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Messengers of Culture: The Glory of African Beadwork |
| Section: CULTURE / FOLK WISDOM |
| Author: Ettagale Blauer |
| Publication:
The World & I Online |
| Issue Date: 2/1/2000 |
| Size: 2,469 Words, 15,395 Characters |
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Wearing distinctive apparel and adornments conveys specific personal and social information. Indeed, the physical expression of a culture is made as evident through ornament and dress as it is through ritual and ceremony. The form of decorative objects depends, of course, on the materials at hand. Historically, these were either local products or things acquired in trade. So it is with the beadwork of Africa. Beaded jewelry is a rich tradition in African culture but one with fairly recent origins. Curiously, it is a tradition dependent on imported European beads, trinkets brought to Africa as objects of trade.
Beads have become powerful elements in African life. Their use offers insight into hundreds of cultures. The jewelry worn by East Africa's Masai and Samburu people incorporates specific and different patterns, forms, and shapes. But both use the same basic building blocks: tiny glass or porcelain beads. The Zulu, Ndebele, and Xhosa of South Africa also use these small beads to create culturally distinctive forms of jewelry. Ornament literally is used to delineate the unique identity of each culture, and most of the beadwork found in eastern and southern Africa is worn by all members of society. But in West Africa, in the Yoruba culture of Nigeria and Cameroon, beadwork is reserved for members of royalty.
On first encounter, outsiders might think that traditionally garbed people--such as the Masai, Samburu, and Ndebele--have dressed up for some special occasion. This is not the case. Although some jewelr...
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...) The work retained ingenuity and a sense of style, but the plastic was disconcerting. Significantly, plastic beads are unlikely to last as long as glass. Still, the women prefer the new beads, which are cheaper to buy and lighter and more comfortable to wear. The cultural connections grow thinner as the older generation fades away. Africa's glorious beadwork may have had its time in the sun.
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Publication Details
(The World & I Online) |
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The World & I Online is a
comprehensive academic resource that encompasses a broad range of
articles by scholars and experts in the areas of Global Studies,
Liberal Arts, Fine & Applied Arts, General Science, and Spanish.
Originally published monthly in print as The World & I, our site
includes the complete contents since 1986 and continues to publish
a new issue online each month. |
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