180 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BEAD 3 IN THE RIT35 OF PASSAGE AMONG 3QMB SOPTH'THN GHANAIAN PEOPLES Introduction B r i g id Sackey' Beads have considerable significance in the cultures of some Ghanaian peoples* Th<$r are used by nearly all the ethnic groups but ny main concern here is to discuss their extensive use, particularly by the Akan and Ga- Adangbe peoples of Southern Ghana in the r i t es of passage, that i s. the r i t u a ls and oeremonies that accompany the changes or transition from one stage of l i fe to another' This includes birth, puberty and death. The focus of the paper is on the significance of beads as insignia in these important ceremonies in l i fe among these Ghanaians, from the cradle to the grave• Some General uses of Beads "ndze" is derived from "ndzemba" i . e. "things11* Primarily, beads are considered to be a form of jewellery and objects for adornment as shown in the Pante (Akan) word for beads, "ahondze"; "ho" meeffis "self", "booty"; Thus beads, "ahondze" mean bodily things or adornments* Beads axe used by both males and females but more extensively by the females who wear them in the hair, around the neck, arir, wrist, waist, knee and ankle. Beads deter- mine the rank of a person in socisty so that the beads of a chief are different from those of his subjects* Cardinall (l9& : 289) observed in respect of the Gold Coast (southern Ghana) that "those of the highest distinction wear on their arms and necks strings of beads which they call a i g r i . . * . ". Among the Ewe people of Southern Ghana, a person who has dis- tinguished himself by means of a great achievement abroad, e*g« in war and in recent times after successful completion of studies overseas, is welcomed with a string of precious beads. Aburi (Akan) three precious beads are tied below the knee of the officiating priest as a si 3* of his office (Opoku -]97O : 29)* Traditional priests are often recognisable by the manner in which particular beads are worn. Akan priests wear a bandolier of tiny red beads, while Ga priests wear a string IXiring the Yam Festival of the people of Research Fellow, Institute of African Studies, Legpn* 181 of black round beads and white flat beads as their priestly insignia. (M. Field, 1961: 187) Some types of beads were used in slave trading on the Gold Coast and their economic value is recorded by cardinal «».... a necklace of these corals, of the thickness of a finger and of the lacigth of an inch, will cost as much as the value of seven negroes . . . ." (op. cit«: 289)* Also the "Fantees prefer the plain yellow bead, tho Amanaheanss the blue and yellow for which they vail give double the weight in gold" (op. cit: 288). Eva Meyerowitz (i959: 207) writes that from the fifteen century onwards the Bono people (Akan ) exchanged gold for »'Bota»» and "Bodom* beads. According to Asante (Akan) oral traditions, beads were used in the legal system to ascertain the truth. An accused was given a 'Bodom1 bead in water to swallow and confess. Should he t e ll l i es the bea-ds would choke and k i ll him.- Peter Sarpcng (i974: 45) writes that witchcraft could also be transferred from strangers, usually from old women to the younger cnes in the form of beads as gifts. There are many other usas of beS-clc but since the subject is on beads and r i t es of passage I shall limit myself to the few examples above. Beads Beads vary in material, shape, size and colour. They are made of stone, wood, seeds, cowries, animal bone and teeth, coral, glass and other minerals. But before I begin, the controversial term 'aggrey' (also spelt aggry, aigri, accorry, akori, akoli) which is used to describe any pretty, coloured bead in Ghana is wi z-th considering. GChere has boon a controversy over the very nature of the bead with many schools of thought but there art two major widespread theories* One says the original 'aggrey* is a coral and -the other thinks it is glass. Cardinal identifies three types of beads called 'aggrey1. One variety is single coloured, another is mosaic and a third is striped- Although he ia convinced about Barbot's account that the original 'aggrey1 is a blue coral growing in branching bushes at the bottom of rivers and lakes in Benin (Nigeria), he nevertheless, gives the other kinds, the mosaic aid the striped, a Venetian origin and thinks they had been made purposely for the Africsn trade. Van Landewijk (i97i: $6) is rather convinced of a local 182 orlgon of the original 'aggrey' which he believes to "be a blue bead that coir.ce from a silicate glass slag, a by-product from local ircn ore smelting. To substantiate this he gives evidence that glass slags have beaa excavated at