Country: KwaZulu - Natal, South Africa
Description: Not only are Zulu beaded adornments beautiful, they
play an important role in many traditional rituals, customs and
ceremonies. The beadwork is a form of courtship communication
between men and women. The beaded adornments reveal age,
marital status, sexual intentions, region or clan the wearer is from,
societal position, etc. The colors and geometric shapes are encoded
with symbolism. A triangle shape facing downwards signifies an
unmarried woman, while a diamond shape represents a married
woman. A triangle facing upwards signifies an unmarried man and a
married man is represented by an hourglass. The colors used can have<
positive or negative meanings.
COLOR SYMBOLISM: positive / negative meanings
GREEN: Contentment, domestic bliss / Illness, discord
BLUE: Faithfulness, request / Ill feeling, hostility
RED: Physical love, strong emotion / Anger, heartache, impatience
BLACK: Marriage / Death, sorrow
YELLOW: Wealth, garden, fertility / Badness, thirst, withering away
PINK: Promise, high status / Poverty, laziness
WHITE: Spiritual love, purity, virginity / None
These Zulu breastplates were made in South Africa prior to the 1950's.
Dimensions: 17 1/2" height x 12 1/2" width x 1" depth
