history of stones, cntd.

Bead adornment in Africa serves many roles. One such function refers to religious influences. Beads are not only used for the creation of jewelry, but to create a not so random assortment of objects that are representative of religious values adopted by a community. Much like African dance and other creative forms, beads and bead making are inherent to almost all major rituals that occur within an African community, including but not limited to: Weddings, Births, Deaths, Rites of passage, etc. Beads can also be demonstrative of tribal allegiance.

Another use of beads within each culture would be to demonstrate social standing and/or economic rank within the community or tribe. For example, in a previous paragraph, I touched upon some of the natural minerals that were intrinsic to African soil, mentioning organics as well as gold. Gold, beginning in the 1600’s, was and still is considered a valuable commodity in many parts of the world. Much of the world desired to obtain gold and was willing to trade some of their naturally occurring, yet valuable, resources with the African people. The importing of a measureless selection of glass beads from European countries and a large variety of stone beads from Indian countries is how Africa acquired such a varied and diverse amount of beads.

In Africa, imported beads were considered highly valuable because importing and exporting, prior to the 1800’s, was so obviously grueling. Moreover, things that did not occur naturally on one’s own soil were of highly desired. So, while the organic beads and gold as well as other forms of metal are worn by everyone in Africa, stones and glass beads then to be worn partly as a way of demonstrating wealth and good social standing. This understandable pattern of distribution of goods according to availability and ranking, etc, can be demonstrated in the fact that even today, in the United States, African trade beads are purchased for strands costing $100.00 and up. Yet, in Africa strands are purchased for no more than $30.00 US. Unfortunately, money is often diverted to the middle-men instead of the mark-up actually going to the bead makers themselves

India, as mentioned earlier, is home to an abundance of high-quality raw materials as well as a wide array of semi-precious stones. Actually, some of the most valuable as well as oldest beads known to mankind were discovered and utilized in India long ago.

Similar to African bead traditions, beads are very much tied to religious ceremonies within communities in India. A close study of Hinduism would not only teach that beads are used as indicators that a man or woman has reached a certain stage of life, but they are also used as a way of differentiating amongst more subtle religious preferences within the culture. Metals and gemstones, which are abundant in India, were considered holy. Even today they are often used as religious offerings.

There are wonderful books on gemstones, from their history to their lore. If interested, please email us for a syllabus.

by Krista Claudene