Beifikrom, Asebu and Begho in Ghana. James Anqu.ars.dah (i9?3) has throm more light on the subject from which it appears that the hypothesis of Laadewijk is more credible" According to both Landewijk and Anquandah, tiie material for obtaining -the ircn ore is a local l a t e r i te and blade river sand which contain certain impurities that give the silicate slag i ts blue colour* Anqaandah talks of some Akan states like Adanse, Dompoase, Suubease snd others which used l a t e r i te in smelting and dates the period of this technology to the second centujy A»D. Landewijk (op. c i t .: 93) has compiled the different theories of the nature and origin of the 'aggrqy' bead as follows: 1) The original aggrey bead was a blue, locally found coral. 2) It was a blue locally found mineral. 3) It was made of glass* 4) It grew in the ground or was produced by thunder or foxmed by supernatural powers- Sources of Beads From my research conducted among some Akan people in 1983» two main •types and sources of the beads they called "ahondze pa*» i . e. genuine or precious beads were given. The f i r st -type is a blue bead called "Skuar" ¥;hich is found in rivers of Nigeria and Camerouns, and which supposedly found. :>.is way into Ghana through Hausa traders. The second type of beads are believed to come from the ground. These are either milti-coloured, mostly with a yellowish back ground with designs of stripes, spots, stars snd other motifs or have a uniformed colour of light red, yellow and light green, the l a t t er sometimes with long stripes of £pld dust. Some of the Akan names for ifcese coloured beads are "Bodom, Bota, Htsetseaso, Km- kyerma" etc. The material of these "ground" nahr! to almost any bead which is old, valuable aid pretty. Nowadays any glass "tsai:., e"-T>. these manufactured locally with all kinds of materials are all termed 'aggrey1. Perhaps this is 30 becay.se there is no single "universal name for the genuine.beads• However it must be deso: that both the blue "beads'and the multi-coloured beads are to the elderly folk, who are experts in the knowledge of beads, not 'aggrey1 but simply "ahondze pa" i«e« gmuine beadsj for which each tribe has i ts pereuliar name. Some of these are "Bodom, Bota, itsetseasoV Naikyerma« (fante-Akan), "Akosu, •Adjaba, Ocomboshie- (Ga-Adangbe), "Bxta, Age, Hudega* (iwe). % informants hold steadfast to the supernatural origin of "fee ground beads. According to them (also Cardinal and Lamb) a spiral evolves from the ground after which follow trie beads and soiieti^nies with some gold oust" This fortune is found mainly by hunters and farmers 3B iiie forest. that Am a man sees the vapour he must hide t i ll after the beads have emerged to form a heap because if the finder shouts the beads would sink back into the ground. The finder then takes some tree branches or uses the loin do-th of his wife, if the latter is around, to beat dom the heap of treasure and them finds a fowl to slaughter in •t&an.ks-giving for "ttxe fortune. leference was made to the mystical find of genuine beads by Ekow Abmyin of Cape Coast who died in the 1950' s« One &m as mow Abonyin, a palm wine It is said 18a. brewer? wait to work he saw a very unusual hai vomii?tin"g gold dust \and^f one of his. palm trees- After -the vomit, the hm vanished and vapour started coirdng out from the spot where the hen had stood and hundreds of "BodLoa" came out. There is a general attempt to discredit the supernatural origin of I do not attempt to gzound beads. Many writers, including CardinalandLamb, think that these beads had been recovered from snoiait burial sites- disprove this hypothesis, because of lack of evidence. But normally the Akan bury their dead just en the outskirts of the village or towi and not in ihe forest where this treasure is supposed to be .found. Of course there could; be accidental deaths in the forest but in Ekow Abcnyin^ case hundreds of beada were believed to have hem found and no persert wears ao uaiy beads In ELmina the most rec^it find is said to have and goes into the forest. occured about 25 years ago. A ft at s* . . According to popular belief some of these beads take the form of a whai it is coming out from the ground. 