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Author Topic: African waist beads: Age-old tradition makes modern-day statement
Ish Geber
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quote:

Think of them as colorful strands of femininity — vibrant glass or clay beads, gemstones, pieces of horn, shells and sometimes gold or silver fittings, strung together by hand and tailored to embrace a woman’s individual midsection.

Yet they’re more than just pretty baubles. The hues — and the reasons for wearing them — bear myriad meanings and a modicum of mystery and folklore. While the practice dates back centuries in various regions of Africa, even depicted in Egyptian hieroglyphics and taking on different interpretations in other cultures, it has become increasingly popular in the United States during the past couple of years. Now waist beads are often sold at house parties and bridal showers in the style of Tupperware and Mary Kay — a sign they’ve clearly taken on trend status in American culture.

[...]

Historians believe the African tradition of waist beads may have originated among the Yoruba tribes, now mainly in Nigeria. But the practice is also seen in West Africa, notably Ghana, where the beads signify wealth and aristocracy, as well as femininity. Waist beads are also found in other cultures, and while African and Islamic women typically keep them under wraps, some display the beads over their clothes or on bare midriffs, such as belly dancers in Eastern cultures.

[...]

What they mean

While the colors in African waist beads are open to interpretation, some traditions equate certain qualities to various hues:

Blue: knowledge, healing, peace, truth, harmony — a cooling color symbolizing faith, devotion, deep insight.
Green: prosperity, hope, harmony, healing and ripening, encouraging the wearer to love nature and be generous, humble and self-controlled.
Red: self-confidence, vitality, sexual energy, passion, courage.
Yellow: wisdom, knowledge, clarity, increasing awareness and calming nerves.

[...]



African waist beads: Age-old tradition makes modern-day statement

https://www.mercurynews.com/2012/07/31/african-waist-beads-age-old-tradition-makes-modern-day-statement/

Posts: 22235 | From: האם אינכם כילדי הכרית אלי בני ישראל | Registered: Nov 2010  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Ish Geber
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Part of a banquet scene from the tomb of Nebamun, Two young girls wearing a necklace, a wig and a scanty waistband dance to entertain the guests. Egypt. Ancient Egyptian. 18th dynasty c 1390 BC. Dra Abu el Naga, West Thebes.

Posts: 22235 | From: האם אינכם כילדי הכרית אלי בני ישראל | Registered: Nov 2010  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Ish Geber
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I doubt this is a necklace. It seems more of a western interpretation. To me it looks more like waist bead. And I am sure it would be too to many African people.

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"Pan Grave" Necklace, ca. 1630-1539 B.C.E. Ivory, Length: 17 11/16 in. (45 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Egypt Exploration Fund, 02.241. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.02.241_erg2.jpg)



"Pan Grave" Necklace
EGYPTIAN, CLASSICAL, ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN ART

Archaeologists working in Upper Egypt and Lower Nubia continue to discover shallow, round graves with concave bottoms. These so-called pan graves often contain simple jewelry such as the necklaces displayed here, non-Egyptian pottery, and large numbers of weapons. The people buried in "pan graves" were probably the Medjay, nomads from the eastern Nubian desert who served in the Egyptian army as scouts and light infantry during the wars of liberation against the Hyksos.

https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/3201
Posts: 22235 | From: האם אינכם כילדי הכרית אלי בני ישראל | Registered: Nov 2010  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
   

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