This article will intimate you about the history of waist beads, why girls wear it, the different colours of waist beads and what they signify. To the ordinary eye, it is for beautification and fashion sense, but for those in the know, it is more than that.
PS: Take note of what their colours signify.
Waist beads are one of the kinds of dangling jewels that you wear around the waist. Beads are embedded in a string and tied just below the navel. They are also known as belly beads. In Egypt, people call them as ‘girdles.’ Like all other jewels they, too, add up to woman’s feminity, even it might be the prettiest trend your eyes will ever witness. There are certain myths as well regarding their spiritual powers of these waist beads. If you are trying to swank your twenty-eight inches waist that’s precisely where waist beads come handy. Simply place it around your waist, tie it up and off you go with your steamy look.
Initially, they were made up of plain beads, but since everything goes through continuous evolution so did the waist beads, to be more versatile. You can add stones, shells, gold fittings and other enticing gems to the string that is majorly brimming with beads.
History
Waist beads have their roots anchored in Africa and overlap with Egypt as well. They came into existence around the 15th century as a status symbol. The natives had different views about its uses and miracles. Traditional African women used to wear them often on their bare skin and rarely under their clothing. Egyptian women wore them to allure men while belly dancing. Sometimes scented, women used them to allure their partners since they signified their sexuality. They were also thought to have some healing powers. When used with stones, waist beads were the means of spiritual healing as well. Wearing waist beads is also part of Ghanaian culture. It is a traditional ornament and necessary dowry for women. Usually, babies wear waist beads at Ghanaian naming ceremonies, and young girls also wear waist beads as a sign of femininity. The web of this culture then extended and reached middle-east where it has taken up a notch and women started admiring it and carrying it along with their bodies.
Now, waist beads are worn by women from different countries and cultures to celebrate, decorate, confidence building, tracking weight gain and weight loss, body shaping, and at the same time, they also symbolize spirituality, womanhood, protection, wealth, female empowerment, fertility, and sexuality.
The natives had same spiritual beliefs associated with the colors of the beads embedded in the string. According to folklore, different hues of waist beads impart different properties. The major ones are:
Uses
They are more than just pretty glass beads hanging from your belly. They hold some enticing qualities that have dragged them right from 15th century to this date. The empowerment they give to women can never go unnoticed. The most prominent misconception you might come across regarding waist beads is that only zero size ladies use these, which is farthest from the truth. There are plenty of grannies with 52” inches waist and are still adhering to the tradition of hanging them around their waistline.
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