0-filers say the bead barks like a deg; especialQy when some misfortme is about to occur in the family inhere the bead is kept, thus the name wI&domtt, -Hie Fante word for dog. It is also believed that a "Bodom" bead will multiply and yield i ts kind whai buri'ed provided certain rites? like seasonal pa^inar of 'libaticn-,, and women in It is interesting to their msises avoiding the place *here it is buried. note "that when a msistznating woman gses near the place where the bead is buried she disrupts i ts growth but en finding the treasure of beads a woman's loin cloth can be used tp beat dowi the evolving beads (see commmts en the secticn en Puberty below). * Althou^x my info rmaEits believe in the supematural origin *id power of the genuine ground beads they could not give the source of this belief. Per- hap s this sup eirnatux*al cai cept could find i ts zobts iri the bell sf thai other beads like seeds, stcne, animal bene and teelii etc. carry «per se11 magical and medicinal powers because the tree or stone and other objects from which thqy originate ndgrfc themselves be inhabited ty• powerful spirits as tradi- ticnal African religion teaches. Aiimals like lien, leopard, elephant, are very powerful creatures, so that their benes end teeth wh^a used as beads may also be regarded as equally powerful. 165 Similarly, the beads that come from the eartii- be it the native version . . ' . - • •" - . • . '' . . - . ' • • •" . • "• ^ . ,\ of ^vapourisation1 or van Laidewijk's assertion 'of derivation f&cwa Ircn ore dug from the earth - niust with higher probability contain some greater i^rstical powers because of the special position, of the earth in Ghanaian beliefs* Sa many Akan beliefs she is supposed to be the wife of "Nyame"; $ie gaprerne, being. According to Busia (1954: 195) the earth has a spiritual poorer which makes the plants grow." It is i&e earth that gives shelter to the dead* Therefore the earth must be nore powerful than the lesser s p i r i ts in trees, stales etc* and definitely the beads the earth brings forth must in t& ' opinion be endowed with greater supernatural qualities. THE BITKS OF PASSAGE MD ' BEADS Mrfc Because of the belief in the power of mystical dangers before birth, r i t u a l i s t ic devices are resorted to in order to ward off evil omaas in - pregnancy, in most Ghanaian societies. Charms on wrists, ankles, neck, wais t are worn • These in elude, beads called "Ahuhuaii w and "Bgyin amoan 1n weosi ty Akan pregiant woinai on tkie waist as protection <>. A d:.ild boccsnes eligible to be ushered into Akan society when it has survived the ei^it^day after (jn this day it is accorded a name as a sign of i ts %umanisationw b i r t h, (peter Sarpong op.citi $0)f having conquered the powerful influence.of the sev^i s p i r i ts Tshich control the seven days of t he week. Since u n t il the ei^ith day, a child is not treated as a proper human ,being, it is also hot lavishly adorned. Thus wbaha» fibre is used as armlets ancL leglets on the balf u n t il the ei^ith day (fiattray -J927? 57)» Than as a symbol of tr^ansitiai from the s p i r it world into thetect and halp the twins lead a normal l i fe because twins aye believed to possess supernatural powers? and evil spirits might influaace them to misuse their powers when s t i ll young If they arc l e ft unprotected• Puberty r i t es determine the tr'ansitieu from childhood to adulthood* 111 the :case of the- female, from girlhood to womanhood. In these riteif: which vary from one ethnic group to anothers girls a;?e ritastily demised, t&ught about the secrets of married life c**d aJoj-u &d wiui be^us as a visible si&xte of change in the social status*' Puberty r i t es a«© ogtaataticir'T performed by the Ga-A&angbe gcoup to which the Krobu people belong* Ihe series of r i t es is knovn by the Krobo ag "Dipo" and include instructions and games which are brought to an gad by the adommait with heavy accumulation of old, gamine beads around the neck> waist? arms and legs. These precious beads display both their new status as womgi aad the wealth snd status of thoir families 1977: •£?.) Since the main, aini of pubef+y r i t es is geared towards marriage and reproduction precious beads like "Bodom" which are believed to possess f e r t i l i ty qualiiies are necessary in them* An enormous p i le of heavy, colour- ful beads ore put around the neck to han;.r dovn over the naked bosom and also around the waist to cover the pubic area of the initisndo they are worn so close to the reproductive organs so as to make their f e r t i l i ty potential effective. sVjlcuaba» fertill'fcy dolls, whidh. are possessed ' mainly by barrel women a.re also adorned 7,1 th beads so as to induce f e r t i l i i y. 