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Status, Rituals & Adornment: The Many Uses of Beads |
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Written by Dara Spiotto
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Tuesday, 22 April 2008 |
 The Many Uses of Beads
They’re not just for dangling off your ear lobes. Beads have held more jobs than you can imagine since they were first created way back in the day. And even though they may be centuries old, some of these practices continue around the world now. Let’s look at some fascinating uses for beads over the centuries…
Status Symbols and Wealth
Kings and queens of both tribes and parliament have worn beads and jewelry from the beginning of time. The more primitive of these peoples wore their wealth every day, since it established a higher social position among their people. They packed on the beads, amulets and beaded clothing and wore it constantly, even sleeping with it on. The more you have, the more prestigious you are. In Africa today, although not worn around the clock, beads still speak of the wearers current standing, such as whether they’re married, single, engaged, available, have unmarried sisters, have children, and more.
 On the parliament side of the world, King Henry VIII himself wore a 98 oz. gold chain that had removable links, each one worth one monetary unit. It could be sold off in times of trouble piece by piece. It represented his regal power and he rarely took it off. Noblemen of all ages have exquisite adornment made from the finest metals and embedded with the worlds most precious stones. Queen Elizabeth, the current queen of England still wears her finery at appropriate events. And we’ll never forget Queen Elizabeth I who was one of the first to encourage women to wear jewelry to enhance their beauty.
Currency
For centuries, beads have been employed as currency in exchange for precious commodities such as ivory, gold and even slaves. It's easy to see why beads would be used, being highly dependable since they don’t decay, are small and portable, have multiple uses and mass appeal.
It was easy for European settlers to bring beads to exchange for necessary items as well as luxuries, since beads had been used as currency in Africa and other countries bordering the Indian ocean for centuries. In America, native people were using wampum in  this way already, so the appeal of European beads was strong. Even in areas where trade had not occurred, new settlers were able to pursue natives to begin trading with beads as legal tender.
In today’s world, cowrie shells are still official currency for bride price among the peoples of north-east Côte d'Ivoire, southern Burkina Faso and north-western Ghana. The Hindu’s believe that wearing the Rudraksha bead will bestow wealth to them. Native American’s first used wampum beads as their currency. Many of the beaders in my life have often said they would happily work for beads today. Now that I think of it, I’ve done favors and errands for friends and have been paid in beads many times!
Communication
One example of how beads help us to communicate is the African Zulu love letter. It's made up of a series of colors, shapes and patterns, each with meaning, and as a whole will lend a message to the  receiver from love and commitment to crushes. It enables the giver to not have to voice out loud her sentiments of the heart. And it serves as a reminder to the receiver each time he looks at it.
Another example is the Huichol tribes from the Sierra Madre mountains of Mexico. They use tiny opaque seed beads to cover wooden carvings and bowls, incorporating symbols, colors and forms of their everyday life that have meaning and significance in their world. The Huichol until recently had no written language. These symbols are a means to communicate their history and myths to future generations.
Amulets
Ever wear the evil eye? In Turkey today, these eyes will be staring at you from every direction. The evil eye, or Nazar Boncugu, has been worn in every culture or religion all over the world since the earliest days of adornment. People believe it staves off evil in many forms. In other cultures, fertility symbols have been worn, like the Venus of Willendorf or Kokopelli, to make them more fertile for childbearing, or to harvest large crops.
Rituals
The voodoo priesthoods of Benin, Togo and Ghana use beads in rituals, and they are often left at shrines as offerings to their gods. In Native American myths, beads were thrown into soil as an offering so crops would be plentiful.
Adornment
Imagine the most primitive of man, out wandering in his native land, noticing a stone, twig or shell that has an existing hole. Now imagine how that tiny item could so inspire him with its beauty, shape and color that he wants to possess it, and he decided to use a piece of grass or vine to weave it to his neck or arm or leg, to take it with him. Now imagine going home to others in his tribe or family. Another person is going to take one look at it, and this is what their first thought is: I want one of those.
It's built in us from the very beginning. We have a desire to adorn ourselves according to our beliefs and preferences, and strive to communicate a representation of who we are through these objects. And not just jewelry, either. We use clothing, shoes, hair style, tattoos, make up, hair removal, posture, body language and more to convey our thoughts, feelings and attitude. Take a look at what you’re wearing right now, and think of what it says about you.
“Part of what I like about working with beads is that they’re practically immortal— heirlooms of the human race. They’re with us for a while, and then move on to others.” John Kuenneth
Resources:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0438/is_2_38/ai_n15753083/pg_6
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0094-0496(199602)23%3A1%3C4%3ABAMNTA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-1
http://www.travelafricamag.com/content/view/382/56/
Book! The Book of Beads by Janet Coles and Robert Budwig |
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