The story of beads

As we learn interesting stories about beads, beads art becomes even more enjoyable. Here is the first story about the meaning and the use of beads way back in history...

Many of us think of beads as small marbles with holes through them used for craft or decorations. However, the meaning of beads is much more than that. The word 'beads' comes from anglo-saxon word 'bidden' which means 'to pray' and 'bede' which means 'prayer.' As conveyed in the meanings, beads were known to be mysterious and were often used for religious purposes as well.

In The Kogi of Columbia, beads were used to pray after construction of new houses for its safety. In North America, beads were used on clothings to represent social and political standings. In some areas, beads were considered equally important as the rare and precious medicine. Some used beads to represent wealth and took them even to their graves.

Around 15th century, beads became one of the important goods for trade. Especially around 17th-19th century, Europeans traded huge amounts of their glass beads with North American leather, Indonesian spices and African gold. Interesting to note that the shape of beads back then was in the form of a barrel or disk.

As you can see, beads have their roots deep into our history, and thus our lives. A simple piece of bead was used to represent life itself and its relationship with nature. So...long ago, if someone were to wear beads, it represented act of faith, trust, and symbolized one's own world...something very important and precious.