'in other words9 187 Until the attainment of this status of womanhood, not much, oonsideifation is given to nudity arid concealment of the sexual organs* The Fante word for an adole- scent g i r l, wakataasiav«? when analysed may suggest the meaning •'keep covered11* nICataw means Mcover or conceal11, nasiaw comes from the verb wsiew i*e* "toury11 or In otheir words, the .designation for a girl after puberty may in the %9°p well"« broad sense mean %eep oovered" i*e* protect the sexual orgrns t i ll marriage11, thus in Quilling the norm of chastity in the young. Beads are used not only to protect and preserve TSDmanhood but they are believed to serve also as a stimulant during sexual relations* The rattling of the woman's waist beads is said to stimulate the male partner. Waist beads also help to form the female waist ipto a particular shape, considered beautiful in the Ghanaian sense of judgement, which makes a "substantial impact1* on men (Kofi Antubam 1954s 92/* Waist girdles could be compiled of any kind of beads according to the social and economic rank of a person.. However during puberty r i t es only the precious ones like "Bbdom'-^ *!Botau, "EkuarM e tc are used. The reproductive power ^f bea.ds is further illustrated in the Ashanti Stool History Series (AS 77) in which one finds an ancient belief that beads can give birth even to human beings* For example the members of the nAsenew d an are believed to have descended from a bead called tBerewua"* Children of Asante Kings were washed in powedered "Bodom" beads to make them grow (Rattray op.cit*: 22)* In addition ' 0 the posicive. there qre negative aspects of beads* During menstrua-ion, the beads girdle is replaced with a string or fibre because of the belief in the supernatural nature of beads* Since a men st r at ing nsoman is a taboo and regarded a,s unclean she should not go near a place where a "Sodom* bead is buried otherwise she disrupts the bead1 s p^>wer of self reproduction. / On the other hand, it is a "woman1 s loin cloth, an object mainly used to hold menstrual blood* than is said to be used to beat down the beads when they arc coming from the ground* The explanation for the apparent contradiction of using the latter to touch the sacred beads may l ie in the belief that once a sacred item is touched by an impure one it loses i ts power. AJ.though in this specific instance, "fee loin cloth would be a fresh one - since a wom^ in her period would be unable to accon^any the husband to work* There i3 s t i ll the strong belief ^about i ts in^'arity and therefore once it touches the beads, they would lose iiieir power C(. withdraw and thus ren.ain with the finder* Perhaps the whole mystery surrounding iii^nstruation should be considered* Firstly, it is a biologic fact> which given a* source of recognition legitimises womanhood and iveproductiai of sociely • Alleged sameness of blood is said J-to be the basis q^ principle is that an Akan chief's sister sacrificed her son in order to save the whole Clan, bit it is only a ration l iz at icn. ELood means life &£§^sx*er^ of the striking differences between.the living and thgj0#mg%OTS is that #le l a t t er lack blood, and the periodical-tJU>cd"of the woman which throu^i washing gets to the earth ~ 1fa^&~gZiaL afeo&e of the ancestors - can be said to The r^icnalizaticn for tiiis descent ririg cmtact between the living and tile "physically- aeadM ancestors* Perhaps that is the more reason why sexual relations are prohibited dur ing men struat ion so that the period of solitude or sacrecness between the woman, and for that matter the living and the ancestors should not be disrupted* So "it is that there exist the strong belief of the Akan and others that children are sent by the aioestors "tforbugfr the woman and does not menstruation qualify her to be able to bear children? Almost in all libation prayers children are desired (See also Rattray 1927: 73 - i6*°). However this concept of menstrual-oncleanliness is widespread. It is also in the Bible (Leviticus 12) but what gave rise to this thou^it in the African tradition? According to my meagre knowledge in biology, menstruation takes place bacsase £n "unfertilised evuin inside the woman is destroyed* This causes a flow of blood which is darker in colour and different in odour than normal blood, and the loss of blood - be it normal or menstrual - could weaken the woman and even make her sick* Since there is a strong African belief that every sickness both physical and spiritual is effected through the force of evil spirits? funclean phenomenon1 mi^it have justifiably- or unjustifiably construed that this menstrual process^ might be a form of sickness being steered^ by efvil, and if so then a menstruating woman must certainly possess E^stical dangers harmful to society and therefore needed to be secluded from the rest of the :community during this period. I am inclined to think th^at those who instituted this Death In Ghanaian society a person is at no time so honoured and respected as at that of his death, because death is one of the requirements for one to become an ancestor - a spiritual being which