The Significance Of Beads And Beadwork In The Xhosa Culture

In the African context beads play a very important role. In African societies all over the continent beads have become a proud expression of cultural values over the centuries since they were first introduced by foreign traders and today they are much more than an adornment for clothes. 

We know, that glass beads were introduced by Portuguese merchants in the 16th century to Sub-Saharan Africa and they were used as a barter product in as exchange for desirable goods from the African motherland.  

Handbeaded anklets originating from the Eastern Cape - an modern expression of old tradition

But only at a much later stage in the 1930's beads became a very distinct means of cultural expression among the Xhosa speaking people in the Eastern Cape. Bead work became a craft form, practiced and perfected by skilled African artisans in the Eastern cape. This is true for many other African regions as well but we are interested in the specific meaning of beads in the Xhosa culture. Beads were used to decorate clothes and valuable traditional costumes and they were simply worn as jewelry.

Beaded jewelry pieces originating from the Eastern Cape are true masterpieces.

A Beaded Green Choker Or Necklace In Green With A Yellow Border

Detail Of A Beaded Xhosa Necklace

Today's beaded jewelry pieces, that you can find in the Eastern Cape make use of all color combinations. Traditionally only certain color combination were allowed. Jewelry pieces, that are created for traditional ceremonies are still made in white and turquoise. Before the arrival of the  beads in Africa the Xhosa people created beads and ornaments from organic, natural material, like grasses, insect cocoons, shell pieces etc. that could be found in the Eastern Cape

Handwoven organic bangles from the Eastern Cape, an old Xhosa tradition, that has endured the test of time 
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The first naturally hand made African beads we know of are probably the beads, that the San people made from the shells of ostrich eggs. 

Ostrich shell beads strung on sinew were traditionally made by the San people, they took a long time to make and were highly sought after by the Xhosa people. The image was taken at the East London Museum

In the Eastern Cape we have seen similar beads made from sea shells. Traditionally the Xhosa people, who lived close to the coast crafted these flat and square shaped looking beads.

Women In The Coastal Village Of Haga Haga Selling Handcrafted Jewelry Made from Sea Shell Beads

The Women Sell Handcrafted Jewelry Pieces To The Tourists, That Come To The Haga Haga Hotel

Like the ostrich shell beads the sea shell beads were carefully chipped, grounded and shaped to a similar size. Holes were drilled into them manually which took a long time. 

However ostrich egg beads traded higher in price than sea shell beads due to the scarcity of their natural occurrence and the fact that the shell of an ostrich egg was much harder to work with, than that of a sea shell. Ostrich egg shells were high in demand amongst the Xhosa people, who obtained them from the San people in exchange for cannabis sativa (hemp).

At a later stage colorants were used to change their appearance and today we find them replaced in many areas by Chinese plastic beads.

Earrings Made From Shell Pieces treated with a pink colorant

Bead work communicates the wearer's social status and his wealth. Certain colors and sizes of beads are directly linked to certain groups in society. Professions, like the one of a healer or diviner can be identified through the bead work its practitioners are wearing.

A White Hand Beaded Choker Ordered And Made For A European White Wedding

The social life of the Xhosa people is seen and organised as a series of distinct stages, each one invariably linked to a special ritual performance through which every person passes from the beginning of his life to the end of it. 
Passing from one stage of life to another is a complex concept firmly entrenched in many cultures.

"The passing" can be one of most important moments in some body's life because the person emerges cleaned and as a changed person. With that comes a new status and position in life, greater social responsibility as well as greater respect and acceptance in the community. Clearly defined responsibilities, obligations and privileges are linked to each life stage, thereby creating a sense of stability in the community and the social structure, the community has adopted.

Passing from one life stage to another is a complex concept firmly entrenched in the Xhosa culture

 
Often "passing" it is a symbolic act (for example the moment when a person receives for the first time the holy communion in the catholic religion) and in the case of the Xhosa culture passing from one stage to the next goes hand in hand with a change in dress, behaviour and bead work. We learned from Thembeka from Iza Crafts that this is the reason why the colors of beads used in traditional ceremonies and passing ceremonies can not be changed, because by doing so the ritual performance or the tradition would be broken. It can not be broken because it is like the holy gate through which the person has to walk.     

Designs have become bolder, brighter and larger but the beading technique stayed the same

In the past everything was very clearly organized in the Xhosa society and rules were laid down, that were not contradicted or opposed by the members of the society.

