Speaking of Beads...

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I simply ADORE...

the beads, the stunning models, the fabrics,

and the general sunny, happy feeling that these photos

generate...

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Africans have used beads for ritual and decorative purposes

for hundreds of years.

In ancient African graves, beads and beaded necklaces were found

buried with kings and chiefs.

The Ashanti people of of Ghana reasoned that powdered glass beads

were worth their weight in gold and that certain beads

held supernatural protective powers.

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The Yoruba people of Nigeria believed that buried beads

would grow in the ground and multiply.

The most popular trading items brought over by the Europeans

in the 16th century were beads

and thousands of pounds of beads were exchanged.
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Until the 20th century, no other continent imported as many beads

or yielded as many different types of its own.

The abundance of the shear variety of shapes, colors

and materials used is overwhelming.

None though is as popular as the glass bead.

The traditional glass bead practice thrives in West Africa.

Today, the Krobo people of Ghana, noted bead makers,

melt powdered glass in small bead moulds to form their beads.

The beads have a semi-translucent quality

that highlights the painted motifs.

Nowadays beads are used as fashion accessories

by both men and women...

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Read and see more here

photos: Bob pixel photography