1. Introduction
East African bead work is used to adorn the body, for decoration and has been used as a symbolic feature for many years to signify age, marital status and also as a symbol of wealth among many east African communities. An example is the Dinka corsets. Beadwork has also been used for rituals (Nyambura, 2013). Different colors, shapes, material and sizes are used to represent different aspects of the wearer and may differ from one community to another. Beads have been made in East Africa for centuries, but were made popular during the Arab trade that was favored by the Monsoon winds.
2. Theory
Beads in Africa have over time earned the name trade beads due to the fact that they were used in the exchange of goods and also as a form of currency. The earliest beads date back more than 12000 years. The oldest beads to be discovered in Africa were found in Libya around the year 10000Bc. They were disc shapes made from ostrich eggs. Similar beads were discovered in Sudan’s Neolithic sites while other ancient beads have been found in Kalahari Desert (Carll, 2014). Carl (2014) goes on to describe beads of Africa as being heavily dependent on environmental factors, the availability of raw materials and external influences. This influence has been from the Europeans and Islamic culture along East Africa due to a long exposure to the Arab world. Clear Arabic influence has been manifested to date in different forms from architecture and textile to bead work and cuisines (Rhodia, 2012). Intricate beadwork designs from Egypt were discovered in the 1500BC (Marcus, 2014). The Egyptian artisans depicted images of gods and kings wearing broad collars with intricate beadwork on them. Rhodia (2012) explains that the earliest beads were made from shell, bone, horn, teeth, seed, wood, ivory and other materials. Beads from such materials are still used in the continent. Cowrie shell discs (FIGURE 1) were used as a form of currency throughout Africa and were also used to adorn the human body (Nyambura, 2013). Rhodia (2012) confirms that in Sudan, beads were made from the back coral available on their shoreline to make beautiful black beads in different shapes and sizes.
Beads were used to decorate African art such as masks that were used for religious practices in many parts of Africa. Such masks were worn to transform the wearer into a spirit. Beads were attached on the masks surfaces for example the Mende people of Sierra Leone, Beads were also used to decorate textile. They are still a great part of East African modern design and are stillused for traditional purposes in many communities in present day like the Maasai of Kenya
