy thing, ref the 'headwrap' from B D
1 hr
Perhaps so.
disagree Jennifer White : I don't think this could be called a fascinator which is made up of feathers etc and usually sits on the side of the head, very different to the illustrations of a chaudière.
2 hrs
You pays your money and you takes your chances.
neutral B D Finch : Not in the context (anthropological and social) of this question.// Lots of links to pictures already posted!
3 hrs
Pictures might help. ;-) // I meant pictures from the client – sorry to be unclear. :o
Something went wrong...

Reference comments

32 mins
Reference:

Coiffe chaudière

« Il existe d'autres coiffes, comme celle de la Matadore, femmes entretenues de Martinique, qui se paraient de bijoux offerts par leur homme. La tête de la Matadore du Sud a un éventail devant et derrière la coiffe. La tête de la Matadore de St Pierre est composée d'un petit triangle devant et d'une queue plissée derrière. La tête Chaudière est de forme arrondie toute plissée à plat. La tête calandée est confectionnée à partir d'un madras sur lequel les parties claires du tissu ont été peintes avec un jaune de chrorme en poudre additionné de gomme arabique. »
(http://www.bellemartinique.com/Martinique-Flanms-Kreyol-Tenu...

Photos :
http://www.philippe-apat.com/coiffe.html
http://www.philippe-apat.com/images/coiffe-chaudiere.JPG

gaule = galle

« golle (n. f.)
Longue tunique très ample.
Variante(s) graphique(s)
gaule »
(http://www.bdlp.org/resultats.asp?base=AN&query=517672,0)
Peer comments on this reference comment:
agree Jocelyne Cuenin : de forme arrondie toute plissée à plat (i.e. flat, pleated crown, like in philippe-apat). ...coiffes toutes prêtes, moulées sur la tête (chaudière) qu'elles n'avaient qu'à poser sur les cheveux tirés en arrière ...
1 day 7 hrs
Something went wrong...
23 mins
Reference:

This may help

http://www.philippe-apat.com/coiffe.html

although I can't see whether chaudière refers to the crown or the rim of the hat

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Note added at 1 hr (2012-11-19 12:34:50 GMT)
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Why don't you ask the designer directly? I would email them and ask for an explanation. Better than guessing.
Peer comments on this reference comment:
agree Catharine Cellier-Smart : snap!
1 min
Something went wrong...
25 mins
Reference:

Picture & French definition

This doesn't help with the translation, but here are pictures:

http://www.philippe-apat.com/coiffe.html

and definition in French:

"Le port du chapeau étant interdit au temps de l'esclavage à la Martinique. Les affranchies, apprennent à nouer leur foulard en madras afin d'en faire une véritable coiffe. La façon de nouer et le nombre de pointes de la coiffe révèlent la disponibilité amoureuse de la personne qui la porte ...
Il existe d'autres coiffes, comme .... La tête Chaudière est de forme arrondie toute plissée à plat."
http://www.bellemartinique.com/Martinique-Flanms-Kreyol-Tenu...

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Note added at 8 hrs (2012-11-19 19:39:27 GMT)
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I have mixed feeling about turban. In some respects it has very Indian connotations, on the other hand I can't see what other term - apart from perhaps 'headdress' - you could use to succinctly describe what the 'chaudière' is without having to use lengthy descriptions.
BDF's suggestion of 'head wrap' could be another possibility.
Note from asker:
looking at the pictures (very pretty) I think the closest translation is perhaps 'turban'. This is a folded hat with better form than a simple 'knotted hanky'. What do you think? Off for a short Siesta, back in 20 minutes.
Hi Catherine, Found a reference to 'turban', as well as all sorts of other references, in this book. Two Years in the French West Indies Par Lafcadio Hearn
Peer comments on this reference comment:
agree Jocelyne Cuenin : I wouldn't use turban either for chaudière where the scarf is just neatly folded around the head.
1 day 7 hrs
Something went wrong...
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