The History of West African Jewelry
Traditional West African ornaments formed a visual language that spoke to the observer about status, beliefs, family, accomplishments and life experiences of the wearer. Each bead, knot, pendant or bracelet was formed with spiritual care, and the materials themselves each had special powers and their own stories. For example, at Ghanan weddings, a bride wore a belt of beads purchased by her husband, and continued to wear them each day to indicate her marital status. Coming-of-age ceremonies were an occasion for young women to dance in many strands of beads. Mothers of twins wore special amulets that celebrated the magical power of twins. Jewelry was a biography that could be read and a community standard that united villages and peoples.
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Copper Mines
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Copper ornaments have been worn in West Africa since at least 1300 B.C. as jingles, beads, pendants and bracelets. According to "Ancient African Metallurgy," 16th century, European-manufactured manillas (copper bracelets used in trade) were copies of local originals. Manilla bracelets, hammered from copper bars, were common by the 11th century and used as currency well into the 20th century, according to "Red Gold of Africa: Copper in Precolonial History and Culture." Copper was believed to have strong positive powers. Among the Senufo people of Mali and Ivory Coast, women wore copper chameleon-figured rings as protective pendants on necklaces, but when worn by a man on his finger, the same ring symbolized knowledge and sorcery. Each decorative design on the chameleon had an assigned spirit power. Among the Dogon farming communities of Mali, where rays of sun were thought to be rivers of copper, the dead were said to stop at a particular mountain for copper to drink on their journey to the afterlife. Dogon ornaments of copper or a copper-iron alloy had spiritual powers: Copper studs worn in the lower lip were bobbins in the thread of life. Copper rings adorning the right (only) ankle symbolized a "circular bone at the end of the tail of the spirit," according to "Red Gold of Africa: Copper in Precolonial History and Culture." The Dogon were also early stone bead carvers, including making elongated beads from granite.
Portuguese Trade
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In 1506, Portuguese navigator and explorer Duarte Pacheco wrote that Portuguese traders bartered European brass and copper items in exchange for palm oil, leopard skins and blue beads with red lines at a trading post at Rio Dos Forcados in Benin territory (present-day Nigeria). These beads, oil and skins were taken to Elmina, about 400 miles west, along the "gold coast" of Ghana, where they were traded for gold from local placer deposits. Duarte Pacheco said the locals, the Ashanti people, at Elmina were also eager to trade gold for pipes of coral to string as beads and for glass beads. According to "Africa and the Discovery of America," coral ornament was a treasure reserved for the wealthy to show rank, and that when a holder of non-hereditary office died, his coral ornaments were returned to the chief who had granted them. Ashanti gold from Ghana became a European commodity, but by the time the British sacked their capital at Kamasi in the 19th century, the Ashanti were master goldsmiths whose culture was founded on gold jewelry and golden art objects.
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Jewelry and Connections
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Traditional West African protective ornaments often represented real or symbolic connection to family or loved ones. Stylized figures on protective pendants were reminders of deceased ancestors and had protective or healing significance when given by a shaman during illness. According to "The Afterlife is Where We Come From: The Culture of Infancy in West Africa," the Beng people of Ivory Coast protected infants with gifts of many strands of beads from family and friends. The mother took care in the baby's bath to clean the beads and strings also. If a string frayed, then the mother cut the string, removed the beads, and immediately tied the string around the baby's neck, wrist or ankle. The beads were then returned to the giver, who restrung them for the baby.
Powdered Bead Production
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Since the 16th century, the colorfully patterned Krobo trade beads associated with west Africa were (and still are) made from powdered glass as a cottage industry in villages. Artisans pound recycled clear glass into a fine powder that can be mixed with color pigment and then kiln-fired in ceramic molds. The molds are solid clay patties about 10 inches in diameter and marked with indentations that determine the size of the bead. Colored glass is layered in the mold to create designs. The powdered glass technique is slightly different for beads made in Kiffa, Mauritania. There, the glass powder is rolled in gum arabic (in the past, saliva) to create a cohesive bead base. Pastes of colored glass powder are applied to the surface to create a design. The Kiffa bead is then mounted on a stick stuck into sand on the bottom of a shallow metal bowl before firing between two metal bowls in a charcoal kiln. Although powdered glass beads now enjoy significant international commerce, they originated in the costumes associated with celebrations and ritual. The Krobo technique is a small gesture toward mass production, but each Kiffa bead is individually made by hand.
Taureg Jewelry Going Global
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The Taureg people of Saharan West Africa design silver jewelry strongly influenced by their Islamic beliefs and nomadic past. A typical piece of ancient Taureg jewelry might be an intricately incised silver pendant identifying the group of the wearer. On her wedding day, a Taureg woman received ornaments made of geometric beads to identify her marital status. A typical modern piece produced in the same tradition might be a structurally bold geometric bracelet reminiscent of Moorish architecture. For the Taureg, silver jewelry pieces were cherished heirlooms and an everyday accessory to the flowing clothing of both men and women. Today, the Taureg jewelry of the past is featured in the collections of many museums and the Taureg jewelry of the present is featured in the collections of fashion designers.
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