SOUTH-AFRICA-L Archives

Archiver > SOUTH-AFRICA > 2003-02 > 1044190625


From: "Gerda Pieterse" <>
Subject: Re: [ZA] Traditional African Beadwork
Date: Sun, 2 Feb 2003 14:57:05 +0200
References: <018401c2ca9b$2bb32ea0$74a6ef9b@telkomsa2156telkomsa.net> <001101c2cab8$1bea5350$0201010a@tjolotjo>


Dear Becky

Thanks. My gran visited the Transkei for six months in 1952 and learned the
craft of beadwork from the women there. The patterns were very intricate.
Since then I have found the subject endlessly fascinating and your message
is a welcome insight in the history of this ancient craft.

Kind regards

Gerda Pieterse
Richards Bay



> > It is generally assumed that African beadwork in regions south of the
> Sahara
> > has its origins in the comparatively recent past when the colonisation
of
> > Africa opened up the Dark Continent to traders from Portugal, the
> > Netherlands and England. Further south, in what is now KwaZulu-Natal and
> the
> > Eastern Province of South Africa, the trade in beads is supposed to have
> had
> > an even more recent origin. Henry Francis Fynn, who came to Port Natal
> (now
> > Durban) as a trader in 1824, was possibly the first Englishman to have
> > offered glass beads as standard merchandise to the North Nguni, best
known
> > of which was the Zulu, whose colourful beadwork is unique because of
it's
> > singular eloquence in the way messages dealing with male-female
> > relationships were traditionally woven into it's design.
> > Even further to the south in what is the Transkei region of the Eastern
> > Province, the South Nguni - of whom the Xhosas, Pondo and Thembu are
> > well-known sections - have had close contact with the British ever since
> the
> > first settlers arrived in Delagoa Bay ( now Port Elizabeth) in 1820.
> > Obviously, glass beads were common commodities offered by those early
> > traders to Africans of the region whose beadwork, different in some
> respects
> > from that of the Zulu, are in many ways as spectacular as the Zulu
> product.
> > The beadwork tradition did not, however, begin with the traders of the
> early
> > nineteenth century. The market for glass beads already existed in
> > KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Province. Fynn at Port Natal and British
> > traders operating from Delagoa Bay merely supplied it, meeting a need
for
> a
> > commodity that had been well known to their customers long before they
> > arrived in what is now KwaZulu-Natal and the Transkei.
> > Glass beads appear to have been a by-product of the discovery of glass,
> said
> > to have occurred in Egypt during the rule of the pharaohs as well as
> amongst
> > the Chaldeans and Sumerians some 30 centuries ago. The Egyptians,
> favourably
> > placed to trade with Africa to the south, were probably the first to
> peddle
> > for gold, ivory and slaves. The Egyptians, who knew and valued precious
> > stones, might well have assumed that the less sophisticated African to
the
> > south could be misled to believe that the beads, too, were gems of
> singular
> > value.
> > The Egyptian glass beads, as well those from other sources with access
to
> > the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean, were transported by Phoenicians,
a
> > seafaring nation known to have circumnavigated the Cape long before the
> > Portuguese led by Dias and Da Gama. From the Nile Delta in the far
eastern
> > Mediterranean to Carthage and on to the Straits of Gibraltar these
> > Phoenician mariners carried cargoes of glass beads in addition to other
> > merchandise, shipping them to every port along the North African coast
and
> > the ancient Negro kingdoms of West and Central Africa.
> > With the passage of time, the Arabs succeeded the Phoenicians as traders
> and
> > continued to supply beads to Africans along the East Coast and India,
> having
> > in the meantime become a supplier of this commodity. To this day, red
> > cornelian beads of Indian origin are washed out on the Transkeian shores
> > from ancient Arab vessels that fell victim to storms and sank. From the
> > North African coast on the Mediterranean, camel caravans criss-crossed
the
> > Saharan desert to trade with the African kingdoms south of the Sahara.
> > The Arab traders were ousted by the Portuguese in the fifteenth and
> > sixteenth centuries, and these in turn were succeeded by the Dutch and
the
> > British.
> > Glass beads were valued in Africa, not because Africans were duped into
> > believing them to be precious stones, but because they were the products
> of
> > an exotic technology, of which the equivalent was unknown in Africa at
> that
> > time. Beads, therefore, became precious in their own right end were soon
> > linked to whatever was valued in the cultures of the people who owned
and
> > crafted them into a variety of objects to be worn according to custom,
as
> > token of social status, political importance and for personal adornment.
