Here at Kentell we consider waist beads cultural appropriation if you claim it's your creation as a non black person whilst knowing very little about African culture or the reason why women wear waist beads.
In general, we believe there's nothing wrong with wearing waist beads even if you’re from another ethnicity. If we didn't want to share our culture, then we wouldn't be selling them to begin with.
It’s a problem when you change the meaning or disrespect it. Originally and culturally waist beads were meant to be covered and only to be seen by you or your partner.
However, today women wear waist beads as fashionable accessories, as a natural weight control tool and as a way to tap into their sexy feminine energy.
As you may know, racism and exploitation of African culture has been affecting Black people to this day but Kentell wants to give you the power to choose what category you’d like to be part of: Appropriation or Appreciation?
Caring about racism in this case would mean appreciating African culture in all its beauty.
If you’d love to grab a set of our authentic waist beads from Ghana or show so she can order some for herself too, FEEL FREE! Because then you’re doing something supportive for the African people.
Shopping with us means supporting people from the country where the waist beads are coming from, in this case, Ghana.
So let me tell you more in order to feel confident of what you’re grabbing and less confused.
Ghanaians babies have waist beads on a few days after birth around the waist, ankles, wrist and right below the knees. As we grow, men stop wearing them whilst us women keep it mostly only around the waist.
Our grandmas always advise us to wear them in odd numbers like 3,5,7 to bring good luck.
A fun fact about waist beads is that back in the old days if you had waist beads from a teenage age then it meant that you were ready for marriage.
Girls would be trained by the elderly women on how to satisfy and take care of their husbands once they got married.
And so waist beads would symbolise the ability and readiness to be officially ‘’wifey material’’ once they've undergone all the training necessary including cooking, taking care of the house and also knowing how to satisfy their man at night time.
Also waist beads have been worn in Ghana as a natural way to shape the body, with the strings falling on the waist there’s a natural adaptation of the fat slowly pushing down towards the hips. Resulting in the classic hourglass or Coca cola body shape most African women have and love!
Most times it’s harder to see the difference as an adult. But the best way to make it happen is by wearing multiple waist beads or thicker ones.
As previously mentioned today waist beads are being perceived differently or maybe have lost the exclusive sense it had and have been adopted as a fashion jewellery but they still deserve to be worn by anyone who wants to wear them to reconnect with their culture, to control their weight or to simply feel confident!
So what are you waiting for?
GRAB A SET OF OUR GORGEOUS WAIST BEADS HERE!