can inflict punishment as well as blessing en his ,living relations, according to the l a t t e r^ behaviour* 189 Although there is the acquired habit of wrapping the dead in a shroud or suit,beads sxe never missing en the corpse* At death no matter what position a woman .might har/e held in life two girdles of waist beads, a necklace and wrist beads are used to adorn the body, though the selection of the "type of beads normally reveals the social status of the dead. In the case of a mans a short striped bead called "Brempon asm muM (Fante, meaiing "a worthy person has passed away"), is tied to the left foot of the dead man. If he happened to be a twin or cne of the special childrai string of the MAbamw entitled to "Abatn" (See section on birth above), the beads is tied to the left wrist. Mourners may wear any kind of dark beads to signify their grief. Widows and orphans wear particular beads to doiote their special state* Among the Asante a widow is recogiised by a particular kind of beads called 'sQyabom- " which "axe fastened onto the right wrists and the aikles (Eattray op. oit. i7i)» A dying Asante King is givm a coicotion of water, rum, gold dust and a "bodom" bead (lyerematai 1970; 6 ). The bead sigaifies the power of the Queenmother which is supposed to come from the moon (E. Meyerowitz 1958J Ch»l)« EcwoTer ."the bead is removed while the other contents are made to seep into the dying body. It is believed that the bead is only added to give the dying king assurance that the lunar power of the Qaeai mother is accompany.ing ki111 into the other world to help him through gust as she did in his l i fe time. Con elusion Beads are objects used to indicate the passage from one status of l i fe from -fee spirit world into the living world and in the living into the other; world, th^y mark the different stages of l i fe e.g. birth, puberty, death ; t i ll one returns to the spirit world. Beads are used mainly as charms for protection. They protect the pregnant woman from evil spirits that may eidanger the l i fe of -the unborn child and aisure safe delivery. They protect the young baby and keep it healthy. They protect the adolescent t i ll marriage. They accompany the dead to the other world to bear witness that they had bem into the living world. Beads I think were chosai for the rites of passage not only because of their durability and magical nature but they also show the beauty and 190 importance of the different stages in l i f e- That the same old beads are used from generation to generation portray the living tradition of these Ghanaianss a tradition that links the activities of yesterday with that of today. N O T ES 1) Considering the size of a 'Bodom' bead which has a diameter ranging from 2-5 cm - 11 an and a length of between 2 cm ~ 9 cm it is not unusual that one could easily get choked on swallowing it * 2) A parallel r i te is performed in Zululand* Ifflien a child began to crawl, a medicinal amulet - a special berry which served as a charm for good health - was replaced by a single string of beads called wingejert» 3) E.g. the third successive female or male child, the sevenths • ninth? tenth and the child born immediately after a, twin are all special children and entitled to wear the protective charm of ttA"baniw beads* Ag/eman-Biah, J. (recorder) 1963 AnlangB. Brottem 197 2/3 Anquan&ah, James Antubam, Kofi Busia, K.A. Cardinallj A-l- Cole Herbert & J). Ross 1983 1954 1954 1924 1977 Ashanti, Stool History - AS 77» Institute of African Studies Library? University of Ghana, Legpn. Zulu bea&work in African Art s Vol. 6, Los Angeles California University of California* Extracts from "Our Cultural frontier" Ghana Radio Broadcast 11th October, 8 Ghana's Heritage of Culture, Leipzig, Koehler and Atnelang. The Ashanti of the Gold Coast in Daryll Forde (ed) African Worlds' London, O.U«P« Aggrey Beads of the Gold Coast in The Journal of the African Society Vol. 24* The Arts of Ghana. Los Angeles* of California Press* Field Margaret Kyerematen, A«A.Y Lamb Alastair y Eva Opoku, A.A« Eattray, R. Sarpcng, Peter Van Landewijk, J-E.J- •] % •) Religica... ard Medicine of the GaPeople. ton den ? 0 -IT »P • 1970 Kin_s:ahip snd G e ^ SZ Kumasi, TJ.S«T« Press 1975/6 Krobo Powder - Geaso Beads in _Ar_ts_?ol»93 Los Angeles, California. 1958 1959 1970 Londcn, Paber and The_Sacred_ State of i the Akaa» Iondoi Faber and Fabea:« Festivals of Ghana, Accra, Qiana Publishing CO33pora"ticn. 1927 fleliglca. aid.T-Art in.,Ashanti., London. 1974 1974 3^S.JiLj£fe.gg,f,2.1ir publishing Corporatica .Accra-Tema, Oaana TSiat was the Original Aggrqy Bead? Ghana Journal of Sociology, Vol. 6, No.' 2" ' " Legon" rTi^r^tiCe of Adult Elucation,