> > The West African kings of Ghana, Songhai, Mali and Nigeria are known to
> have
> > worn beaded regalia so heavy that they had to be supported by attendants
> > when rising from their thrones to move about in the course of their
> duties.
> > In the Cameroon, beaded patterns and colours are remarkably similar to
> those
> > found amongst the Zulu of KwaZulu-Natal covered the regalia and badges
of
> > office used by Cameroonian rulers, so that entire thrones - examples of
> > which may be seen in the Linden Museum in Stuttgart - were covered
> entirely
> > with beads. Closer to home, Ndebele beadwork, often sold on the streets
> and
> > pavements of Pretoria and Johannesburg, is well known. Traditionally,
> > certain beaded items were worn to distinguish young girls from their
more
> > senior sisters, to identify girls engaged to be married, or to adorn
> brides
> > and young mothers after the birth of their first children. Among the
Xhosa
> > of the Transkei, special beadwork marks off peer grounds of different
> > age-sets while distinctive regalia is reserved for the bride and groom
at
> > weddings and for guests closely associated with them.
> > What make Zulu beadwork unique, however, is the code by which particular
> > colours are selected and combined in various ways to shape messages that
> at
> > the same time are woven into decorative geometrical designs. The
geometric
> > shapes themselves have particular significance and the craft itself
forms
> an
> > intricate communicational system devoted entirely to the expression of
> > ideas, feelings and facts related to behaviour and relations between the
> > sexes.
> > It is sometimes difficult to decide whether beadwork is a craft, an art,
a
> > communicational system similar in principle to a written language or
part
> of
> > a symbolic code used for their own purposes by specialists in
traditional
> > magic. Zulu beadwork, because it's close relationship with weddings and
> > engagements where the major actors are identified by the beaded finery
> they
> > wear, has at times been presented as evidence in court cases where the
> > responsibilities of parties to marriage contracts are in dispute.
> Beadwork,
> > as an art form, thus intrudes into the fields of social relationships,
the
> > practice of law and the communication of ideas. Beadwork is the
exclusive
> > terrain of Zulu women, so that they become in some ways communities of
> their
> > own, using the beaded items as technical instruments to follow their own
> > interests. Amongst women, beadwork is also an educational tool, teaching
> > young girls how to conduct themselves in their relationships with males.
> > All this indicates that Zulu beadwork is closely integrated with Zulu
> social
> > organisation, the technology of specialised craftsmanship, religious
> beliefs
> > and magic, educational objectives, communication and even recreation,
> > because the craft itself provides plenty of fun.
> > Zulu beadwork tells us a lot about the way in which the Zulu have
> > constructed their society. One soon understands that they have produced
a
> > closely integrated system in which all institution - religious, social,
> > economic, educational, technological, communicational, recreational,
> legal,
> > political as well as those designed to give aesthetic satisfaction in
the
> > form of art - are mutually supportive. This makes it a very powerful
> system,
> > highly resistant to change.
> > Unfortunately, it is in this very strength that danger lurks; Zulu
> > tradition, as in so many other African territories, will resist change
> until
> > the impact of rises above the optimal margin of tolerance, at which
point
> > there is the very real possibility that social values will fall apart,
> > resulting in serious socio-economic damage.
> > What this means is that the impact of change, whether generated by the
> need
> > for economic development, technological advancement or improved
> educational
> > levels, should be carefully controlled so that the margins of tolerance
> are
> > respected. If this is not done, all development programmes are likely to
> > fail.
> >
> > Best wishes
> > Becky
> > Port Elizabeth, South Africa
> >
> > Researching: HENWICK; HILL; HORN(E); MEREDITH; DEYZEL; LARSEN; WILLSON;
> > LYNAR; HENNING; STERLEY; THECK; BEST; BRAUN, GREENER; GLANVILLE; VAN ZYL
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ==== SOUTH-AFRICA Mailing List ====
> > If you want to unsubscribe send an email with the word unsubscribe
> > in the body, to the correct address, dependant on how you are subscribed
> > if in mail mode:
> >
> > if in digest mode:
> >
> >
>
>
> ==== SOUTH-AFRICA Mailing List ====
> **********************************************************
> To access the South African Genealogy List Archives go to:
> http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl
> and then type in South-Africa and hit the submit button.
> {Don't forget the hyphen (-) in South-Africa}
>
>

This thread: