Most people wonder why some ladies, especially African women, wear waist beads. Some even think it may be a form of tradition or a symbol of something deeper than fashion.
They may be right somehow, but what exactly are waist beads? Why are waist beads worn, and what do they signify?
What is the importance of waist beads, even if they have any? Well, keep reading because this article will do justice to your inquiries and questions.
Waist beads are dangling jewels popularly made with beads and worn around the waist. Waist beads are mostly for women and are made with beads placed on a string.
They are mostly worn around the navel or just below the navel. They are like jewelry worn to add adornment and beauty to women.
It is common among African women and is one of their secret sources of appeal. Mostly worn beneath the cloth of a modest African woman, they tend to pop out underneath the cloth, maybe while the female is dancing and swirling her waist or while she is walking.
The beads tend to add a lot to her sexuality, and myths and legends suggest that it improves her sexuality. Waist beads didn’t just begin in this century or this generation.
The origin of waist beads goes as far back as the 15th century, and most people are of the opinion that the wearing of waist beads started in Ancient Egypt, but then, at this time, they weren’t known as beads.
Instead, they were known as “Girdles“. Although the meaning and importance of waist beads generally cannot be denied, there are colors attached to waist beads that signify the significance of the particular waist bead and what it was made for or what it stands to represent.
The significance of each color varies from tribe to tribe, and choosing the colors for your waist bead is considered as important as choosing the weight of the beads you want to wear.
Also, while choosing a particular waist bead, you must consider the design, the length, and how flexible you want it to be.
All women should note this tip because it is very important.
Below are colors that are mostly used in making beads and what these colors signify.
- Brown color: Brown color signifies earth, stability, strength, honesty, comfort, reliability, and, of course, the natural nature of the African woman.
- Red color: Red color screams sexuality, self-confidence and vitality, intense passion, love, power, and immense sexual desire.
- Green color: For prosperity, fertility, harmony, abundance, nature, growth, and hope.
- Pink color: Pink color stands for love, unity, friendship, appreciation, care, sweet nature, kindness, beauty, and tenderness.
- Gold color: Gold color stands for wealth, power, high quality, and good health.
- White Colour: The white color of waist beads means simplicity, purity and innocence, humility, youthfulness, and virginity.
- Black color: Most waist beads that are black symbolize power, protection, authority, and depth.
- Orange color: Orange waist beads are for warmth, enthusiasm, success, and attraction.
There are many uses for waist beads, and their importance can’t be overemphasized. They are more than just some pretty beads dangling down your navel.
Most people think that only young, slim ladies use waist beads, but that is just a misconception.
In Africa, you may even see waist beads on grandmothers and women already of old age.
There are several uses of beads, but they can be classified into four main uses.
The four main uses include:
1. Growth and Maturity
One powerful indication of how much a woman’s body grows and matures over the years in Africa is the use of Waist beads.
Waist beads help to measure and signify the changes in a woman’s body over the years.
Mostly, young females are made to wear these waist beads as soon as they attain puberty or hit adolescence.
This signifies that the lady is ready for mating or marriage, as the case may be.
They also help enhance the waist and articulate female features, which will, in turn, make them so much more desirable to the males.
2. Intimate Appeal and Seduction
One major reason why most females wear waist beads is for seduction. Females will always want to seduce and give a sense of sexuality to their lovers and spouses.
Wives usually use this to communicate their sexual desires by exposing these beads to their lovers.
Some ladies from the Yoruba culture will go the extra mile and add perfumed scents to their beads before wearing them on their waists.
Then, they will walk around their mates, lovers, or spouses while ensuring that the beads are swaying, and that will, in turn, drive their partners crazy with desire for them. Awesome, don’t you think?
3. Ensuring a Good Shape of the Body
Another major reason African women usually wear waist beads is that they are used as indicators of whether they are gaining or losing weight.
African women would know if they are losing or gaining weight by how free or how tight the waist beads become on them after a certain period.
This will, therefore, help them measure their weights and maintain them in case they are okay with their weights.
It can also be used as an indicator of pregnancy. Want to know how?
When a woman finds out that she is gaining weight due to how tight the waist bead she is wearing becomes on her, she may decide to go for a pregnancy test if she is experiencing all the other symptoms that come with pregnancy.
4. Purity and Chastity
Waist beads can symbolize purity. When a young lady wears a white waist bead, this signifies purity, and she is only allowed to remove it on her wedding night. She won’t even be the one to remove it; it is her husband who is allowed to remove it after their first sex together.
Are you wondering how to get your waist beads or, most especially, your sizes? Don’t fret. You don’t need to be a size 18 before getting your waist beads.
You only need to measure yourself appropriately before going to the market to purchase yours.
Make sure you stand straight and don’t hold your breath while taking your measurements.
Also, ensure that there is no clothing around your waist or hips while taking your measurements.
This will ensure you get your measurements accurately and the perfect waist bead.
Waist beads are not only for African Women; they are for every woman, shape, tribe, and race.
So, if you are one of those women who loves trying out new stuff, we encourage you to try wearing waist beads, and you just may be amazed at the surprising effects these waist beads will bring you.
