Are Edo hair beads
a recent phenomenon?
Edo is the name for the place, people and language of an ethnic group in Nigeria believed to be the descendants of the Benin Empire in modern day Nigeria. Many writers have put the origin of the Edo people as coming from Egypt while others believe the people of Edo originated from Ife, the heatland of Nigeria’s Yoruba.
The photos below show an Edo woman adorned with beautiful beads. Beads worn on the waist are common across Africa, however, beads worn as part of an elaborate hair do are less common. There is some confusion as to the origins of this practice. Is this a new modern day practice? Is this an old tradition or lost tradition that has re-emerged? or were the wearing of beads in hair exclusively the preserve of nobility that has now become popular amongst the general modern day Edo populace?
Photograph Source: Naiaraland.com
