Category Archives: glass beads

Beads, and Their Role in the Benin Festival of Nigeria

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Western tribal fashion is a melting pot of style elements inspired by African tribes, however, it is the Fulani who appear to have more influence than most. From their huge brass hoop earrings to their layered beaded chokers, the Fulani are one of the most decorated of all African tribes, and competition is rife among women who want to look their best. But, there are reasons for this competitiveness.

The Benin Festival, commonly held at the end of the rainy season, is one of the most important dates in the Fulani calendar. Traditionally, it was a time for giving thanks to the deities for a bountiful harvest, however, it has also evolved to become an important occasion for the ritual acquaintance of young, eligible men and women. The Benin Festival is a matchmaking endeavor of sorts, however, only the wealthiest families are permitted to take part.

Preparation for the Benin Festival begins up to six months in advance. Due to the weight of the heavy bead and brass adornments customarily worn, young women must learn to adopt certain postures, and dance whilst wearing their full ceremonial regalia. Often, the jewelry is so heavy, that the women must hold their arms above their heads for the duration of the celebration to carry the weight. Their hair is expertly braided incorporating hundreds of coral beads into the style. To the Fula, the bigger the hairstyle and more beads used, the wealthier the family tends to be.

Lastly, the necklace adornments must be chosen. A Fulani women will typically wear multiple strands of heavy glass beads – including Mali Wedding Beads gifted to them by their mothers when they come of age. Strands of mock coral beads known as “Ateyun Beads” are also worn, usually by women whose families cannot afford the real thing. The size and weight of beads worn is perhaps the most telling indication of a family’s wealth and status. Those whom lavish their daughters with the most glass beads are generally considered to be higher up the social ladder.

Large Mali Wedding Beads

Large Mali Wedding Beads

Aggrey Beads, and the Deceptive Art of Bead Cooking in Ghana

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There are so many different types of Recycled Glass Beads produced in Ghana today. From the fancy hand-painted Powder Glass Beads made to look like old Venetian Millefioris, to annular wound beads, similar to those shipped over from Europe in the 16th Century, there’s very little you can’t find in the markets at Adomanya and Koforidua. But, while the Akan ethnic groups of Ghana are considered artisans in their own right, there are some who employ cunning techniques to transform the appearance of plain old beads into something considered far more valuable: Aggrey Beads.

The origins of Aggrey Beads are still widely disputed, in part because the term “aggrey” also means “coral” in many Akan dialects. Historians believe the blue wound glass beads were named after the blue coral found in the waters off the Gold Coast, however, tribes such as the Fanti and Asante refer to this as “koli”, rather than aggrey.  The term “koli” is also widely used to refer to beads which are light blue in color. The discovery of light blue dichroic beads by archaeologists in Cairo, Egypt, offers the most likely explanation for the origins of Aggrey Beads, and yields some clue as to why they’re so highly sought after.

Opaque Blue Recycled Glass Beads

Opaque Blue Recycled Glass Beads

Aggrey Beads produced in Ghana today look much like the worn dichroic beads of old –  largely due to the bead cooking technique employed by market dealers and resellers. Translucent wound or pressed beads are placed together in a metal pot filled with water and organic matter. The beads are then cooked for up to an hour over a charcoal fire to alter their molecular structures.  This causes bubbles to rise to  the surface, and the outer skin of the bead becomes darker and more opaque. Imitation Aggrey Beads can be found in a wide spectrum of colors, and may also be called “koli” or “cori” beads by natives.

Introducing Cedi’s – One of Ghana’s Oldest Recycled Glass Bead Factories

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Bead kiln. BCWorks/ Flickr

Bead kiln. BCWorks/ Flickr

Have you ever wondered where your African Recycled Glass Beads come from? I get so many emails asking where Recycled Glass Beads originate, that I thought it was high time we dedicated a blog post to the subject. Well, more specifically, the tiny factory in Ghana, now supplying some of the biggest online retailers around the globe!

Located off a dirt track on the Sombaya Road, just two hours from Africa, Cedi’s isn’t exactly a well known landmark for tourists. A collective of small, quaint clay buildings with thatched roofs and billowing chimneys, the Cedi plant employs just twelve people across the three acre site. This tiny production plant was the brainchild of Nomoda Ebenizer Djaba, (known locally as Cedi) a bead-maker who learnt his craft from his grandfather in Odumase, Krobo. Keen to expand the family business, he developed the workshop almost a decade ago, and now supplies some of the leading online bead retailers in the US.

Workers at the site each have very specific roles. There are those who are charged with the tasking of grinding down recycled glass into a powder; others who prepare the elaborate clay molds, and bead-smiths, who are responsible for preparing and firing the beads in the termite kiln.

Despite its years in operation, bead production at the factory remains a largely manual process. The glass is crushed down in vast metal buckets with a heavy pole, and the kilns used for firing built by hand from termite clay. Sand-cast beads are washed in a mixture of water and sand to give them that beautiful eroded finish, and even the Fancy Powderglass Beads are painted by hand!