Elder and Sister Youngberg set up an activity where we made beads and learned the history of bead making on Friday and then went on a river cruise on Saturday.
Friday was so much fun!!
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| I am sorry I forgot his name, but he showed us the different techniques of making glass into beads. Some glass is ground very fine and some are little chunks depending on how the bead will look in the end. |
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| This is one of the very small beads that women usually wear around their waist. There are big beads, medium, small, and here are very small beads made. Each of these beads need a hand made hole through the middle after the glass has melted. Big and medium beads have a cassava stem put in that will burn away at high heat and leave a hole in the bead. |
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| These are the very hot ovens used to melt the glass. The ovens have clay from termite mounds as they can produce a higher heat. I was three feet behind these men who sat there for an hour putting in and taking out molds. I do not know how they can endure that heat. |
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| Filling the molds with glass to put in the oven |
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| In his left hand is a spatula that brings the hot mold close to him, in the right is a pointed rod with a handle that will put a hole in the bead. He usually flips the bead over so the two sides are molded evenly. Many of the bead are then "painted" over with designs in fine glass and water. They are then reheated again. |
These women make these string one bead at a time!
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| These beads are "washed" with sand and water to polish them |
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| When they are bright they are used in all kinds of ways |
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| The blocks used have a indent from relentless sanding |
They have a storeroom with necklaces, earrings, strings of beads, bracelets, and many other decorations. I was interested to learn that this process of making beads goes back a long time in history. Beads have a significance to some tribes and cultures and are decorations to others.
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