Waist beads are a traditional African accessory that consist of small glass beads on a string or wire worn around the waist or hips. They come in different colors and shapes and may also include decorative stones, crystals, or charms.
Waist beads have been worn for centuries by women in many African cultures. They’re also referred to as belly beads, waistline beads, or beaded waist chains.
Waist beads are a piece of jewelry worn around the waist and hip area by women that originated in Africa as a symbol of waist size, beauty, sexuality, femininity, fertility, well-being, and maturity.
Why are they worn?
They are beautifully worn as a symbol of confidence, well-being, posture, and protection of sexual desire, and they also represent royalty and social standing based on the price and quality of the beads.
What can they be used for besides waist enhancers;
Waist beads are used as a family planning method too, which places them at 95% effective when used correctly in preventing pregnancy and approximately at 88% effective with typical use among women with a reported cycle between 26 and 32 days.
importance and meaning of waist beads by color;
They hold deep cultural significance peculiar to different African societies. They are differentiated by color.
Green waist beads symbolize abundance, nature, and prosperity.
Red waist beads symbolize confidence and vitality.
Blue waist beads convey loyalty and truth.
Black waist beads convey power and protection.
Pink waist beads symbolize care, beauty, love, and kindness.
White waist beads symbolize light and truth.
The cycle beads family planning colors differ
Red cycle beads: mark the first day of your menstrual period on the day your period starts and move the ring to the red bead.
White cycle beads mark the days you are likely to get pregnant, so one should not have unprotected sex if they are not ready to get pregnant.
Brown cycle beads: mark all the days when one is not likely to get pregnant, when they have unprotected sex.
Dark brown cycle beads– helps you to know whether ones cycle is 26 days, if it starts before you move the ring to the dark brown, your cycle is shorter than 26 days.
Last brown: if your period does not start before you move the ring to the last brown, then one’s cycle is longer than 32 days.
Most importantly, beads are worn by women for their sexual appeal; it is believed that a woman in waist beads is sexually appealing to men. Most African men love women in beads; they admit it is appealing and turns them on.
