There are many things that are interesting about dressing and fashion in general in Yoruba culture. For men’s dressing, the FÌLÀ (CAP) is an important accessory that needs to accompany the dress, without it, a man’s dressing is considered incomplete.

There are different types of FÌLÀ, we have the “Abetí Ajá” cap and the “Gọ̀bì” cap. The Gọ̀bì cap, which is the focus of this article, can be styled in different ways and these styling all have meanings that they communicate to people around the person wearing the cap. Below are the different styles and their meaning:

1. Fìlà gígẹ̀ sí APÁ ÒSÌ túmọ̀ sí “ọkùnrin tó ti di aláya nílé” – If the cap is styled towards the LEFT side It means that the man wearing it is married

2. Fìlà gígẹ̀ sí APÁ Ọ̀TÚN túmọ̀ sí “ọkùnrin tí ó ṣì jẹ́ àpọ́n” – If the cap is styled towards the RIGHT side it means that the man wearing it is not married yet.

3. Fìlà gígẹ̀ sí IWÁJÚ túmọ̀ sí pé “iwájú láyé wà, ayé jíjẹ ṣẹ̀ṣẹ̀ bẹ̀rẹ̀ ni” – If the cap is styled towards the FRONT it means that life has just begun and there is still more to enjoy

4. Fìlà gígẹ̀ sí Ẹ́YÌN túmọ̀ sí pé “àwa ti jayé, a ti máyé jẹ – If the cap is styled BACKWARDS, it means that “we have seen all that there is to life, there is nothing new again”

5. Fìlà gígẹ̀ GOGORO túmọ̀ sí ọkùnrin tí ó ń ṣe àfihàn ìwà ìgbéraga – If the cap is styled to stand UPWARD, it means that the man is showing off pride

So next time you are wearing a Gobi Cap, make sure you style it the appropriate way to show what exactly you will like to communicate to people around you.