THE COLOURFUL SHANGA WORKS

 

A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as glass, plastic, or wood, and that is pierced for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under 1 millimetre (0.039 in) to over 1 centimetre (0.39 in) in diameter. A pair of beads made from Nassarius sea snail shells, approximately 100,000 years old, are thought to be the earliest known examples of jewellery. Beadwork is the art or craft of making things with beads. Beads can be woven together with specialized thread, strung onto thread or soft, flexible wire, or adhered to a surface (e.g. fabric, clay).

 

Many African peoples use beads as distinctive elements of personal clothing and adornment. This is especially true for some peoples of southern and eastern Africa, where artistic creativity is manifested in the numerous ways of beads are used for embellishment. Traditionally, many societies in eastern and southern Africa have been organized according to age grades. Each individual passes through clearly defined levels, such as childhood, adulthood, marriage, and old age. A transition from one level to the next is often accompanied by a change in clothing and adornment, which are often made from or decorated with beads. What persons wear may communicate to others their age, the identities of the groups to which they belong, and their status within their communities. Certain kinds of beaded clothing and adornment are worn only by men or by women.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maasai sandals beaded on leather material.

beadworking, done by women, has a long history among the Maasai, who articulate their identity and position in society through body ornaments and body painting. Before contact with Europeans beads were produced mostly from local raw materials. White beads were made from clay, shells, ivory, or bone. Black and blue beads were made from iron, charcoal, seeds, clay, or horn. Red beads came from seeds, woods, gourds, bone, ivory, copper, or brass. When late in the nineteenth century, great quantities of brightly colored European glass beads arrived in East Africa, beadworkers replaced the older beads with the new materials and began to use more elaborate color schemes. Currently, dense, opaque glass beads with no surface decoration and a naturally smooth finish are preferred.

 

The elaborate patterns Maasai women create with colored glass beads is exemplified by the necklace. It is composed of three parts. In each, the beads were strung on wires and coiled to form spiral patterns. The dominant color of the beads on the largest necklace is red. The artist created a unified display of vivid color by attaching smaller necklaces of various colored beads to the larger red necklace.

  

 

An multi talented international award winning singer Beyonce wearing traditional Maasai necklaces

(Photo Credit by Flaunt)

 The beads on the ear ornaments are attached to a hide backing. The combination of various colored beads on the top half of each earring and the blue beads on the bottom half creates balanced patterns of strong colors. These particular types of necklaces and ear ornaments were worn only by married women.

Tanzanian international model Miss Earth internation Miriam Odemba wearing colorful beaded headbands. (Photo Credit by Beautiful)

 

For example when you consider the jewelry worn by maasai women when they marry. Marriage in traditional Maasai communities is always an arranged affair, with parents choosing the most appropriate partner for their son or daughter. Once the match is decided, the mother of the bride will make two items. The first is a necklace of beaded strings that indicates the woman is engaged. Both men and women wear beaded-string necklaces as everyday decoration, but the engagement necklace is distinctive because the strings are intertwined. The plaiting represents the interconnection between husband and wife. The second item her mother will make is a wedding collar. This is a large, flat, leather circle about 12 inches across covered in brightly colored geometric shapes formed from beads. There is also a square section protruding from the front of the disk, with a number of long beaded strings hanging from it. The strings have cowry shells attached to the bottom. Every part of the collar represents some aspect of the bride’s community

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 On the left a  Maasai Bride in her wedding ceremony, on the right an internation renowned supermodel Naomi Campbell wearing traditional Maasai wedding beaded custome.

Today there are several bead works that are woven in shoes, belts, garments which also adds glamour and class to the material it has been sewn into. The trend has became so popular and loved by many and especially the young generation who feel that they have something original and it has its traditional heritage among Tanzanians.