Beads of life: Eastern and Southern African adornments.

The exhibition "Beads of Life: Eastern and Southern African Adornments" presents 185 artefacts drawn from Canadian collections. This may be the first time that beadwork from eastern and southern Africa has been brought together in a single exhibition. It is also the first major exhibition on African art to be presented by a Canadian museum since 1994, when the Glenbow Museum in Calgary presented "Where Symbols Meet."

Over the last two decades, African beadwork has become more visible in magazines, fashion shows, Internet sites, and souvenir shops in Africa and around the world. It has also recently begun to appear in African art exhibitions in Africa, North America, and Europe. (1) This interest may be due to the renaissance of traditional costume in post-apartheid South Africa, as well as to an attraction from Westerners for African contemporary modes of artistic expression that contrast with so-called "classical" African art, represented largely by sculpture.

Despite these factors, exhibitions and studies devoted exclusively to the beadwork of southern and especially eastern Africa remain rare. This may be in part due to the Western perception of "beadwork" as a decorative craft rather than a fine art. For many centuries, beadwork in the West was an activity with an ornamental purpose, practiced by young women in polite society to decorate clothing and personal objects.

In addition, the fact that the glass beads used in contemporary African beadwork are not an indigenous material further damaged its reputation, casting doubt on the craft's "authenticity." Since the beginning of colonization, women in eastern and southern Africa have used European glass beads to decorate and make ornaments and garments worn daily and ceremonially by all members of a society to show their status and identity. However, these traditional ornaments and garments, as well as the principal beading techniques used in their decoration, were constructed with locally available materials long before the widespread adoption of European glass beads.

The beadwork produced today in eastern and southern Africa is thus, in many ways, a continuation or "transformation" of a well-established tradition. Imported glass beads--despite having radically transformed the "look" of traditional dress in eastern and southern Africa during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries--are only one material among many others, and women have in many instances used them only temporarily. In general, glass beadwork has carried most of the functions and meanings of earlier materials, even if, in some cases, it has been for a limited amount of time.

In keeping with this idea, "Beads of Life" opens with an exploration of materials--including plant fibers, animal hides, shells, and metals--that were used before the widespread adoption of glass beads in the making of ornaments and garments. It shows that many of these earlier materials often were chosen for their perceived ability to protect people and to indicate their status. When glass beads became available in large volume, women seem to have chosen the beads' colors for their similarities to the colors of earlier materials. Almost all people practicing beadwork in eastern and southern Africa favored three colors in particular: red, black, and white. These colors always had an important religious role and were also widely used as body paints. In contrasting two or three of these colors (blue often replacing black) when combining glass beads, it seems likely that women sought to enhance the protective power of beaded clothing and ornaments.

Little by little, these contrasts were enriched with additional colors, and new patterns developed. Geometrical designs be came elaborate, sometimes reflecting patterns used in basketry. Figurative motifs also appeared, evoking familiar forms from the environment or even human figures. In many cases, the flat surfaces of beadwork provided beadworkers with an opportunity to play with patterns and colors in order to recreate spaces in which harmony and ideal order reigned, often reflecting important social values. The exhibition showcases these trends, featuring many outstanding examples of the primary styles of beadwork that developed in eastern and southern Africa from the late nineteenth century to the present day.

Given the role of beadwork in perpetuating the function of traditional dress to identify its wearer, the exhibition also features several examples of beaded pieces that, from the late nineteenth century up to the present, have served to show status and identity in eastern and southern Africa. Beaded ornaments, aprons, skirts, capes, and headdresses, as well as milk containers, fertility dolls, and personal objects such as tobacco boxes and headrests are organized in separate sections, each related to a different social group: youth, married women, mothers, respected elders, and diviners. A rich selection of photographs demonstrate to the visitor that, although the wearing of traditional costume in eastern and southern Africa has been relegated to the past, certain aspects of traditional costume are still in use today, in a radically different context and for different purposes.

In order to explain the circumstances under which traditional ornaments were abandoned in eastern and southern Africa, the exhibition concludes with a historical contextualization of beadwork. It starts by looking at notable instances in which peoples who lost their ancestral lands and traditional way of life due to colonization, modern development, conflicts, or natural disasters have reinforced their identity by wearing their traditional costume and have found a way to survive by wearing and selling beadwork. The commercial aspect of beadwork--with its implications of fighting poverty, bringing revenues to local women through selling their works to tourists, and above all its role in the fight against AIDS in South Africa and elsewhere--is explored in this section. Recent beadwork pieces are displayed here as well, enhanced by photographs depicting the contemporary uses of eastern and southern African beadwork in both Africa and the West.

The objects presented in the exhibition come from Canadian collections, including museums, universities, and a few private collections. The Redpath Museum at McGill University, the Vancouver Museum, the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, the Provincial Museum of Alberta, the Glenbow Museum, the Royal Ontario Museum, (3) and the Canadian Museum of Civilization are the primary museums involved in the project. One of the side benefits of this exhibition was the opportunity it afforded to make a complete inventory and catalogue of the approximately 7,000 objects of eastern and southern African origin currently in Canadian museum and university collections. The ornaments, clothing, personal objects, and utensils selected for "Beads of Life" cover more than a century of Canadian collecting in eastern and southern Africa. The oldest pieces date from the end of the nineteenth century; the most recent were commissioned for the exhibition in the summer of 2004. Many of these magnificent pieces have never before been shown to the public. These collections have much to say about a century of relations between Canada and Africa. Several collectors stand out due to their roles in Canadian history or in scientific research, but taken together, the collectors comprise a cross-section of Canadian society.

Consultations undertaken in 2003 and 2004 with Canadians from eastern and southern Africa have helped to place some of these objects within their proper historical context. The range of reactions that we received, however, revealed the gap which sometimes exists between these museums' collections and contemporary African realities. (4) For some individuals, the objects brought back vivid memories of traditions they had either witnessed or in which they had taken part. Many people also brought along with them personal objects, garments, and ornaments that still played an important role in their daily lives in Canada and which helped them to maintain a link with their ancestors. Much valuable information was collected during the numerous interviews conducted at the Canadian Museum of Civilization for the exhibition. Some of this information has been used in the exhibition itself: either in the labels or, more often, in quotations which appear on the walls. With these testimonies, in which the community reacts to the collections and the traditions these collections evoke, the exhibition comes full circle, demonstrating that the enduring traditions of beadwork in eastern and southern Africa remain as vital and as important today as they have been since time immemorial.

notes

[This article was accepted for publication in January 2005.]

(1.) Particularly in South Africa during the 1990s. See among others, "Ten Years of Collecting (1979-1989)" (Johannesburg: University of the Witwatersrand Art Galleries, 1989), "Art and Ambiguity: Perspectives on the Brenthurst Collection of Southern African Art" (Johannesburg, Johannesburg Art Gallery, 1992); "Convention, Context, Change" (University of the Witwatersrand Art Galleries, 1992); "Ezakwantu: Beadwork from the Eastern Cape" (Cape Town, South African National Gallery, 1993); "Zuhi Treasures of Kings & Commoners: A Celebration of the Material Culture of the Zulu People" (Durban, KwaZulu Cultural Museum and the Local History Museums, 1996), etc. And more recently in Europe: "Ubuntu: Arts et Cultures d'Afrique du Sud" (Paris, Musee national des Arts d'Afrique et d'Oceanie, 2002), which had a South African beadwork section.

(2.) Unfortunately, only a few objects could be borrowed from the Royal Ontario Museum, as the ROM will open its own African gallery in early 2006.

(3.) One individual expressed typical "mixed feelings," asking, "How do I relate to this now? Is it me, is it not me?" Martha Kuwee Kumsa, research assistant/consultant for "Beads of Life", Oromo culture, interviewed on April 25, 2003 at the Canadian Museum of Civilization.

(4.) Information provided by Martha Kuwee Kumsa.

(5.) This analysis is based on several samples of these skirts.

(6.) Information confirmed by Bibiana Nalwiindi Seaborn, research assistant/consultant for the "Beads of Life" exhibition, Tonga culture, interviewed on October 24, 2003, at the Canadian Museum of Civilization.

(7.) Ntwane initiates wore plaited grass around their neck, torso, and waist.

References cited

Hobley, C. W. 1910. Ethnology of A-Kamba and Other East African Tribes. London: Frank Cass.

Kassam, Aneesa. 1988. "Traditional Ornament: Some General Observations." Kenya Past and Present 20:11-16.

Stevenson, Michael, and Michael Graham-Stewart. 2000. South East African Beadwork, 1850-1910: From Adornment to Artifact to Art. Vlaeberg: Fernwood Press.

Swantz, Marja-Liisa. 1970. "The Organic Colour Scheme." In Ritual and Symbol in Transitional Zaramo Society, with Special Reference to Women. Gleernp: Studia Missionalia Upsaliensia.

Thornton, Robert J. 1980. Space, Time and Culture among the Iraqw of Tanzania. New York: Academic Press.

Van der Jagt, Krijn. 1989. Symbolic Structures in Turkana Religion. Assen/Maastrict, Netherlands: Van Gurcum.

1. Necklace Arsi Oromo, Ethiopia Second half of the 20th century Glass beads, plastic buttons, animal hide, metal, cowries, plant fiber 41cm x 32cm (16" x 125/8") Courtesy of the Anthropology Department, Universite de Montreal--61.257

Arsi Orome beadwork often plays on strong contrasts of red and white or blue and white. Oromo people used glass beads sparingly, as they adopted cotton garments very ear y and preferred metal, amber, and cowries to make their ornaments, the function of which was to show status. Red, white, and dark blue glass beads could evoke the three vital liquids of blood, milk, and water. Dark blue or black also refer to the Oromo god Waaqa, who sends rain (see Kassam 1988). Recently, Oromo people developed a new interpretation, linked to their history, for these three colors, which also appear on their flag: white represents the past, symbolized by bones or ashes; red is the present, the blood circulating through the body; and black is the future and the unknown. (2)

2. Rahat (skirt) Nubian, Sudan Early 20th century Animal hide, plant fiber, glass beads, cowries, shells 49.8cm x 63.3cm (19 5/8" x 25") Courtesy of the Redpath Museum, Montreal--0543.01

The rahat is one the oldest types of fiber or leather skirt in northeastern Africa. Its use ceased during the course of the twentieth century. It was compulsory for a Nubian girl to wear a rahat until her wedding day, after which she wore garments appropriate to a married woman. Some versions bear no decoration other than a few cowrie shells and/or Venetian glass beads, while others, entirely made of a netting of headwork, seem to have been made exclusively for sale. This particular piece is decorated with shells and glass beads and shows signs of wear.

3. Malual (male corset) Dinka, Sudan Second half of the 20th century Glass beads, cowries, plant fiber, cloth, iron 90.6cm x 46.5cm (35 1/2" x 18") CMC-2002.20.2-a/b

4. Alual (woman's vest) Dinka, Sudan Second half of the 20th century Glass beads, cowries, plant fiber, iron, cloth, animal hide 62.5cm x 37.5cm (24 1/2" x 15") CMC-2002.20.1

The Dinka beaded vest and corset shown in "Beads of Life" were collected in the southern Sudan during the mid-1990s. Ornaments of this type first came to the attention of the general public with Angela Fisher's Africa Adorned (1984), which instantly transformed the Dinka people into an exotic attraction at the very time when the Dinka were suffering from the war in the southern Sudan. Although worn only by the Dinka Bor, they have since acquired emblematic status among some Dinka war refugees, who make woollen versions of the corset and occasionally wear these for dances.

These ornaments probably appeared during the second half of the twentieth century as glass beads became available in greater quantities in the southern Sudan. They are apparently "extensions" of formerly existing belts for men and necklaces for women. The male corset is easily recognized by its "horn" (tung), flinging itself toward the sky at the back of the body. Cowrie shells (gak) are sewn at the front and back of the female vest, probably to protect the wearer and ensure her fertility. Both corset and vest come in different colors, each linked to a particular age group. A man in his early twenties would have worn the corset, and a married woman in her late twenties the vest.

5. Akodat or esiya (apron) Turkana, Kenya Second half of the 20th century Animal hide, glass beads, plant fiber 55.3cm x 30.3cm (21 3/4" x 12") Courtesy of the Textile Museum of Canada, Toronto-T87.0341

This married woman's apron, probably dating from the 1980s, played an important part in many events of Turkana life. When a bride arrived at her future husband's village, she was required to remove all of her existing clothes. New clothes, made of animal skins from her husband's or in-laws' herds, were then offered to her, but could be worn only following a series of rituals. These garments had thus a profound symbolic value, particularly as a blessing for future motherhood.

Heavily smeared with red ochre, the akodat or esiya apron was decorated with red, black (or dark blue), and white beads. Following the birth of the first child, it was replaced with a smaller and more severe version, the adwel, decorated with metal beads indicating the woman's husband's generation and smeared with charcoal. If either apron got wet, the owner had to undergo a purification ritual. In certain instances, an old adwel was used to wrap the placenta during birth rituals. At a married woman's death, her husband temporarily wore her adwel as part of the funeral rites.

6. Ngakoromwa ngibolio (necklace) Turkana, Kenya Second half of the 20th century Glass beads, animal hide, plant fiber 20.3cm x 28.6cm (8" x 11 1/4") Courtesy of the Textile Museum of Canada, Toronto--T94.2188a

The main function of the adornments of many unmarried Turkana girls was to show their readiness for marriage. One of the most striking of these is certainly the ngakoromwa ngibolio, which can be translated as "the beads with patterns." Ngibolio (sg. eboli) describes all beaded patterns that are sewn on a "hard skin" (i.e., cowhide), mostly circles and arches. The patterns on this particular necklace were made to appear at the back of the wearer's neck.

Color combinations in Turkana ornaments might reflect the contrasted structure of their society, as well as some essential religious values. For the Turkana, the beneficent god Akuj is white and luminous, whereas the bad spirit called Ekipe is black or red (Van der Jagt 1989). The repeated contrasts of two or three of these colors in Turkana beadwork might evoke these opposing principles. Beadwork styles have evolved considerably since this object was made, with the addition of new colors such as green, orange, and yellow.

7. Abuo (skirt) Turkana, Kenya Second half of the 20th century Animal hide, glass beads, iron, plant fiber 128cm x 104cm (50 3/8" x 41") Courtesy of the Glenbow Museum, Calgary--FF 123

Every married Turkana woman wore the abuo skirt, made of the skins of goats from her husband's or in-laws' herds. The thick lower sections of the skirt, made of skin taken from the legs of the ox sacrificed on her wedding day, added weight to the skirt and contributed to the rattling noise it made when the wearer walked. The six beaded circles, or ngibolio, are in the favorite contrasting colors of the Turkana and could reflect essential social and religious values (see caption to Fig. 6). In recent decades, Turkana women have progressively ceased to wear their traditional skin clothing, primarily because of recurrent droughts and famine in the region. This in turn has triggered the disappearance of a system of symbols that once enabled immediate identification of a woman's status.

[FIGURE 6 OMITTED]

8. Mporro (necklace) Samburu, Kenya Second half of the 20th century Cloth, palm fiber, red ochre, iron, glass beads 27.4cm x 22cm (10 3/4" x 8 11/16") CMC 2003.197.1

The mporro, also worn by the Rendille and El Mole women of northern Kenya, was a compulsory ornament for married women. Its exact origin is unknown. Women used to collect palm fronds from the Iparuai tree near rivers to make the necklace itself, then decorated it with Venetian beads (mporroi) passed down from their mothers. They smeared the necklace with sheep fat and red ochre and offered it to their daughters to wear on their wedding day and beyond. During the twentieth century, Samburu women started to adopt beaded necklaces, among them the flat necklaces of the Maasai, and gradually stopped making the mporro. It is still occasionally worn during certain ceremonies.

9. Doll Turkana or Samburu, Kenya Second half of the 20th century Wood, glass beads, animal hide, iron, plant fiber, plastic button, red ochre 43cm x 8.2cm x 6cm (17" x 3 3/4" x 2 3/8") Private collection

Only a Samburu woman or a woman very familiar with Samburu culture could have made this doll, the technique of which is very similar to Turkana dolls: Not only it is wearing a detailed replica of the costume of a married Samburu woman--leather skirt, beaded cape, traditional necklaces, and earrings--but the bead colors, types, and combinations are faithful to Samburu aesthetics. Originally used by girls as fertility dolls, Turkana dolls have been made for sale to tourists over the past few decades. They are sculpted from wood, smeared with ochre and fat, and carefully dressed as mature, married women. Although Samburu people are not known to sculpt wooden dolls, they occasionally make dolls from clay.

10. Enkimeita (belt) Maasai, Kenya Second half of the 20th century Animal hide, glass beads, metal, plastic buttons 79cm x 12.5cm (31" x 5") Private collection

Maasai beadwork colors evolved consideraly over the course of the twentieth century. The first colors to be used were pink, dark blue, black, white, and red. Three colors have a ritual importance among the Maasai, as well as among many other peoples of eastern Africa: white, red, and dark blue (or black). Red has always been associated with youth; red ochre mixed with fat was used as body paint on brides, initiated young men, and participants in ceremonies. Livestock blood was shared by participants during important ceremonies and is considered a source of life and energy. White is a color with protective qualities. It is smeared around the eyes of people enduring trials of a moral or physical nature, as well as by diviners. Finally, dark blue or black (both colors have the same name in Maasai) is the color associated with seniority and also God. Dark blue beads of a special kind were used on necklaces worn for prayer by elders.

These colors, in particular black and red, also refer to certain Maasai social principles, such as the existence of a Red and a Black God, and of the two main clan divisions, the Red Ox and the Black Cow. It is possible that the combination of colors which is found on nearly all Maasai beadwork and has become their signature--green/red-white-blue/orange--is an evolution of the basic triad of red-white-blue, in which green takes the place of blue, and orange of red. On this belt of a moran (initiated young man), the beadworker, probably the young man's mother, has masterfully played with the color combinations to create a beautiful design. The two pointed triangles are a common feature of Maasai beadwork. The whole pattern is made to appear at the back of the body.

11. Imankeek (necklaces) Maasai, Kenya Second half of the 20th century Glass beads, animal hide, iron, plastic 35.8cm (14") overall circumference CMC 1974-105-004

Glass beads on Maasai necklaces are strung onto thin commercial wire. The rows are linked with recycled plastic spacers, which were once made of cowhide. The way Maasai women describe this work is the "coiling" of colors, which refers to the former coiling of iron wire directly around the neck of the wearer by a blacksmith. Each necklace has a distinct name, according to its specific pattern or color. Moreover, all necklaces are worn in a precise order, according to their size, color, and patterns. Smeared with a mixture of sheep fat and red ochre, they are worn for singing and dancing by young girls and young married women, whose rhythmic movements make them flap up and down.

12. Olokesana (skirt) Maasai, Kenya Second half of the 20th century Goat skin, glass beads, buttons, ochre, plant fiber 130cm x 97cm (51" x 38") Courtesy of the University of Alberta Art and Artifact Collection Museums and Collections Services, Edmonton--983.57.1.16

This woman's skirt, made from a sheepskin or goatskin from her husband's herd, was part of the required dress for married women. Until very recently, women wore the olekesana during important ceremonies, where it sometimes served as an active element in certain protective rituals. In most cases, the beaded patterns of these skirts consist of vertical or broken lines arranged in parallel rows. Each of these lines is created in keeping with the code of the "classic" Maasai color scheme of green/red-white-blue/orange. The decorations also follow the sides and lower border of the skirt--especially the cutouts indicating the status of married woman. Maasai women, when describing the aesthetics of their beadwork, mention "divisions," "borders," "broken lines"--thus, lines in general--and not closed forms such as triangles and circles. These designs are very similar to the traditional branding marks made on livestock to distinguish their owner's clan. The entire costume of the Maasai--and that of the Nilotic peoples in general--reflect an aerial character that may recall the origins claimed by these peoples: the sky, and God who lives there.

13. Apron Kamba, Kenya Second half of the 20th century Glass beads, plant fiber, metal coins 36cm x 31cm (14" x 12 3/16") Courtesy of the Textile Museum of Canada, Toronto-T94.2181

The Kamba are agriculturalists who maintained close contacts in the past with Arab merchants from the coast. Kamba beadwork displays motifs such as arrowheads, rectangles, diamonds, and crosses, made to stand out out against a white background. These motifs are also found on the beadwork of peoples living closer to the shores of the Indian Ocean, such as the Giriama. These designs are not new for the Kamba, given that the ceremonial wooden staff once used in boys' initiation rites was engraved by the elders with designs and signs that the boys and girls had to decipher in a game similar to charades. Circles represented suns; spots, the stars; and there were also moons, arrows, and animals such as the snake, the lizard, and the tortoise (Hobley 1910). Indeed, many pieces of Kamba beadwork, with their perfect alignment of figures, look like puzzles waiting to be deciphered. Unfortunately, since no fieldwork appears to have been done among the Kamba, only Kamba beadworkers could provide the answers today. Since Kamba people have ceased to wear beadwork on a daily basis since the early twentieth century, now wearing it only for ceremonies and dances, this information is in danger of being lost.

