History of Beads and Its uses in African society

Erotic and Procreative functions: Throughout life, many women of West and Central Africa wore strands of beads around their waists to emphasize their figures and their procreative role. As one Fante fisherman once told me, “Obaa bɛsia ɔnhyɛ ahondze no nna ɔnyɛ ɔbaa sima bi a! Ɔsiandɛ odu mpa mu agor dzi a, yɛ dze hɛn ano rebɔ nsanku wɔ sor hɔ no nna yɛdze hen nsa so rebɔ gyɛtai wɔ sisiw hɔ ridzi ɔdɔ. Ɔma mpa mu agor yɛ dɛw!” (A woman who does not wear waist beads cannot call herself real woman.



This is because in love-making, whilst our mouth play organs up, our hand also play on the waist beads as guitar. It makes love making awesome). Thus, it is no surprise that Francis (1992) and LaRoche (1994) both contended that among the Africans the sound of the rattle of the beads is reported to evoke an “auditory erotic response” in men. The waist beads also, played a provocative role in procreation. Antubam (1963) explains that in Ghanaian culture, “eggs, sex organs, and all the other parts of the body involved in procreation are believed to be endowed with a certain degree of sanctity.” Fertility and procreation were regarded as sacred functions. Through the enhancement of sexuality, waist beads aided in procreation which ensured personal immortality through living memory.

Aesthetic appeal: Since time immemorial African women love to dress, and adornment of beads formed an integral part. Both men and women wear beads to augment their physical aesthetic beauty. African women are noted for wearing it in addition to their awesome dresses. Bosman, the Dutchman observed how women on the Gold Coast take pride in their clothing: “the women’s dress is richer than the men’s. Ladies plat their hair very artfully, and place their fetishes, coral and ivory, with a judicious air and go much finer than the men.” Similarly, Opper and Opper (1989) confirmed this view, citing that in 1763, Demanet, European visitor to Africa observed that “A woman would not consider herself dressed if she didn’t have a certain number of sufficient necklaces and belts….”

Spiritual: Throughout the life of Africans, from childhood until death, beads are subtly used as charms and amulets with religious intention to secure a feeling of safety, protection and assurance. It imbued the wearer with spiritual power and served as protection against the “evil eye” and to bring good fortune as well. In some Ghanaian culture, soon after birth the baby is decorated with little strings of beads tied around its waist, its neck, its arms, wrist, or ankles. For women, fertility waist beads with spiritual potency are worn during love making to ensure smooth pregnancy. As Parrinder (1976) rightly avers, “”Africans… believe in the latent energy in things which is not visible in outward appearance but can be seen in the effects produced by use.”

Heirloom/Property: In many African countries, beads, especially beads of royals and family waist beads were and continue to be valued as heirloom pieces which were handed down from generation to generation. Krobo women, for example, are known for passing on their waist beads used for Dipo puberty rites over to their children. In the past important expensive beads were used as collateral to borrow items in business transactions. It was also used to offset debts.

Class Differentiation: Beads were and are still used to show the social status of the wearer. Monarchs, traditional priests, family heads, ordinary citizens and slaves had beads to differentiate them from others. In Ghana today, beads are strongly associated with royalty and were symbolic of the historical status and wealth of a family.

Cultural interpretations: Beads were used to also show twins from the other children, senior twin (panyin) from junior twin (kakra). Mothers of the twins also wore beads to identify them from other women. In fact, even among the mothers of twins, a mother who had all-female twins wore different beads to differentiate her from a mother who had all-male twins or male and female twins.
The Waist beads was also worn by women to help them check their weight and size as they mature into adulthood.

Symbol of Africanness and Resistance: In the Caribbean, North America and among other African diasporans, beads was worn by the African descendants to portray their unique Africanness. LaRoche cites Brown (1991) and Butler (1992) to argue that beads wearing culture amongst African American Annapolis natives in the USA “speak tangentially to the power structure within the household, and because they denoted the Africanness of their wearers,… The beads could also be viewed as small but subtle signs of resistance among the 150 or so Africans or African descendants who lived amid the larger community, approximately 600 or so, of Annapolitans. Simply put, any black woman and her daughter who wore beads expressed her identity as an African woman or woman-in-the-making. She behaved as her mother and her grandmother before her had behaved. Here we see no bowing under to a slave owner nor necessarily any reactive response to his edicts. Rather we see a continuation of a way of doing things that was ages old, passed from generation to generation, and hence a mechanism through which women drew communal strength. It co-existed-a parallel universe-within the material culture of domination. Collectively, the artifacts form a bridge which simultaneously connects generations of black women through time and space. These small beads speak to the special relationships that black women formed with each other and with their female kin.” Continue Reading - https://www.sanatuzambang.com/history-beads-uses-african-society/

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