Waist beads are more than just an accessory to complete your outfit; they are also an important part of African culture. The beads on the waist can mean different things depending on the color of the bead, but wearing the right color or even pattern of beads during a specific occasion, can communicate to others what you represent and what you value.
The most popular colors of waist beads are red, yellow, and black and these colors have different meanings in each part of Africa. Keep reading to learn more about each African region’s traditions and practices.
Waist Beads Color Meaning
Waist Beads come in various colors, which are traditionally said to have different meanings. The following is an overview of the various types of Waist Beads and their corresponding meanings:
- Black Waist Beads are said to bring protection and luck to the wearer. Black is also a color that has been associated with mourning and death.
- White Waist Beads signify purity, peace, harmony, good luck, and spiritual healing. White is also considered one of the most sacred colors in Hinduism and Buddhism, which some people may wear for religious purposes. White Waist Beads are common among those who practice Kabbalah because they are used as a means of creating amulets or talismans.
- Brown Waist Beads represent grounding or earth energy as well as providing support to someone experiencing difficult times or hardship. Brown is often worn by people who want stability and practicality. Brown Waist Beads promote the idea of being grounded and balanced. There are many stories about how these Waist Beads came into being, but it’s believed that they were created when slaves would mix clay from the Mississippi River with sugarcane molasses from plantations on both sides of the river. These pairs would form chains around their waists to symbolize strength.
Traditional African Waist Beads Color Meaning
Waist beads are a beautiful and meaningful piece of jewelry that many African cultures wear. The color of the beads is significant and often represents an aspect of the wearer’s personality. There are five colors in this necklace – white, blue, red, yellow, and green.
These colors represent power/strength, love, hope/faithfulness, or wisdom in traditional African cultures.
A woman would wear a single bead on her belt to show she was not married while three to six beads would indicate her marital status depending on the number of children, she has given birth to (the more children she has had the more beads).
Her husband will also wear waist beads with his wife. When wearing two waist beads it means they are newlyweds, when wearing four it means they are parents who have lost their firstborn child and when wearing six it signifies they have lost all their children.
Seven beads mean you’re a widow. In Zimbabwe, women were prohibited from wearing any type of pants under colonialism so men were encouraged to marry widows if they wanted someone else to help them raise their children as they would be forced into skirts as well; thus, widows became highly sought-after wives. Traditional African waist beads can be found at many souvenir stores in Africa or online.
Spiritual Waist Beads Color Meaning
Spiritual Waist Beads are handmade of natural materials and range in color. Spiritual Waist Beads can be used for various types of spiritual practices that use beads.
The colors, each with their own meaning, are worn to either attract the desired energy or keep away unwanted energies.
Spiritual Waist Beads have been known as a protective symbol, where a person’s waist represents the part of one’s body between the head and feet protection from below up to your chest (neck).
Wearing Spiritual Waist Beads during healing ceremonies is not uncommon, but it is most often worn as a prayerful gesture. Often times they’re worn by people who want to experience something different while still honoring their beliefs and culture.
Nigerian Waist Beads Color Meaning
Nigerian waist beads are traditionally made of cowrie shells or seeds strung together with a piece of leather. They are worn around the hips and sometimes also on the upper arms. The color meanings for these beads vary from tribe to tribe but usually include some form of protection from evil, health, and fertility.
ALSO SEE: Nigerian Waist Beads
Yoruba Waist Beads Color Meaning
Yoruba waist beads are a beautiful way of expressing one’s heritage and culture. The Yoruba people, who live in southwestern Nigeria and northern Benin, are known for their deep appreciation for artistry, beauty, and the connection between life and death. To honor this relationship between the living and dying, the Yoruba wear beads that signify both life and death.
The color red symbolizes life in many cultures; however, with the Yoruba people, it is meant to represent death. They believe that in order to experience life again after passing on, you must be covered in blood. Thus, wearing red beads signifies one’s willingness to die as part of a ritual sacrifice to a god or goddess.
Some other colors used by the Yoruba people include black, blue, green, yellow, white, and purple which also have different meanings including fertility (yellow), purification (white), love (green), happiness (purple), and healing (blue).
West African Waist Beads Color Meaning
West African Waist beads are one of the many types of beads that African women wear around their waists. These are typically made of glass or plastic and can be found in a variety of colors, shapes, and designs.
In West Africa, these beads have a specific color meaning. The color green is worn to represent fertility, red to represent health, and white to represent peace. Other colors used are black for success, yellow for money, and blue to represent knowledge.
What Do Orange Waist Beads Mean?
In Africa, Orange Waist Beads are associated with fertility, femininity, and passion. The color also conveys the meaning of fiery beauty. Female ancestors would wear orange waist beads as a symbol of their matrimonial status as well as to offer protection from bad luck during pregnancy.
For some tribes in Nigeria, wearing these waist beads is thought to bring prosperity while wearing green ones signifies wealth. Men in many parts of West Africa will wear these brightly colored beads when they are ready for marriage to signify that they have reached adulthood.