14. Skirt Iraqw, Tanzania First half of the 20th century Skin, glass beads, metal 88.9cm x 171cm (35" x 67 5/16") Courtesy of the Indianapolis Museum of Art--1998.77 Textile Arts Fund, Mr. and Mrs. Theodore P. Van Vorhees Art Fund, the Richard C. Vonnegut Endowment Fund in memory of Louise A. Vonnegut Peirce and Gift of Mrs. Berniece Fee Mozingo, Helen W. Russel, Mrs. Louise Burckhardt, Mrs. Sylvia Orell in memory of Colonel and Mrs. F.J. Keelty and Ruth Grummon by exchange.

The Indianapolis Museum of Art's skirt replaces the Royal Ontario Museum's skirt, which was not available for the "Beads of Life" exhibition.

Iraqw girls decorated a leather skirt with glass beads during their seclusion period (marmo) to wear at their coming-out ceremony and then, later, once married. Some elements of the social organization of the Iraqw--in particular, the "ritualization of space" which has been outlined in Robert Thorton's work (1980)--suggest that the specific topography of Iraqw skirts, (5) their patterns and their colors, could refer to their immediate environment, either spiritual, social, or physical. All of these skirts are divided vertically as well as horizontally into three sections (for a total of nine sections), each of which perhaps corresponds to a specific area of Iraqw life. These divisions could also evoke the Iraqw landscape.

The patterns on these skirts are of two types: circles and lines. The circles, with rays or else divided in three or six sections, could evoke either suns--one of the representations of the spirit Lo'a--or the Iraqw's traditional round houses. Wavy lines could represent either real rivers or the subterranean Netlaang spirits, which are depicted by streams. Lines are often crenellated, as on this particular skirt, and define open and closed spaces which would represent communal spaces, such as the courtyards surrounding their houses, or other nearby spaces, such as fields.

Finally, the use of the three colors, white, red, and blue, could be related to Iraqw cosmology, in which there are two opposing spirits associated with colors: the benevolent Lo'a, associated with the sky and the sun, responsible for producing rain as well as heat, who is brilliant, therefore white; and Netlaang, harmful "spirits of below," associated with the earth (red) and with stream beds, springs and dampness, dark, and cold (thus black or dark blue). Among the Iraqw, white also plays an important role in certain purification or healing rituals. The contrasts of white/red and white/dark blue are thus perhaps references to Iraqw cosmology.

This skirt could represent the living space of the future married woman--her house, her neighborhood, and her fields--while also evoking the opposing spirits Lo'a and Netlaang. It can be read like a map: an aerial view of the physical and spiritual space of the Iraqw. Today, Iraqw women make simplified versions of these skirts to sell to tourists.

15. Necklace Zaramo?, Tanzania First half of the 20th century Glass beads, plant fiber 50cm x 7.5cm (19 11/16" x 3") Courtesy of the Redpath Museum, Montreal--03861

In the past, many Tanzanian girls had to undergo a period of seclusion which varied in length, During their seclusion, the girls underwent a series of rituals aimed at transforming them into women ready for marriage and procreation. Ceremonies were particularly spectacular at the coming-out celebrations, during which various elements played a role in ensuring a prosperous and productive future for the girl while protecting her against evil influences. The three colors, red, white and black (or blue), in the form of natural elements, played a part in this process. M. L. Swantz (1980) has discussed the meanings of these three colors in the context of the Zaramo coming-out ceremony. White represented semen; red, blood; and black (or dark blue), hair. Sometimes, during the course of the ceremony, a girl had to place three beads of each color in her mouth. Initiated Zaramo girls wore this necklace bearing the three ritual colors at their initiation (mwali) coming-out ceremony, probably for protective purposes.

16. Belt Yao? Malawi? Tanzania? First half of the 20th century Glass beads, plant fiber 83cm x 10.3cm (32 11/16" x 4") Courtesy of the Vancouver Museum--FF31 (F603)

17. Apron Ndau or Shangaan, Zimbabwe or South Africa First half of the 20th century Glass beads, plant fiber 23.8cm x 17.7cm (9 3/8" x 7") Courtesy of the Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton--H96.55.37

Many old pieces of beadwork pose a problem of attribution, since they have not been made for nearly a century and thus there are no contemporary versions for comparison. This is the case for a series of pieces that were made, probably using a loom, in the late nineteenth/early twentieth centuries by skilled beadworkers in a region described as being east of the Zambezi River, sometimes attributed to the Yao of Malawi and/or Tanzania (Stevenson and Graham-Stewart 2000). The belt shown here features a highly geometric style, similar to styles found along the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya and Tanzania. Many of these belts display a predominance of lozenges in different colors on a background divided into square or rectangular partitions that are also colored. These segments, and the change of lozenge color, provide for unlimited variations in visual effects. The dividing lines between the lozenges and the sections are themselves made up of several rows (three, four, or more) of contrasting colors, most often white/red or white/blue, which reinforces the stability of the design.

A different style from approximately the same region seems to have multiple origins. Using a particularly masterful netting technique, it is characterized by the use of "earth colors": orange, red, and yellow, added to green, blue, white, and black. Many pieces of this type--aprons, dolls, beaded boxes, baskets, and medicine gourds--have been attributed to the Ndau of Zimbabwe, who are a Shona subgroup. Others are labelled Tsonga/Shangaan or even Ndau/Shangaan, and could be from Zimbabwe or South Africa. Since all of these groups shared social and religious practices, their beadwork styles tend to intermingle. Only the Tsonga/Shangaan, however, have continued their beadwork traditions to the present day.

