Africa is a continent rich in culture, full of colours, mores and specially all history, which has made great contributions to humanity. Their lands are full of archaeological findings that contain the essence of the life of many cultures and civilizations, that still today are valid in modern life through artistic manifestations that bring to the whole world the feelings of the indigenous peoples that once populated this part of the globe.
These artistic manifestations can be found in jewellery, which has pieces that date back thousands of years. In fact, it is known that the oldest jewels found in this continent, are two pieces of ocher and beads made with engraved snail shells of approximately 75,000 years, discovered in the Cave Blombos in South Africa, as well as the accounts of ostrich shells dating about 40,000 years’ old that was discovered in Kenya.
Other findings found were necklaces and bracelets made of rough stone, teeth and bones, with a very particular symbolism.
If we look for a basic characteristic of African jewellery, it would undoubtedly be the strong symbolism that they contain and that is manifested through the different meanings of distinctive elements such as bones, teeth, feathers, skulls of small animals, which are combined with minerals and metals, to create amulets or simply ornaments worn by the natives in their bodies that today many tribes that inhabit this continent still carry them with pride, and despite the great advances and changes of the modern world, they keep their customs, tastes, preferences and lifestyles, just as they did thousands of years ago.
This is how Africans have managed to create and maintain a unique style full of colour and shapes, turning their jewels into representative elements of their culture and customs for thousands of years, revealing the importance of jewellery and religious, cultural symbol ornament and social, so they usually use them during religious ceremonies, performing dances, marriage rituals, or simply to decorate the body and attract the attention of the opposite sex in order to establish a relationship, so it can be said that the African jewellery finds symbolism in its essence and the key to its impact on culture is its great variety.
However, there are key pieces or garments of African jewellery, such as the labial dish, which can measure up to 7.8 inches and is intended to reinforce the mouth. This is used mainly in the tribes of Ethiopia, which take it to symbolize wealth, generally using materials such as firewood, terracotta or ivory for its production. In addition, the amount of layers they have determines whether a family is more or less rich.
If we refer to the use of precious stones in African jewellery, we must mention the blue stones, as well as quartz and carnelian. Special mention deserves the yellow amber, which they used with devotion because they related it to the sun, so it symbolizes the light and helped them protect the people and keep the shadows away.
Other stones used in African jewellery are: coral, which is called “water tree”, symbolizing the generation of life and protection; grey amber, which is attributed an aphrodisiac power, and small pearls, which are used in wristband, necklaces and bracelets, or to decorate in the form of headbands.
Undoubtedly pearls have been a staple in the jewellery of many cultures over time, and for Africans came to have a main attraction in the objects they used to excel, being used by both men and women, and they were directly related as a symbol of seduction and attraction.
In addition, African artisans frequently resorted to other materials from the Pharaonic era of Egypt to create their jewellery, such as cowrie, which is a small shell that was related to the female sex and was sometimes used to complement the jewellery. This shell was also used as currency and exchange merchandise, its use was extended throughout the continent, having found copies at archaeological sites in the Sahara and Mali.
But, the attractiveness of African jewels could not leave aside the most valued metal, gold, this was used mainly for the elaboration of ornaments and not as coins, highlighting the art of the Senegalese goldsmiths who became great experts in the handling of this metal, and gave African jewellery a place of honour, which later increased its prestige by combining the African influence with the European, which led to the creation of unique pieces, which were then replicated in European markets during centuries.
Given the importance and attractiveness that the gold jewels were reaching, they began to shine especially during the performance of prestigious rites and festivals within the social context of the different eras. The gold jewels that were usually used were necklaces, earrings, belts, rings for feet and hands, hair ornaments and even wore on his chest the so-called “soul disc”, which was a kind of large brooch that carried the priests and nobles with the purpose of purifying the soul of the chief.
Another of the materials used since antiquity in African jewellery is bronze, especially in the Niger area, where younger women wore garments made with this material and that had a great weight that made it difficult for them to mobilize, because they carried them on their ankles and arms, which was considered something attractive. These garments had Islamic engravings, and included bronze bells to necklaces and bracelets, as symbols of wealth, to the point that in some cases they became part of the bride’s dowry.
The bronze was also used to make some large bracelets, which were used as means of divinity in the sanctuaries, which allowed them to communicate with the spirits. For this, they generally used images of animals such as the buffalo, which were respected animals for their strength and cunning, representing the social importance of the person who wore it in a necklace.
For its part, silver was highly valued because it represented beauty, purity and honesty, so it was widely used by artisans in rural areas and nomadic tribes, such as those of Berbers and Turks, whose chiefs and guests of high hierarchical level carried silver rings of elongated form as tobacco holder, in addition to rings that represented some combatant on horseback, which were used by the warriors during the religious and ceremonial rites.
Thus, over time African jewellery has evolved thanks to the introduction of new techniques, adding elements that enhance the beauty of the pieces. One of the contributions to African jewellery was brought by the Hebrews, who arrived in Africa during the Inquisition period, including explosive colours and the technique of Chinese origin known as “cloisonneé”, which is a kind of honeycomb enamel, used for decoration of metal objects, with incrustations of glass, precious stones, among other materials.
On the other hand, the Hebrews introduced the technique of “niellatura”, that was used to realize engravings in silver, that contributed to the decorative elements more real and stylized forms, taking symbols of the nature, like for example the jackals that according to the tradition they served to ward off evil spirits, the serpent that was considered the defender of life, the salamander that protected them from fires, or fruits like the pomegranate that symbolized fertility, or the almond that represented immortality.
This is how African jewellery is currently betting on the design and creation of jewels that maintain the ancient traditions, customs and culture of this continent, maintaining the use of natural materials and striking colours, which find faithful defenders in designers with a new vision, as representatives of the Jewellahry brand that highlight the basic elements of contemporary African jewellery.
It should be noted that Susan Ellah, who began selling her pieces locally to become the designer behind the Jewellahry brand, has achieved international recognition; when projecting her work in the Miss Universe 2010 contest, when the Tanzanian representative wore earrings designed by her especially for the occasion.
We could say then, without fear of being wrong, that African jewellery is present all over the world, with its designs full of colour and magic, with attractive shapes that are linked in a combination of colours and techniques that have achieved stylization and good taste, without leaving aside its idiosyncrasy and variety, maintaining the traditional elements inherited from previous generations and completely different from those that can be found anywhere else, in order to offer the world an art that is inspired by its roots, and achieves adapt modernity in their designs.
This has allowed the boom of the African jewellery industry, which has achieved a great worldwide projection in important events, example of this is the jewellery contest recently sponsored by Anglo Gold Ashanti, one of the mining and marketing companies of The most important gold in the world, which decided to organize this event to produce a collection of gold jewellery that reflects the spirit of Africa, in which involved, jewellers organizations, recognized designers and specialists in high quality African jewellery, who used tribal ornaments as symbols of beauty and distinction.
ALFA