Friday, January 23, 1998
Beauty and the beads
ART: Beaded art serves practical,
symbolic and aesthetic purposes in the Yoruba culture
By Terry Tang
Daily Bruin Contributor
hey spark the glimmer in a pair of earrings, they can be strung
together into an eye-catching necklace and sometimes they make the
perfect accessory to that new outfit. For the Yoruba people,
though, beads symbolize the most important elements of their lives:
family, future and status in the world.
With an exhibition of more than 150 carefully hand-beaded
objects, "Beads, Body, and Soul: Art and Light in the Yoruba
Universe" opens Sunday at the Fowler Museum.
The threaded art pieces submitted by Yoruba artists of Nigeria
and America show a range of interlacing motifs from zig-zag and
floral to a pattern designed with the faces of the king’s
descendants. Most museum-goers will grasp the magnificent display
of dexterity and heritage among the Yoruba simply by glimpsing at
the beads’ colorful patterns of circles, diamonds and squares that
are subdivided into smaller geometric shapes.
"I’m hoping that people will be as filled with wonder as I am or
as anybody is that sees something that is really beautiful. At a
certain level, (beauty) defies category," says co-curator and
Yoruba priest John Mason. "You don’t say ‘Well, this is African
beauty … this is Native American beauty.’ There are Native
American motifs, there are African motifs that create a specific
direction of how that beauty is going to be manifested. But when
something is breathtaking, it’s breathtaking for everybody."
With their smooth symmetry and luminous luster, beads are
cherished by the Yoruba as priceless goods. As a result, beads help
the Yoruba express philosophies such as unwavering respect for
ancestors and descendants.
Even in death, the Yoruba believe an ancestor’s spirit lingers
on to guide them. In order to honor them, the Yoruba perform in
ensembles known as Egungun, masquerading in full-bodied costumes of
cowrie shells, animal skins, and other beads. Aside from the
ceremony, the work and money the Yoruba invest into the preparation
for the Egungun demonstrates how much they are willing to give
their ancestors.
"The sacrifice is more in the actual creation of the piece. You
sacrifice your time, your energy, your aching hands, the headache
you get from squinting," Mason says. "That time and energy is what
you give up."
Beads also serve as a sign of eminence and admiration for
priests, diviners and royalty. In Yoruba society, kings and queens,
referred to as oba, dress head-to-toe in intricately beaded gowns
and slippers and perch on a beaded throne with beaded cushions to
support their feet.
The oba is bestowed with a veiled crown, which protects mortals
from his "far too powerful gaze" and symbolizes valuable
leadership, explains Betsy Quick, director of education at
Fowler.
"The great crown almost always has birds on the top. Those are
in association with the Ancient Mothers who have great influence on
our lives," Quick says.
The enduring influence of Yoruba society is one reason Mason
spent more than 25 years conducting field work throughout the
United States, Brazil and Cuba. Mason and Henry Drewal, a professor
of Afro-American Studies at the University of Wisconsin and the
exhibition’s other visiting curator explored how the Yoruba
heritage and religion survived cultural changes throughout
history.
After the Trans-Atlantic slave trade of the 18th century, the
Yoruba thrived in the new environment of America. Because of the
European trade industry, the Yoruba utilized both new and old
materials. As a result, the Yoruba in West Africa added to their
already existing palette of colors and sizes with beads coming from
countries as far as Italy and Czechoslovakia. Thus, the Yoruba and
their American descendants were able to pass on the joy and
tradition of bead-making.
"The love of the end result, the place of that love and that
sense of aesthetic in that culture promoted people to continue to
create art that involved beads and the use of beads," Mason
says.
A cultural pride for Yoruba bead work and its symbolism carries
over to contemporary art as well. Many of the artists in the New
World section are of Yoruba descent or have adopted the Yoruba
polytheistic faith.
Unlike a Picasso piece hanging on a wall, most of the Yoruba
pieces are meant to function as part of rituals or everyday life.
The items transform color and shape over time like ordinary
household objects. As a result, the traditions the beaded pieces
represent are what remain caught in time.
"(Yoruba) know that items aren’t immortal," Mason says. "Some
items will last a very long time, but they put their value in
people being able to recreate items, not in items."
ART: "Beads, Body, and Soul" is on display at the Fowler Museum
through July 19. Admission is $5, $3, $1 with UCLA ID and free on
Thursdays and Sundays. For more information, call (310)
825-4361.