18. Apron Yei, Botswana Second half of the 20th century Glass beads, sinew, animal hide, plastic button 44.2cm x 38.3cm (17 3/8" x 15") CMC B-III-93

Each people has developed its own unique style, often using the same colors of glass beads. The Yei of Ngamiland in Botswana were known for a type of beadwork in which white and black (and sometimes red) were contrasted to form true optical illusions. In the past, they used ostrich-eggshell beads for ornamentation and probably metal beads as well, which could explain these color choices. Women wore aprons like this one, together with lavishly decorated skirts and belts.

19. Pouch San, Botswana Second half of the 20th century Animal hide, plant fiber, glass beads 28.7cm x 25.4cm (11 5/16" x 10") Courtesy of the Textile Museum of Canada, Toronto--T86.0105

The widespread use of glass beads occurred late among the San of Botswana and Namibia, through contact with sedentary Bantu peoples. It corresponded also to the beginning of a period marked by a considerable loss of their traditional habitat. Most of their ornamentation formerly used ostrich-eggshell beads. Throughout the twentieth century, their beadwork evolved rapidly, saying a lot about the changes that they were enduring. This beaded bag provides one example of such evolution. This type of beaded bag, once completely devoid of decoration, was slowly but surely decorated with small clusters of beads here and there, forming motifs of rectangles and/or circles, sometimes linked by lines of beads, thus perhaps evoking isolated camps with their paths. As the San have forever lost their traditional way of life and have now been settled in permanent villages where they survive on government aid and crafts made for tourists, it is perhaps not surprising that their recent beadwork tends to completely fill the surface, with colors multiplying and cohabiting "brutally"--perhaps evoking the overpopulation of the villages in which they were settled by force.

20. Sikomoka (skirt) Tonga, Zimbabwe Second half of the 20th century Cloth, plant fiber, glass beads 37.8cm x 70.7cm (14 7/8" x 27 13/16") On loan from the William and Barbara McCann Collection

The Tonga women of the Zambezi River Valley very often combined the three colors white, blue, and red in their unique beadwork. The Tonga, a people related to the Zulu, practiced a rain cult, which may explain their use of dark blue (their god is sometimes associated with rain). They also honored the "shades" (or ancestors' spirits), which might have been evoked by the color white, widely used in initiation ceremonies in the form of cowrie shells and white beads. Finally, young women smeared their bodies with red ochre. Displaced from their fertile ancestral lands along the Zambezi River in the late 1950s, the Tonga have gradually multiplied the pattern of the three-color cone that once decorated their fabric aprons (originally made of leather) to such an extent that it now completely fills the surface of the cloth. The conical form of the straw roofs of their houses, granaries, domestic animal shelters, and rain shrines may have inspired these motifs, already present on their traditional pottery.6 Their accumulation alters the original pattern to such an extent that it becomes almost unrecognizable, creating a sensation of movement and encumbrance of space that seems to evoke the drama lived by the Tonga in the 1950s.

21. From left to right: Nwana (doll) Tsonga, South Africa Second half of the 20th century Cloth, glass beads, plant fiber, mother-of-pearl buttons, plastic, metal, wood 17.6cm x 19.3cm (7" x 71/2") CMC-2003.199.2

Udoli (doll) Zulu, South Africa Second half of the 20th century Cloth, glass beads, plant fiber 13.8cm x 7.8cm (51/2" x 3") CMC-2003.199.3

Umndwana (doll) Ndebele, South Africa Second half of the 20th century Glass beads, cloth, animal hide, wood, plant fiber 19cm x 9.8cm (7 1/2" x 4") CMC-2003.199.4

The fertility of girls and women was enhanced by the acquisition, sometimes at an early age, of dolls. Made of clay, wood, palm nuts, straw, corncobs, bone, recycled bottles, fabric, etc., many of these dolls played a part in rituals and ceremonies, especially those related to initiation and marriage. They were cared for, fed, and dressed like real children, and the term almost universally used for their designation means "child." In southern Africa, dolls were often worn around the neck to announce a young girl's availability for marriage. These dolls are particularly interesting in that they show each group's ideal of beauty by preserving only the essentials of the silhouette and the most significant adornments of a wife (i.e., future mother) at the height of her beauty. Although their original use has long since disappeared, these dolls are still made, particularly for sale, because they are easily transportable and attractive to foreigners. Today, however, their costumes tend to be standardized in the extreme, omitting the specific details that once gave them their ritual effectiveness.

22. Ijogolo (apron) Ndebele, South Africa Second half of the 20th century Animal hide, glass beads, animal hair, brass 74cm x 53cm (29" x 21 ") On loan from Knight Galleries International, Toronto--PSF5

23. Liphotu (apron) Ndebele, South Africa Second half of the 20th century Animal hide, glass beads, cloth, plant fiber 51cm x 56cm (20" x 22") On loan from Knight Galleries International, Toronto--PSH15

During the conflicts of the late nineteenth century and later--above all, during the instigation of apartheid--the Ndebele of the Transvaal suffered considerably from the loss of their lands. Toward the end of the first half of the twentieth century, their identity being threatened, Ndebele women began to paint walls of their houses and yards in colored geometric motifs. They naturally transferred these motifs to their beadwork. During the final decades of the twentieth century, the usual white background of Ndebele women's aprons had completely disappeared in favor of color. The design of these aprons is inspired by the original wall paintings in three ways. First, the colored designs are applied as if with a brush: in straight, long bands often shaded with black, giving them an appearance which was very close to that of wall paintings. Secondly, many beadwork designs represent or evoke architectural elements, such as stairs, roofs, gables, fences, walls, or entire houses--and, more recently, other objects from the surrounding environment, such as airplanes and electric bulbs. Finally, the whole organization of the space on certain aprons, particularly on the liphotu, resembles architectural drawings, thus perhaps depicting the house and its yard viewed from above. This type of representation stakes a sort of claim, extolling the stability of the house, the last bastion of the Ndebele.