In the "old" Xhosa society a clear organisation and hierarchy laid down the rules, that were respected by all

  
Bead work, worn by traditional healers is distinctive and immediately identifies the wearer as a healer. The healer wears the signs of his profession. Novice healers wear single white strings of white beads around their heads, wrists, elbows and ankles, while experienced older healers have the right and privilege to wear much more opulent and elaborate bead work. They are also allowed to wear other colors. 
 
The color blue plays a very important in the symbolism of Xhosa bead work. The color blue is associated with the color of water and when a  healer wears beads of blue color it indicates, that he was immersed in a river or the sea.

The Cleansing - Xhosa Women At The Wild Coast In Quolora By The Sea

 

The Water Of A River Of The Sea Has The Power To Purify You

Without Purity No Healing Is Possible

The Color Blue Is Associated With The Color Of Water- And Blue Beads Are An Expression Of The Fact That the Healer Was Immersed in A River Or  The Sea

 
White is like in many other societies as well a symbol of purity and power. Amandla, the word that the whole world came to know through the struggle for freedom in South Africa - is the Xhosa word for power - a power, that comes from the ancestors and from god. Both purity and power are qualities a great healer has to possess. To perform the century old traditional rituals (Amasiko) the healer has to be pure and he has to be powerful to speak to the ancestors and to make the rituals effective.

White Is A Symbol Of Purity- A Traditional Healer From King Williams Town Wearing Elaborate White Bead Work

 

A Traditional Healer from King Williams Town - Bead Work Is more Than Symbolic. Beads Are Intrinsic To Healing

Many healers believe, that beads are not only symbolic but that are contributing to the healing process because they imbue the personal power of the healer.

The term Bantu speaking people comprises a great variety of ethnic groups residing in the Eastern Cape like the Mfengu, Nguni, Thembu, Xesibe, Bomvana, Bhaca etc. Each of these groups although belonging to a larger group have very different cultures, languages and also politically different views. Bead work also allowed for a clear distinction between these groups.

Beadwork was used to differente between different ethnic groups and different political convictions

Although glass beads were introduced as a trade commodity to Africa from European traders they form today an integral part of the Xhosa Culture. They are seen as "African" and they are. We have often talked about the fact that the value added to a product over the years turns this product into something else. Bead work is seen today as something traditional.  In every family you will find family heirlooms that have been handed down from the older generations to the younger ones and they are worn with pride.

Bead work jewelry has great commercial value today because of the new designs and the many ways it has been modernised.

 Beaded Hair band - widely available throughout the Eastern Cape

Large beaded colorful earrings

Multicolored necklace

Hand Ring of black and silver -  A modern take on the traditional way

For further insight into this topic we invite you to watch our short movie with 80 year old Thembeka Metele "The Traditional way Of Dressing In The Xhosa Culture" .

Where The Mdantsane Doctors (and many others) Shop - Ma's Traditional Pharmacy

A traditional doctor has to buy the supplies for his practice like any other doctor. Many of the plants and herbs used for the traditional remedies come from the remote, rural areas of Southern Africa. People who know about the areas where the plants grow, collect and sell them to suppliers or pharmacies, that in turn serve as wholesalers for the traditional practitioners.

The location of the plants is often kept a secret.

 

A traditional pharmacy in North End, East London owned by the same family for two decades

One pharmacy, that has a long standing reputation for selling a wide range of traditional supplies is situated in an area called "North End" in East London. 

The North End is also the home of a vibrant, colorful shopping complex, the Indian Plaza and it is the place said to be the location, where the first inhabitants of Mdantsane were removed from to be settled in NU 1 in Mdantsane in the 1960's. 

Come inside

Come inside! The pharmacy sells to individuals as well as to herbalists and sangomas. A look through the wide open doors tells you, that you are likely to find your potion here. 

Many holistic healers from Mdantsane come to this pharmacy, that has been handed down from father to daughter, to buy their supplies.

Every condition is treatable if you know the right remedy - an old painting crowns the wall in Ma's traditional pharmacy

When entering the pharmacy your eyes are drawn to an old painting of a sad looking young black boy on the wall. It is rather dim inside the shop and the light reflects on the many glass jars.

Holistic healing has gained much attention during the last decade. Basically in every country of this world, there are doctors who have trained at a formal university and have a classical medical education based on scientific principles, but they are turning now to holistic healing, be it by either partly integrating certain methods and cures into their practice or by adopting a completely new philosophy.

