By: Joy Chinecherem
“Waist beads have always oddly fascinated me. Growing up, I had a lot of misconceptions about waist beads steaming from what I was told about it. Sandra started wearing waist beads right from when she could walk, I was drawn to it the same way Eve was drawn to the forbidden fruit.Other kids in our cycle stayed away from Sandra because our parents had warned us severely about her having an Ajo mmuo (evil spirit) following her because of the waist bead, I mean who wouldn’t stay away from hearing ‘evil spirit’ but me. I never understood the hush-hush surrounding the whole waist bead palava. Over time my curiosity has grown more, So I revisited this object of my early fascination, sharing it with you”. – Joy
Waist beads mean different things to different people varying across cultures and tribes. Over the years, the misconceptions surrounding these body ornaments have grown and held steadfast, growing into various myths, most demonizing it.
What are Waist Beads: The Jigida, Bebedi, or Ileke Idi as known across the tribes of Nigeria, otherwise known as waist beads, are ornaments of small glass or stone beads that are threaded together around the waist or hips.
Waist beads are generally fancy, coming in different colours, sizes, and shapes including crystals, decorative stones, or charms. In more recent years, waist chains have come to join the fold as it spreads to other parts of the world.
History of the waist beads: No one can say exactly when the waist beads came into existence while there are many histories behind it. Generally, it is believed to date back more than 15th centuries ago, when the Egyptian women donned it as a status symbol. They were simply called girdles at that time.
Some would say the waist beads can be traced to Africa, precisely the West African region, where it was assumed to be made common by the Yorubas.
In Chinua Achebe’s book Things Fall Apart, he described maidens with rows of Jigida on their waist, remember this book dated before the colonization of Nigeria, hence showing the fact that Igbos had been wearing the waist bead a long time ago. The famous Igbo Ukwu arts further buttress this point with its display of beads.
The origin of the waist beads can be linked to other African countries including Ghana and Senegal.
Significance/Importance of the Waist Beads: As much as misconceptions are flying around the waist bead, the cultural significance is deeply steeped and cannot be changed especially with the Yoruba tribe of Nigeria. The waist bead is known as Ileke Idi or Lagidigba meaning something big, thick, or massive in the Yoruba language mostly made of palm nut shells strung together, while the bebe is made of glass.
The Yorubas have a belief that the waist beads possess erotic appeal, that they have the power to invoke deep desire or emotional response from the opposite sex. In the modern world today, several men have admitted to being turned on by the sight of the ornament, the reason for this sexual attraction is because it draws attention to the hips, buttocks, and thighs. No wonder Mr Eazi sang I Surrender to your Ileke Idi.
Waist beads are also used by the Yorubas for birth control, it is supposedly laced with charms and worn by the women to prevent conception.
Beads are very precious ornaments to the Yorubas, generally, its purposes are limitless to them, the Lagidigba beads are used for fecundity purposes. They believe that it brings multiple births as they are in clusters.
The Yorubas can easily comment on a woman’s moral standing by interpretation of the movement of the waist bead she wears. The way she moves her buttocks can depict her morals as either seductive or reserved.
The Yorubas have a popular saying: “It is the beads that make the buttocks to shake.”
Other users of the waist beads in Yoruba land are the Orisas or devotees of water deities and other priestesses; they adorn the waist beads for protection against spiritual attacks as well as part of their dress regalia.
Coming down to the eastern part of Nigeria, the significance of the waist bead has somehow dwindled and alienated over the years, called Mgbaji in the Igbo language or Jigida, as the Hausas called the ornament.
These colourful ornaments are used for occasions like Iru Mgbede which is a cultural rite of passage to announce that a girl is ripe for marriage. The girls are decked in their colourful coral bead tying short wrappers to showcase their supple bodies. Brides wear it on their big day for adornment and protection.
Across Africa, this ornament symbolizes various things to other countries, in Malawi/Uganda where it is known as Mikanda and Butiiti respectively, it is used to pass sexual messages between couples depending on the colour. It was said to have been used to hold up a menstrual wrapper in the early days.
All over the word, waist beads have come to serve different purposes to women. It comes in handy as a weight consciousness tool, also as a token of beauty.
The Myths Surrounding Waist Beads: Chinenye narrated her ordeal on the humiliation she has faced several times. Once when her beads peeked out under her shirt in public transport, a man tore it from behind with elderly women hissing and cursing at her, calling her wayward and an Ashawo.
Chinenye’s experience is one in many that ladies who dare to show their ornament in public places, or ladies who try to demystify the myths surrounding the use of waist beads.
Aanuoluwapo Tayo, a waist beads seller in the South Western region of Nigeria who believes that waist beads are first African, then fashion admitted to the fact many people believe that waist beads are something fetish.
“Most Africans have attached spirituality to waist beads, but still, it remains nothing but fashion and lifestyle,” said Richard Idasenibo Chigbo, writer at Google Naija.
In Nigeria and other parts of West Africa, most cultures add special oils, charms, and beads to the making of a waist bead. It is believed that that special stuff added give the beads additional power to attract men, ward off evil spirits, heal sicknesses, etc.
As it gains modern popularity, it has been linked to the Northern Kayanmata or the blue eye bead supposedly used to fortify it for different intents and purposes, notoriously marketed by digital mamalowos (traditionalist).
The myths surrounding waist beads haven’t been proven yet, they just hang around, like Fela Anikulapo Kuti said “An African woman is not complete without her waist beads”
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