If you have travelled in South Africa and spent some time in the province of KwaZulu Natal, you might have seen some of the colorful beadwork, the artistic pride of the Zulu people.
Traditional Zulu beadwork was at one time far more than just a decorative art of weaving small glass beads into beautiful patterns. Designs and colors were selected and combined in various ways to create messages that helped regulate the behaviour between individuals of opposite gender. Zulu beadwork was and is designed and made exclusively by women, but worn by both sexes.
The bead code was and still is deceptively simple. It utilizes one geometric figure, the triangle and seven colors. The three corners of the triangle represent the father, the mother and the child of a family. When the point of the triangle is facing down the symbol stands for an unmarried man or boy, while the opposite is the symbol for an unmarried women or girl. The seven colours used are black, blue, yellow, green, pink, red and white. Each colour has two meanings, one positive, one negative, except white which stands for purity and love. When another color is used next to white it takes its positive meaning. Blue, white and black bands are a standard combination to show marriage.
