On Fridays in downtown Durban, South Africa a secure, fenced area is designated for a bead market. Women come from surrounding areas to sell their beadwork and traditional crafts. Here a woman displays colourful izixolo hats. It is a fascinating experience to tour this market and interact with the local business women. Transactions pass between […]
Women
An Early Morning
We were told that it was strategic for the bead market to be only on Fridays, because a lot of the women travel into the city from places like Ndwe Ndwe which is an hour or more of taxi transport. They leave early in the mornings to arrive at the market on time. The rest […]
Telephone Wire
Another popular and colourful craft is weaving with telephone wire: imbenge baskets. The baskets are woven from the outside edge into the center. The plastic coated wire is often recycled, however, telephone wire theft is a problem. I have heard that there are now places that women can source the telephone wire legitimately. The government […]
Zulu Beadwork
The generic term for necklace in Zulu is umgexo or the plural imigexo. The simplest of these necklaces is a single strand of beads called the umgexo wamaqanda which means a necklace of eggs. Here at the Duban bead market a woman beads some much more complex designs. There is significance in the large beads […]