Waist Bead History

 

Waist beads have been evidence of the African culture since the 15th century. According to history and many statistics I came across, beads were first made in Nigeria by the Yoruba tribe and the Maasai tribe in Kenya. They were made from natural materials like bone, teeth, ivory, seeds, wood, stone, and resins from several insects and plants. That was since thousands of years ago! However, the history goes way back to ancient Egyptian times when they were known as girdles. Look closely, and you can see waist beads in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs dancers from the Tomb of Nebamun. 

 

Ancient Egyptian Art. Credit: British Museum

 

During an excavation of a New York City burial ground in 1991 (2 blocks from the City Hall), 560 African body remains were obtained. Bead researchers found beads associated with 7 of those body remains. A few of them wore beads around the waist. Among them was a child. That was a portion of the remains. Some burials were covered by loft buildings, while other African ancestors were later protected. 

The beads found were a total of 145 beads of 14 different varieties. The beads were all made of glass except two. One of them was red amber. They were of different shapes, sizes, and colors like blue, green, blue-gold, white, black, yellow, corroded light gold glass, light gray, and metal-colored. Since then, other burial sites around America and the Caribbean have found remains associated with beads. These beads have been compared to those from the cemetery in New York and were similar. They also found a large carnelian stone in the mix. It was the first recorded instance of waist beads used by African descendants in North America.

 

 

As we have adopted the tradition, African women have worn these beads to show womanhood, attraction, and sensuality. They also wore them to help with fertility, healing, spirituality, body shaping, protection, and also to bring wealth. People started using beads as there was a strong need for currency. They used these beads as a currency to measure wealth.

Waist beads are perfect for healing and spiritual journey as they encourage self-love, confidence, and beauty within a woman. The beads are part of the lasting legacy of our important population. We must carry it on fashionably. They can be valued heirlooms that we can pass on from generation to generation.