Are Waist Beads Evil?
This days, it is quite common to hear people ask whether waist beads are evil and the significance of voodoo waist beads in a relationship, to answer these questions and whether waist beads witchcraft exists, let’s delve into history. The history of waist beads dates back to antiquity. Many believe that the history begins in ancient Egypt where they were called “girdles” and were worn by women as a status symbol. In West Africa, the tradition was made popular by the Yoruba tribe of Nigeria. They are worn as a celebration of womanhood, sexuality, femininity, fertility, healing, spirituality, body shaping, protection and wealth.
Yoruba woman are known to have once laced beads with charms and fragrances that would be considered irresistible to the opposite sex. This practice is now less popular, however wearing beads for the seduction of men is still one of the primary reasons some women wear them. Waist beads can be considered as “African Lingerie.” SEE: Harmful Traditional Practices In Nigeria
Reasons Why Women Wear Beads
- Sexual Appeal: It is believed that a woman in waist beads is sexually appealing to men. Most African men love to see their women in beads. Most of them have also admitted that seeing a woman in waist bead turns them on. They love to play with it as their women lay in their arms or during sexual activities as well.
- Body Shapers: Waist beads serve as a natural waist trainer for some women. Wearing of beads can easily tell an African woman whether she is gaining or loosing weight.
- Traditional Practices: There’s a believe that beads improve a woman’s curves. Hence, beads are worn around African baby girls to enhance their curves and also to give them shape as they reach their adolescent stage.
- Healing and Meditation: Some people also believe that waist beads have some healing and protective charms that keep danger away. They are said to heal stress, anxiety or relax the nerves during pregnancy.
- Heritage and Pride: Sometimes, the waist beads are just a show of love for the Ghanaian heritage and Africa heritage at large.
- Maturity and Growth: Many communities put this beads on their girls as a rite of passage and adorn them and to show that they have passed from girls to women.
Importance Of Waist Beads In Love Making
Africa is saturated with strange traditions and beliefs relating to sex, for example while the traditional Zulu culture had positive values and behaviours that discouraged penetrative sex before marriage, alternative sexual practices such as ukusoma (non penetrative thigh sex) were in place to ensure that young people still gratified their physical needs in love relationships, but without having penetrative sex. Here are some of the reasons why African traditionalists consider waist beads important in love making:
- Waist beads makes a partner more attracted to a woman’s body
- It gives a woman the freedom to be versatile with her sexual life. For example: switching out waist beads, wearing different colors for different moods, or different styles and designs on occasion
- A deeper spiritual connection can develop through waist beads and praying traditionally with a partner
- Attract and transfer energy between lovers. For example: a waist bead designed for chakra energy can be worn to inspire, create, prosper which can be transmitted through sexual energy
- Recharge sexuality and sensuality. For example: creating a desire for a sexual fantasy.
Also see: Traditional Birth Attendants in Nigeria
