what is the diameter of the fattest disc?
it would help if you can separate the discs enough to show their flat surfaces- most of the white shell ones are possibly cut from bivalves such as clamshells which sometimes have greenish markings or you may have examples of smoother lustrous oyster shells such as brown lip, etc. -they may have been made in the Philippines...

The diameters vary between. 9mm and 1.1cm.

The first image shows front and back of the disk that has a greenish, milky cast along the edge.

The second shows the white clam (?) and brown shimmery disk.

The red stone is bauxite, made into beads in Ghana. It is an ore of aluminum, also sometime called "volcanic ash." (I have never known why.) It's identification as "pipestone" is an error. In the 1980s, when a lot of African beads were being used by Americans for "Indian hobby" and Rendezvous purposes, African bauxite was routinely misidentified as "pipestone"—which is an indigenous clay-like mineral native to Minnesota, that was used by Native Americans for making smoking pipes. The color of pipestone is different, being more brownish-red, and usually having distinct white or more-pale spots. One of the nice things about pipestone (because it's a clay) is that it's initially fairly soft and easy to carve, but hardens over time to become more durable.

Among white African hishi beads, the more common ones were made from a terrestrial snail. The shell pieces are usually slightly concave (most apparent when the diameters are big), and the convex side often has brick-red or brownish stripes (these being the external decoration of those snails). The shells of land-snails tend to be softer and more easily damaged than we find with marine mollusks.

Ostrich eggshell is one of the oldest known bead materials, and in the living tradition usually comes from South Africa. The beads are typically chipped into shape, and it's not uncommon that the circumference is somewhat out-of-round. The perforations may not have a regular cylindrical channel-shape, but tend toward being wider at the apertures. These shell piece also have an "inside" and "outside, and a slightly concave shape. They are smoother on the convex outside. There is also a spotty grain to this shell, that is absent in Mollusk shells. Your beads appear to be ostrich eggshell.

The other shell hishi beads you show appear to be from marine mollusks. These are often two different colors—the inside of the shell having a lining (sometimes white or pale), while the outside layer may be colorful. I would be inclined to doubt these are African. The Philippines would be a more-likely origin. However, in recent years, I suspect the Chinese have begun to make similar products.

Finally, among African beads, there are large-diameter hishi beads made from white clam shell, that, since the 1970s, were routinely called "hippo teeth" or "hippo ivory." I have not seen much of these quite beautiful and well-made beads in recent years. Looking carefully at the flat surface, the pattern is clearly that of a bivalve shell, very different from any ivory.

JDA.

The bauxite bead manufacturing in Africa is a very interesting story. We have small bauxite deposits here in Washington state but the ones that I have found were not bead quality however the bauxite deposits in Arizona have produced great lapidary cutting rough for many years. Considering the ubiquity of bauxite in the Caribbean one wonders if beads of such were ever produced there .

In reading these descriptions I began to wonder about a couple of things

1. Why hishi and not heishi as such beads are usually spelled - though pronounced heeshee?

2. What can be known from the subtly different surfaces between strands of these ostrich egg shell beads? Are such beads always hand made or are there mechanized ways to make them now?

The two attached images include the short range of ostrich egg shell beads that I have - as well as a strand of some kind of clam. I wonder if they are the type described in your last paragraph?

With gratitude,
Linda

Hello Linda,

You are welcome.

Regarding names and naming strategies—

When I first became acquainted with actual (American Indian) hishi beads in about 1970, the word was routinely spelled "HISHI"—which is phonetic and uncomplicated, and is pronounced as "HEE-shee."

It was not until a later time that I came across the spelling "heishi"—and my response was that this was very silly. It's silly because there is no language strategy or rule that helps you say the name properly (that you actually do get from "hishi" if you understand International Phonetics—which I do.)

If "heishi" were based on Mediterranean (essentially Latin) phonetics, it would be pronounced "HAY-shee." If it were pronounced by a German speaker, it would be "HIGH-shee."

There are some instances of British/English words (more often names) where "ei" is pronounced "ee" (as in "bee"). The name "Sheila" is one example. The problem with English is that there are several different ways to pronounced vowels, and the "right one" is not always apparent. This problem is compounded when we have to deal with diphthongs or two-vowel spellings.

I avoid this whole mess by spelling the word "hishi" and pronouncing it "HEE-shee." Which is what I first learned anyway.

The "subtle differences" are those things we have been discussing, that lead to correct material identification. Otherwise, I'm not sure I understand your question.

Traditionally, hishi beads were shaped (from more-crude basic beads), by being strung and rolled across an abrasive surface. Or between two abrasive surfaces. And this gave the beads a uniform circular outside edge.

Mechanically-made and/or mass-produced beads are not hishi, though they superficially resemble hishi. (I'm thinking of giryama beads from Kenya that were often called "brass hishi" by collectors in the '70s; as well as the use of mass-produced metal washers, or whatever.)

Nevertheless, in the late 1970s, when there was a big fad in collecting "Native American jewelry," hishi beads became very popular, to the degree that factories were set up, where workers cranked-out hishi beads, using electrically powered grinding wheels, for the "American Indian market." Gallop, New México was one such factory location—where the employees making these beads were all Méxicans or Méxican/Americans (but not Indians). So, yes the methods of manufacture in the making of hishi and/or similar beads has changed over time.

Your second photo appears to be clam shell hishi beads from W. Africa.

Jamey

I just reread my message that closed with:

"Your second photo appears to be clam shell hishi beads from W. Africa."

Well, that was a slip! I meant SNAIL shell hishi. W. African clam hishi, as discussed previously, is usually larger and thicker.

Just in case this caused any confusion! JDA.

these discs -which are probably a bit thinner, denser and smoother than the ostrich shell discs and appear to have brown markings as well as not being graduated but all more or less equal diameter- are land snail shell as found in Africa- I compare these shell discs in the second photo on p. 55 of my recent book...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achatina_achatina

I collected a few land snail shells when I was in Ghana in 1997. But I doubt these were achatina snails—though perhaps they were. Performing a Google search, I found there are LOTS of varieties, and different colorations and types of striped patterns.

I'm showing two specimens of one subspecies, that, to my eye, comes the closest to the patterns I have seen on snail shell beads from West Africa. JDA.

I think they use all types of snail they find, a lot of the ones we have from the Ivory Coast or Togo are creamy or greasy white, a few are just plain grey.
JP

My intent was to find and show snails whose shells resemble the patterns/colors I have seen most often in African shell hishi beads. Nothing more. I likewise have strands of African beads that are only a nondistinctive creamy white—making their identification a greater challenge. JDA.