It is most documented in Colombia where Benkos Bioho, a King captured from Africa by the Portuguese who escaped slavery, built San Basilio de Palenque, a village in Northern Colombia around the 17th century.

Cornrows Were Used During Slavery To Help Slaves Escape. 

Slaves used cornrows to transport and create maps to flee plantations.

It is most documented in Colombia where Benkos Bioho, a King captured from Africa by the Portuguese who escaped slavery, built San Basilio de Palenque, a village in Northern Colombia around the 17th century. 

Bioho created his own language as well as an intelligence network and also came up with the idea to have women create maps and deliver messages through their cornrows.