| Original Message: "Koli-of-the-Water" |
|---|
|
Hi Carl, Among the koli beads of Ghana—these beads almost always being cobalt blue of various tones and diapheneities, including dichroic specimens—there is a group of beads called "koli-of-the-water" that are green and/or teal blue. All of these koli beads may have a variety of origins and techniques, including being lapidary-worked, drawn, and powderglass types. In Ghana, koli beads are regarded as exotic, and not as "local" beads—even though they are locally important for ritual and social purposes. They came from somewhere else. It is speculated (and I tend to agree) that a likely source for koli-of-the-water beads was Nigeria. Nevertheless, I don't know of any koli-of-the-water beads with impressed melon-form shapes. So it is possible that these particular beads were made in Ghana. However, this class of beads has seldom been brought to the US—which I believe is because there was not an established market for them here, and bead traders did not include them in their inventories. I had to go to Ghana to acquire the few strands I have. So, it's entirely possible there are variations of koli-of-the-water beads that I have not seen (and few outsiders may have seen). I would not call a melon-form shape "typical of Ghana," and well-represented in their traditional beads. I don't doubt there are some. The koli beads of Ghana, in recent times (the 20th C.) have also included modern trade beads that may or may not be altered by Ghanain women, for the purpose of making them appear similar to old beads. These are usually characterized as "cooked koli beads." The name "koli" is forever linked to the name "kori"—the local name for what Europeans have come to call "aggrey" beads. In the Krobo language, there is no "R"—and (as in a reversal of the Japanese language) the "L" is substituted. Jamey All rights reserved by Bead Collector Network and its users |
|
|