Reifying subaltern voices: a visual communication and figurative discourse of headloading practices in Nigeria

Abstract This study provides an understanding of how headloading practice signifies subaltern voices in Nigeria and Africa, among others. The study has sought to interpret the practice of headloading drawing from its images and representations from selected sources, which include Facebook and catalogues of artwork. This interpretive study constructs meaning through a discursive insight around the social practice of headloading. It expands interpretation and ideological structures to include social, economic, and political applications of the headloading subject within the framework of visual discourse and metaphor. This study directs a rethinking of headloading while underpinning the notion of ‘subalternity.’ While not necessarily asking for abolishing the social practice of headloading, the study communicates an understanding that the social phenomenon is a constant symbol of class and power status that many Africans have experienced. Headloading further ‘metaphorises’ the interaction between developed and developing societies (the Global North and South), and underscores related imports of colonisation.