What Are Waist Beads?
Waist beads are an ancient African accessory made of tiny glass beads that are attached to strings or wires that are tied around the hips or waist. They come in various designs and colours. They may also contain embellishments like crystals, stones, or even charms.
The waistband has been used throughout the centuries by females from various West African cultures. In recent times, they’ve become popular among women from the West. They’re also known as waistline beads, belly beads, or waist chains.
Within Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal in addition to in other West African countries, waist beads symbolise feminine beauty, fertility, sexuality as well as spiritual health. In the present, both in Africa and in the United States, women use the waistbands for aesthetic and practical reasons.
We’ll go over the various reasons why waist beads are an essential accessory for women across the world and where you can get the perfect body-friendly beads.
Why Do People Put Them On?
Weight Awareness
These beads are typically used to measure fluctuations in weight. Instead of standing onto a scale, one are able to use waist beads to keep track of any weight loss or gain around the stomach.
Waist beads don’t stretch. If you gain weight the beads will be more high on your waist or are tight. In contrast, if you lost weight the beads would appear looser and slide further to the hips.
In contrast to the numbers displayed on the scale the waist beads are more suitable with positive body image. Women of all shapes and sizes can wear them comfortably to enhance their appearance.
There are also adjustable waist beads if you do not want your beads to be different sizes based upon your body weight, or any other changes such as Bloating.
Mature
In areas where waist-beads are a common practice they are typically connected with maturation, womanhood and development.
As in Ghana the country of Ghana, infants are usually dressed with the waistbands during their ceremony of naming. The only exception is that girls keep wearing the beads when they grow older.
In numerous West African traditions, mothers put a pair of waist beads to daughters at the time of their first menstrual cycle to signify their transition into womanhood.
The time to shed a pair of waist beads can also signify the beginning of an entirely new phase of life. The kind of beads girls wear in puberty may differ from the ones she wears after having her first child, for instance.
Intimacy And Fertility
A lot of women across the globe wear waist beads to increase their sexuality. The waist beads are also closely connected with fertility. Certain women wear certain beads during sexual sex while trying to get pregnant.
In among the Ashante as well as Krobo cultures of Ghana larger bells or beads are added to women’s waistband after she is fertile, so she makes sound when walking to warn potential suitors who are near.
In different societies, waist beads are worn beneath clothes for the wearer and her selected friends to see, similar to a specific set of intimates.
The special waist beads are available for women who are pregnant. They’re believed to provide security for the mother as well as the developing baby.
Pride And Heritage
Although women from all ethnic groups and races wear belts, this particular accessory has distinct African roots. They are a popular option for Black women living in diaspora to celebrate their ancestral ancestors, and to celebrate their cultural heritage and traditions.
The use of waistbands in the West by Black as well as Brown ladies within the West has developed into an art form that is its own and reflects the diaspora experience.
Many women from the diaspora aren’t aware about the West African lineage due to the transatlantic slave trade. The reclaiming of waist beads also implies that Black women will have the chance to walk in the footsteps of their ancestors. The beads serve as an ongoing reminder of physical the past isn’t as far away as you consider, and it’s yours to your own interpretation.
Posture
The waist beads can help individuals get more conscious of their posture and stomach. They fit different depending on how one sits and breathing. They are an encouragement to sit straight, stretch abdominal muscles ease your back and breathe in a controlled way.
Which Way To Pick The Best Waistbands That Fit You?
The most appealing aspect of the waistbands is just how unique they are. They can be worn with as many strands beads as you want and wear them for any reason you like. They’re a great way to express self-expression.
For a waist measurement, beads, waist bead designer Anita of the Bee Stop first recommends choosing where you would like your beads to rest in your physique. Do you want them to be high at your waist? At your hips? In the belly button?
When you’ve made your choice that you want to measure, put the measuring tape, or string over the area of your body to determine the measurement. If you’re using a string mark both ends of your string and determine the length with the ruler. Make sure not to wrap the tape or string tightly over your entire body. This will create a tighter fitting than you would expect.
Certain waist-beads are irresistible. The string will not stretch and there’s no clasp that can be used to get the beads off or on. They’re made to remain permanently on your body until they break , or until you decide to remove them permanently.
Some waist beads that can be removed are also adjustable , or are available with extended chains. They could be a great alternative for those who wish to keep wearing the same waist beads in any size and not worry about “fitting” to them. Instead, the beads are a good fit for your.
What Is The Significance Of The Stones And Colours?
There are many designs, colours, and materials available. Your waistbands could be adorned with significance if you select. The every hue or stone linked with an individual meaning:
Colour Meanings
- Blue: harmony, healing insight, truth
- Brown earth, stability
- Green: prosperity, fertility, abundance, hope, healing
- Purple: wisdom, spirituality and royalty
- Red: vitality, passion, bravery, confidence
- White: light, truth, the purity
- Yellow yellow: wisdom, clarity awareness Energy, joy
Charm And Stone Are The Meanings
- Evil eye: protection against negativity
- Green aventurine can bring luck, wealth, prosperity
- Hamsa: protection from bad luck or the bad side of things.
- Lapis lazuli: peace wisdom Truth, insight
- Quartz is clear, and increases the clarity of other crystals
- Rose quartz: love, compassion, healing
Where Can You Purchase Waist Beads
If you are able, purchase your first pair the waistbands you want in person. So, the person who makes them will measure them to your body, and ensure that the beads fit exactly as you would like them to.
In the event that there’s an African market close to you There could be a waist-beading artist in the market. If it’s not, a vendor could probably point you to directions to the correct direction.
If you’re unable to find an artist who can make waist beads in your region or you’re more comfortable placing your order online there are tons of options to choose from.
Some, such as Some, like The Bee Stop or Bruja de La Cocina sell on Etsy. Some have their own storefronts online like Alaiyo Wearable Waists or Waists by Wednesday.
Remember that if you’re unable to locate ready-made waist beads for your size, there are many designers who will be happy to accept orders for custom-made items.
Takeaway
They may appear as an ordinary accessory but they can actually have trans-formative effects for the person wearing them. The act of wrapping a set of beads around your waist can be a sensation of sensuality and grounded. The beads act as a constant reminder to be more mindful and compassionate towards the body.
My first waist beads like this one completely transformed my relationship with my stomach. Prior to my beads I was unhappy with my stomach every time it increased in size. After the beads I was awe-inspiring regardless of how large or tiny my stomach appeared.
Some women feel empowered because of waist beads in different ways: as a symbol of their past or ancestors, the symbol of fertility or to measure their body weight and posture.
The waistband is a highly personal object, therefore there are many ways to discover meaning from them as there are different styles of beads. As waist beads increase in popularity they will be a part of the West African tradition will likely develop in the coming years.