MEET ARIANA
‘Your navel is a rounded goblet; it never lacks blended wine. Your waist is a mound of wheat encircled by the lilies’- Songs of Solomon
Waist beads have been used in Africa since the 16th century. They have evolved over time and are now used as a fashion statement in cultures all around the world.
Waist beads have been linked to spirituality and sensuality.
I have been in love with waist beads for the longest time, even though I come from a tribe that does not practice adorning their girls with them.
As a teenager I fell in love with embracing my heritage I hopes that I would embrace and celebrate it better. Since then I have been collecting beads made for different crystals, stones varying in shapes and colours. Removing and wearing to suit my mood.
I cannot deny that I feel sexier with my beads on than without, I do not leave my beads out to be seen. But it can be worn out and there is no shame in that!
In the past year I have grown into using waist beads to shape up! They are the perfect waist trainer to maintaining your figure because they give you a nudge when you insist on overeating.
Waist beads boosts my confidence, each time I look at myself I see a beautiful woman and that is so assuring.
Formation of beads: some cultures believe that you must have a heightened spiritual sense to pick out specific beads to solve different issues)
Symbols of growth or rites of passage: In Sierra Leone some tribes adorn toddlers with beads to support with shaping their hips and contouring their bellies, others give beads to signify womanhood, rites of passage or at weddings.
Contraceptive properties: Some people believe that certain beads or threads when worn around the waist can act as a contraceptive.
Waistbeads are known as ehbet,gaiya and mini in some parts of Sierra Leone, In the Senegambia region its’ called nabou/ bin bin and jigida in some parts of Nigeria.
It would be interesting to hear more facts or different views on waist beads.