Potions, powders and lotions, that do not only treat the body but the soul and mind as well

If you look around and you understand the Xhosa language, you will be able to understand in a very graphical way how many evils are plaguing humanity and the human soul since centuries. Each jar is labeled with an evil, that is treatable.

Holistic healing is based on the principle, that every evil, be it physical or spiritual can be cured. For this, the help of the ancestors is necessary. The traditional healers and diviners can establish this connection with your ancestors for you

Like many Eastern philosophies, holistic healing in the African tradition recognizes the unity of mind, spirit and body. If one of the three is not well, the other two are affected as well.

Neatly aligned glasses with all sorts of remedies in the shelves

There is a great number of glass jars, neatly aligned on the shelves, some of them containing ingredients, that might scare westerners and shake their perception of treating the ill.

There is a "Tokoloshe Salt"on the shelf and Ma, the owner of the shop can explain you all about it.

Tokoloshe or Hili (from the Xhosa word utyreeci ukujamaal) are dwarf-like water creatures or spirits. 

It is considered a mischievous and evil spirit, that can become invisible by swallowing a pebble. Tokoloshes are called upon by malevolent people to cause trouble for others. 

At its least harmful a tokoloshe can be used to scare children, but its power extends to causing illness and even death upon the victim. The way to get rid of him is to call in the n’anga (witch doctor), who has the power to banish him from the area.

"Ma" with her coffee and newspaper in her shop

I must just call her Ma, she says, like all her costumers.

Ma started helping her father about ten years ago in the pharmacy. She likes to have her coffee close to the window from where she can observe the busy street.

I took over from my father, it's a family business and you have to know the local languages

"We come originally from the Transkei, she says, it is a family business and I got involved about a decade ago when my father was aging and I started to help him out. Then I learned all about the plants and herbs".

Skins are used in traditional healing as much as any other product

"You have to know the local language, not only one of them but more is to your advantage. You can not do this without speaking the language because everything is about traditional, local secret knowledge".

We are down in stock, Ma says, we are waiting for new supply

"Our supplies come from the remote, rural areas and we can only wait. We are very down in stock now. I have to turn people away. We order with our suppliers, but even we, who have been involved in this business for such a long time, we do not know all the areas where the plants come from, Ma explains."

For each and every evil a remedy

"We mix our own lotions and remedies and some of them are very popular. People with cancer have been healed, just by drinking our medicine. But you also have to believe in that you will receive help by drinking our potions".

A painting of a Xhosa woman in the shop - of unknown origin

When she is saying this, it becomes clear again, that this is the crucial factor in every kind of treatment and healing process. Have faith, that you will be healed!

Plastic bowls with  "Ma's" handmade mixture

Large plastic bowls are filled with things, that the untrained eye really cannot identify.

Different colors for different reasons

And while we are in the pharmacy we realize there is one costumer after the other, coming in, speaking to Ma's helpers, leaving again with something. There is this quiet, but steady flow of movement in the shop.

A mixture of many different things

A mounted baboon skull watching over the shop

There are skins and plants hanging from the roof, there is the smell of soap and something not so good, there are old radios and trophies, there are skulls and worms and substances, that can not be identified anymore. But there are also old paintings and artefacts, that belong rather in an antiques shop.

One of  Ma's helpers is waiting for costumers

"The business goes well now, she says, costumers know us, but like with any other business it takes time. You have to get a name first and people have to get to know and trust you. There is no secret to this. If you are not willing to work for a business, there is no remedy for that".

Part of an animal waiting for a costumer

Things are sitting next to each other on the shelves that have no real connection in life

Ma is taking over this important costumer

And people not only from Mdantsane but from further away come to buy at Ma's shop. 

A Sangoma from King Williams town just came through the door and he hands Ma his list. She is the only on who knows everything, her helper says. And she takes over now this costumer because the list is long and complicated.

Watching Ma

Horns and Skulls are used in Healing

A sangoma from King Williams Towns travels 60 km one way to get his supplies

Willing to give us a short interview

He said he came to town to do photos for his identification document.
There are changes now and traditional healers have to be registered in South Africa.

Newly taken photos of him in his traditional attire for his certification document, that all traditional healers have to have now in South Africa

Amagqirha - The Way Of Divine Healing In The Xhosa Tradition

A while ago we published the article "A Young Circumcision Surgeon's Quest To Preserve Tradition" by Siyanda Nkonyeni and with today's post we are following up on the great interest this topic has created amongst our readers, South African and foreign alike. 

