These Hands- Agomanya Bead Market

Name______________________

Introduction - “In Ghanaian

traditions, beads are made
Figure 1- Bodom beads made by
the Krobo people.
of seeds, pieces of wood,
shells, stones, bones, tusks
or modern materials like glass and plastics, formed,
polished and pierced to be strung and used as bodily
adornments or as decoration for other objects. Beads
seem to be more in use in southern Ghana than in northern
Ghana. Wherever they occur, however, they are treasured
as valuable objects of material culture, and play a
significant role in some of the most important aspects of
our personal and communal life, from the proverbial
cradle to the grave,” (George P. Hagan – Consultant on
Culture & Development at the launching of the first
international beads festival Odumase Krobo, 2009).
When Beads Are Used - Throughout Afrika and the
diaspora, beads are used to symbolize significant moments
in our development, including; birth, puberty, spiritual
initiation, marriage, and death, for example.
In Ghanaian traditions, such as among the Asante people
and the Krobo people beads are mainly used as articles of
body decoration.
However, in a wide
range of contexts beads
are used, not only to
enhance the body but
also to symbolize and
express many different
ideas.
Figure 2- Square Ntaka beads made
by the Krobo people.
In this sense, the use of beads is
highly gender sensitive. As
articles used for beautification,
beads are mainly used by women
for body decoration and for
expressing and enhancing the
quality of femininity in a woman. Figure 3- Square, Eye, and
Orobo (Ananse) Beads
How Beads Are Used - Beads
are put on the wrists and waist of newly born boys and
girls; but, while they stay as the adornment for a boy for
not more than a year or two, they stay as adornment for a
girl for life. For both sexes, however, beads feature in the
celebration of life in most traditional rites of passage to
mark the major transitions and stations in life.
Among the Krobo people, found mainly in central Ghana,
beads also represented a form of money and the more of
them you had the richer you were considered. In the
1600’s-1800’s they were used as trade beads; which were
used to trade many things. Unfortunately, these beads
were also used to trade our people as slaves, and one bead
of a certain type was worth as much as 7 Afrikans.
Therefore, beads also hold a strong cultural and historical
meaning for us that is both complexed and powerful.
People collect them to remember these aspects of our story
that they represent. Having Afrikan beads is not just a
means to participate in our culture, but for some of us
throughout Afrika & the diaspora, it is a way of reclaiming
our who we are, honoring where we came from, and
empowering ourselves despite our painful history.

Assignment: As you go through the market ask the sellers about the beads they have. Ask the name of the bead; is it a
Ntaka bead, a Bodom bead, or another type? Find out which group of people make them, and if particular beads have
a special use; such as for a specific ceremony. Fill in the chart below as you explore the market. Get at least one of
each type to take home and add to your personal bead collection.

Name of the Bead Purpose of the bead Name of the people who Material it is made Description (color, shape, size,
(birth, marriage) made it (Asante, Krobo) of (glass, metal) design)