New Exhibition - The Secrets of Beads 'Imfihlo Yobuhlalu'

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Foreword

Dr M. Mduduzi Xakaza    Director: Durban Art Gallery

Global human society is not culturally static; it  is definitely marked by elements of dynamism.  The Zulu community, too, has always been  culturally dynamic, responding to both internal  and external stimuli and attendant existential requirements. One of such stimuli has been the  community’s need to use culture as a tool for  communication.

In the introduction of ‘The Secrets of Beads’  Jannie van Heerden, an acknowledged authority  on Zulu crafts, articulates the social significance  of Zulu beadwork from the nineteenth century  up to the present. The Durban Art Gallery hosts  such an important exhibition of its beadwork  collection at an opportune moment given that the  current global cultural upheavals should not be  allowed to erode what has always been known  as ‘Zulu culture’ in this region of sub-Saharan  Africa. However, curators Anthea Martin and  Hlengiwe Dube have crafted this exhibition to  highlight the fact that traditional Zulu society has  never been monolithic in terms of their usage of  body adornment as a form of cultural expression.  The Durban Art Gallery is honoured to  have collaborated with such experts who have been  immersed in this genre during their long careers  at the African Art  Centre.

The content of the exhibition, as well as text  and images of the catalogue, based on both  primary and secondary research efforts,  imbue  this catalogue with a profound element of  authenticity in that Hlengiwe, as a cultural  insider, was born and raised within the Zulu culture, absorbing highly nuanced elements of  the knowledge of her culture. Given that the  Zulu community did not use modern letters to

communicate their messages among themselves,  beadwork has always been used not only as  communication tool but also as a currency of  trade, especially with European traders who brought glass beads. This is just one of the  examples of how beadwork can be seen as a vehicle for cultural dynamism. Before the Zulus  encountered such traders from across the seas,  seed beads were dominant and the introduction  of more colour into beadwork might have  immensely expanded the scope of utilising this  genre for communication purposes. 

The modern style uses bolder colours and since  1960 strong geometric designs were introduced.  According to Frank Jolles in his work ‘Traditional  Zulu Beadwork of the Msinga Area’, African Arts,  January 1993) three different styles based on  colour combinations are found - this is not a hard  and fast rule, as other variations exist:

 Isithembu, using the following five colours:  black, red, dark green, yellow and bright green.  Umzansi, four colours: white, red, dark green  and dark blue.

Isinyolovane, four colour combinations: white,  red, dark green and dark blue

Some of the other areas of KwaZulu-Natal that  have distinct bead colour combinations are:

Nongoma /Ulundi

Here bead makers use large fields of white  with triangular or diamond shapes cut up  and combined in ingenious ways using red,  green and black, or blue, yellow and red. The  beadwork worn by the rickshaws is typical of  this area.

TRADITIONAL MEANING OF BEADWORK

Although beadwork is frequently worn today as  mere decoration, it is essential to view beadwork  within the context that it was originally worn and to  be aware of the symbolic meaning attached to the  various rituals in which the wearers of beadwork  were involved.

Beadwork indicates marital status or sex. Married  women have certain items reserved exclusively for their use, for example the bridal capes from  Estcourt area, (izikoti) or the beaded headbands  (izembozo) from Maphumulo. Also worn are  legpieces (izingusha) and shawls (amatete) anklets  (amadavithi) front aprons (izintshodo) and beaded  belts (umutsha).

A pregnant woman wears a pregnancy apron  (incayi) made from the hide of an animal which is  killed sacrificially to appease the ancestors and it is  studded with brass buttons and beads; the apron is  meant to symbolise good luck. Young girls wear front loin covers (izishapa) and  back loin covers (obeshwana).

Males are often attired in a beaded waistcoats  (into-Elibhantshi) and bandoliers (imitamatama).

Beadwork is also worn on special occasions  such as weddings, funerals and coming-of-age  ceremonies.

When beadwork relates to courtship it frequently  contains secret messages. 

A Love letter (umgexo) is given by a young girl  as a token of affection to her lover. It contains  encoded messages in colour sequences, and  sometimes lettering is also used.

There is a lot of speculation amongst researchers  about the meaning of colour sequences used in  Zulu love letters and one needs to be cautious  about ascribing meaning to colour in beadwork as the messages that young girls were writing in  colour combinations for their lovers were personal.

These messages could only be understood by  the parties involved. B.M. Mthethwa stated that these messages in colour were often in the form of  puzzles which would be decoded by those persons  for whom they were intended.

Decoding Zulu Beadwork, in Sienaert and Bell,  ed.) J. W. Grossert interviewed Princess Magogo,  the late mother of Chief Buthelezi, in respect of  colour symbolism. She grew up in the Royal Kraal  and had an intimate knowledge of traditions. She  ascribed a lot of different meaning to some single  colours and emphasized that one needed to  know Zulu traditions in order to comprehend the  meaning of colour combinations.

In Know the Past, Wear the Future, published  by the Local History Museum, a list of Princess Magogo’s explanations of colour meanings appear  (pp 21-30).

Currently plastic beads have, in many instances  replaced glass beads and they lack the  translucency and brilliance found in old beads.  However, enterprising institutions like the  Durban  African Art Centre and creative beadmakers such  as Hlengiwe Dube and Alexia Mkhize still create  exquisite and original      bead pieces.