24. Belt Zulu, South Africa Late 19th or early 20th century Glass beads, plant fiber, brass buttons 57cm x 21.5cm (22 7/16" x 8 1/2") Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver--K5.96

This rare ornament would have been a beaded replica of the traditional men's umutsha belt, the front of which comprised the isinene, made of animal tails or strips of leather, and the back the ibheshu, a square piece of goatskin. At least four different techniques are used on this piece. The first is a netting stitch, used for the bands linking the two main parts, creating a distinctive design reminiscent of a flower, which is found on many Zulu ornaments of this period. The second technique is found on the belt section, which features the rolling of beads around a core of compressed cloth and fibers. The third is found in the fringes, made with types and colors of beads typical of the late nineteenth century. Finally, the fourth technique is the brick stitch used for the front panel, which shows a pattern of crenellated lines that could evoke familiar aspects of the beadworker's life.

25. Ulimi (necklace) Zulu, South Africa Late 19th or early 20th century Glass beads, plant fiber, brass buttons 35.3cm x 21.2cm (14" x 8 5/16") Courtesy of the Textile Museum of Canada, Toronto--T84.0027

Zulu headwork of the late nineteenth century is characterized by the extreme codification of colors and patterns. Even the most insignificant part of an ornament seems to follow strict rules that enable it to take its place within an established, hierarchical system. On this magnificent necklace, worn by either a young woman or man, the beadworker has skillfully played with colors and geometric shapes. The pointed triangles could evoke mountain peaks, and/or the conical roofs of Zulu huts, or any other familiar form, or even people. Most of all, the ensemble conveys a sense of harmony and order in an almost rigid way.

26. Umutsha (belt) Zulu, South Africa Late 19th or early 20th century Glass beads, plant fiber, brass buttons, metal, animal hide 87cm x 19.5cm (34 1/4" x 7 11/16") Courtesy of the Glenbow Museum, Calgary--FX23a

27. Isigege (belt) Zulu, South Africa Late 19th or early 20th century Glass beads, plant fiber, brass buttons 35.6cm x 76.8cm (14" x 30 1/4") Courtesy of the Redpath Museum, Montreal--5018

Beaded belts of different types were worn by young Zulu men and women, according to age and gender. Umutsha is a generic term for a belt, usually composed of a core of compressed cloth tied with fiber, onto which beads are threaded. Some belts have no panel, others have only one, and others two. Some female belts have a large central panel, in which case they would be isigege belts, while others have tong fringes, making them isiheshe. It is very likely that these belts were formerly only made of fiber, whether in the form of hanging fringes or compressed fiber cores. Both of the examples shown here are made in the distinctive styles of the late nineteenth/early twentieth centuries and show a high degree of mastery in the contrast of colors and harmony of forms.

28. From top to bottom: Umgingqo (necklace) Zulu, South Africa Late 19th or early 20th century Glass beads, plant fiber, brass button 45cm x 2.3cm (18" x 1") Redpath Museum, Montreal--399.02

Umgingqo (necklace) Zulu, South Africa Late 19th or early 20th century Glass beads, plant fiber 68cm x 2.8cm (27" x 1") Glenbow Museum, Calgary--FX23b

Umgingqo (necklace) Zulu, South Africa Late 19th or early 20th century Glass beads, plant fiber, brass buttons 76cm x 2cm (30" x 3/4") Redpath Museum, Montreal--0399.01

Umgingqo (necklace) Zulu, South Africa Late 19th or early 20th century Glass beads, plant fiber 76 cm x 1.8cm (30" x 3/4") Vancouver Museum--FE322 (F532)

Umgingqo (necklace) Zulu, South Africa Late 19th or early 20th century Glass beads, plant fiber, brass button 79.7cm x 2.2cm (31" x 1") Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton--H79.31.9

It is likely that most of the headbands, necklaces, armlets, belts, and anklets that employed the technique of threading beads around a core of compressed fibers were initially made of fiber alone. Most of these ornaments were worn by young people. In the past, tightly encircling the body of youngsters with fiber cores might have been a requirement for Zulu and maybe other people of the region, in order to protect their health and perhaps also their fertility. (7) Following the adoption of glass beads, these fiber cores became colorful ornaments, which achieved their maximum visual effect when accumulated on the body.

29. From left to right: Hairpin Zulu, South Africa Late 19th or early 20th century Bone, glass beads, animal hair 15.8 cm x 0.3cm (6" x 1/10") Redpath Museum, Montreal 4981.01

Hairpin Zulu, South Africa Late 19th or early 20th century Bone, glass beads, animal hair 21cm x 0.4cm (81/4" x 1/10") Vancouver Museum (F663) FE422

Hairpin Zulu, South Africa Late 19th or early 20th century Bone, glass beads, animal hair 28cm x 10cm (11" x 4") Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton--H62.2.327

These women's hairpins are decorated with beads in the colors red, white, and blue, and were worn as part of a woman's hlonipha obligations to her husband's family and ancestors.