The historical images shown today on our site are all property (we do not claim any rights to them, they are shown here for the sake of sharing them with our readers) and are exhibited at the Amathole Museum in King Williams Town in the Eastern Cape. 

We also encourage our South African readers to make use of the cultural and historical sites we have in South Africa. Museums have to be visited to keep them growing and glowing. Our interest in the past of our country is the encouragement, that institutions like museums and galleries need to continue doing their work in a passionate and dedicated manner.

Historical Picture of A Mfengu Diviner (Amagqirha ), Grahamstown 1982 - The Amathole Museum in King Williams Town

 

Amagqirha have been labelled as witchdoctors, diviners, traditional doctors, Sangoma and Ngaka, but in the Eastern Cape of South Africa they are known as the Amagqirha. 

They are the custodians of customs that survived through the centuries and remain the foundation of tribal life.  

In Southern Africa there are two main types of traditional practitioners.The first group are the herbalists - in the Xhosa language their name is amaxhwele and in the Zulu language izinyanga. 

The diviners belong to the second group, called in Xhosa amagqirha and in Zulu izangoma.

Explanation of the role a diviner - Amathole Museum in King Wiliiams Town

A Diviner In His Consulting Room at Grahamstown 1982 - Amathole Museum King Williams Town

It is the diviner's work to discover the hidden causes behind misfortune and prescribe appropriate action. This action occurs usually in the form of divination or healing, using plant remedies, which could be practised without a knowledge of divination since all diviners are also healers at the same time, and have an extensive knowledge of medicines.

ASC (altered states of consciousness) are an important feature in the initiation and training of diviners in South Africa, as well as in their divination practices. 

As elsewhere around the world diviners make use of trance/ ASC to connect with what are believed to be spiritual powers or higher human awareness. 

In Southern Africa dance, song and psychoactive plants are all inducers of visionary phenomena.

The Diviner's Consulting Room - Amathole Museum King Williams Town

Through the use of these inducers, the diviner is able to connect with the ancestral "spirits" which is crucial in diagnosing the problem the patient has. 

Powerful healers are said to be able to see the illness in the body of the patient which is reminiscent of similar abilities employed by shamans around the world.

The Southern African diviner is characterised by his/her ability to communicate with and learn from the ancestor spirits (Amadlozi).

Diviners are most commonly not possessed by their spirits but communicate with them or use a medium by which their guidance is interpreted.

The healers mostly use the bones and dreams to communicate with their ancestors. Their spirits may also communicate information to them through thoughts. The ancestors always close. 

It appears that the ancestral spirits, who are said to be responsible for the initiation illness, and for sending visions and giving information to the healer, are an intangible force or power that the healer is connected to..

THE CALLING

Amathole Museum in King Williams Town About How A Person Is Called By The Ancestors To Become An Amagqirha

Diviners  are specifically called to their profession by their ancestors through the sending of a illness syndrome, referred to as thwasa or intwaso. This term is derived from the verb ukuthwasa which refers to the process of gradually becoming or emerging as a diviner. 

The person does not to choose to be a diviner but is chosen by the ancestors.

The intwaso condition is characterized by the initiate suffering from various illnesses, dreams, visions and mental disturbances such as madness and anxiety sent by the ancestors.

A Diviner In the Ciskei Circa 1984

To become a diviner the initiate has to be first cured of the illness (intwaso) through a series of rituals, which include the use of special plant based medicines of the home and training in techniques of divination and curing.

Medicine Bag Of A Diviner

This novice or candidate diviner (umkwetha) becomes now the apprentice of a experienced practising healer who teaches him/her the ways of traditional healing.

Diviner Pondoland Circa 1930's - Amathole Museum in King Williams Town

The Amagqirha are an integral, deeply embedded and important part of the South African Society. They can be seen in the big cities, rural areas as well as in townships, like Mdantsane. Divination and Healing through traditional herbal remedies exists side by side with modern western medicine. Moreoften the two complement each other.

Historical Image of A Diviner - Amathole Museum King Williams Town

Often patients who undergo a classical on western medicine based treatment consult an Amagqirha as well.

Zulu Diviners

With Western medicine not having all the answers the West has become more and more interested in traditional healing techniques like the ones practized in Africa for centuries.

Divinatory Charges, Grahamstown  in 1982

Rain Maker Kei Road circa 1940's - Amathole Museum in King Williams Town

A Display Of A Proprietary Medicines From A Trading Store circa 1940's at Ngqutu Transkei

ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF THE KING WILLIAMS TOWN MUSEUM