Sub-Saharan Africa...

Czech seed beads in Sub-Saharan Africa

The Czech PRECIOSA seed beads sold under the PRECIOSA Traditional Czech Beads brand play an exceptionally important role in the life of the tribes in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Czech PRECIOSA seed beads sold under the PRECIOSA Traditional Czech Beads brand play an exceptionally important role in the life of the tribes in Sub-Saharan Africa. They are used as a religious medium in traditional cultures and they have become an inseparable part of identity of each individual literally from the cradle to the grave.

The use of PRECIOSA seed bead decorations is not merely decorative in these cultures – they have become a source of information about the wearer, they have created their own "language" and they are now used as another method of interpersonal communication. The inhabitants of Sub-Saharan Africa differentiate among various social identities using clothing and bead decorations. Each of the tribes uses beads in a different way and has developed its own symbolism and rules of communication. Apart from the use as a part of their clothing or jewellery, the beads are also used when making charms to banish evil, during healing or as sacrificial items. In the last decades, beads have also served the inhabitants as a source of income as they make hand-made beadwork and sell it to tourists.

The beads were either made of locally available materials or the glass ones came to Sub-Saharan Africa as finished products via ancient trade routes, mainly from Europe and Asia. The Czech glass beads started to find their way to these places in the 19th century with the development of the European seafaring. Their fancy colours charmed the tribesmen so much that Sub-Saharan Africa has been one of the largest customers of PRECIOSA Traditional Czech Beads since then.