30. Cloth South Africa Late 19th or early 20th century Cloth, glass beads, plant fiber 91cm x 83cm (35 13/16" x 32 11/16") Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver--K5.101

This type of cloth, dating from the late nineteenth century, could be attributed to the Zulu. Young people likely used these cloths as wraps on ceremonial occasions, n addition to stripes, they very often bear simple figures, such as circles, sometimes joined together by a line, placed symmetrically across the expanse of the cloth. This alignment could be an evocation of Zulu round huts or circular settlements, or may be simply decorative. The beadworker obviously played with color contrasts, placing red, blue, white, and pink in all possible combinations inside the circles.

31. Ingxowa (bags) Mfengu, South Africa Late 19th or early 20th century Cloth, animal hide, sinew, glass beads Bag on left: 21cm x 13.5cm (8 1/4" x 5 1/4") Bag on right: 42.8cm x 15.7cm (17" x 6") Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver--K5.91 (left) CMC-1970.035.016 (right)

32. Apron and belt Mfengu, South Africa Late 19th or early 20th century Glass beads, sinew, mother-of-pearl buttons Belt: 58.6cm x 7.6cm (23" x 3") Apron: 17.8cm x 36cm (7" x 14") CMC-1970.035.030 & 1970.035.023

Because of the relations of the Mfengu with the British, Mfengu beadwork of the late nineteenth century is found in abundance in many collections, including Canadian. The beadwork is characterized by the extensive use of red, white, and blue, probably originally chosen for their protective qualities. Blue is often used as a background color, upon which designs in red and white stand out. In other cases, as is often seen on the short skirts of young girls, white forms the background, while designs of red and black (or blue) stand out against it. Most of the Mfengu designs of that period were lozenges, broken lines, triangles, and stripes.

33. Apron? Hlubi, South Africa Late 19th or early 20th century Glass beads, plant fiber, brass buttons 96.3cm (circumference), 5.5cm x 32cm (38", 2" x 12 1/2") Courtesy of the Vancouver Museum--FE603

The beadwork of the Hlubi--Xhosa-speaking people who are neighbors of the Zulu and are thus influenced by their style--is sometimes characterized by the alternating of black with red, green, yellow, blue, or orange, on a white background.

34. Icangci (necklace) Xhosa, South Africa Second half of the 20th century Glass beads, sinew, mother-of-pearl button 17.8cm x 52.6cm (7" x 20 11/16") CMC B-III-41

The Xhosa are well-known for the inventiveness in their ornamentation. Ornaments are made to be worn in groups, in which each element plays its part and literally reshapes the body. Xhosa-speaking people first used a limited number of colors, such as black, white, blue, and red, probably chosen for their protective virtues. During the second part of the twentieth century, more colors were added. On this young man's necklace from the 1960s, which features a netting technique, the white band would show that he has been accepted by a girl as her boyfriend.

35. Umbhaco (skirt) Xhosa, South Africa Second half of the 20th century Cloth, glass beads, mother-of-pearl buttons, plant fiber 87.2cm x 354cm (at bottom hem) x 106cm (at top hem) (34 5/16" x 140" x 41 3/4")CMC B-III-68

Xhosa women once wore a large leather skirt, the isikhaka, which was later replaced by the umbhaco. The umbhaco skirt had multiple pleats and was made from very thick cotton fabric, ibhayi. The fabric was smeared with red ochre and decorated with bands of black fabric, machine-sewn by local seamstresses, as well as beads and mother-of-pearl buttons. This skirt is still worn today, in a simplified version, by some Xhosa women on ceremonial occasions.

36. Snuffbox Hlubi?, South Africa Late 19th or early 20th century Animal by-products, blood, glass, glass button, plant fiber 9.7cm x 6.3cm (3 13/16" x 2 1/2") Courtesy of the Vancouver Museum--FE601

Canadian collections contain several good examples of beaded containers from South Africa, dating from the late nineteenth century. These probably contained tobacco or medicinal herbs. This particular container is probably of Hlubi origin. The stopper of this container is remarkable in its representation of a female head, transforming this object, perhaps once owned by a man, into the stylized figure of a woman.

37. Beaded Sculpture Artist: Bonangani Ximba South Africa Cloth, plant fiber, glass beads, wood 45.5cm x 27cm x 8cm (18" x 10 5/8" x 3 1/8") CMC 2004.163.2

Women in South Africa, along with women in other countries of southern and eastern Africa, have begun mobilizing to create unique works dedicated to the struggle against AIDS. These works are intended to raise awareness about AIDS and to raise funds, particularly in support of orphans. Organizations such as Siyazama, located in KwaZulu-Natal, play a leading role in the dissemination of these works on an international scale. Several of these works depict orphans, mothers, crucifixes, and dramatic representations of the scourge of AIDS as it is lived on a daily basis, or evocations of traditional mythology. They all give narration pride of place and, in many cases, use beads to form words and entire sentences, demonstrating an urgency in the delivering of clear and comprehensible messages of prevention and hope. Here, the artist Bonangani Ximba has used the traditional Zulu doll figure to represent children orphaned by AIDS.

Beads of Life: Eastern and Southern African Adornments

Canadian Museum of Civilization, Gatineau, Quebec April 14, 2005-February 26, 2006

Beads of Life: Eastern and Southern African Beadwork from Canadian Collections has been published by the Canadian Museum of Civilization. For more details, see http://www.civilization.ca.