By Williams Patrick Praise
Introduction
Beads have been a foundational element of adornment, identity and power across many African societies. Among the Esan people of Edo State in Nigeria, beads play a multifaceted role: as personal adornment, as markers of social status, as spiritual symbols, and as part of cultural rites and memory. In this essay I explore the importance and cultural significance of beads in Esan society—how they have been used historically, what they signify today, and how they relate to the broader African bead-tradition.
Beads in Africa: A Contextual Overview
Before focusing on the Esan, it is useful to understand some broader patterns of bead use in West Africa and Africa in general.
- Beads
often mark life-cycle transitions: birth, puberty, marriage, death. They
are given as gifts, worn as charms, and imbued with meaning beyond
decoration. For example, waist beads in many West African cultures mark
girls’ transition to womanhood.
- Beads
signify status, wealth and power. Coral beads are a clear marker of
royalty and elevated rank.
- Beads
may be used for spiritual or protective purposes: placed on the body to
guard against misfortune, or worn by religious specialists.
- Bead materials and colours matter: shells, glass, coral, metal, or beads made from trade-glass, carry different valuations. Colour symbolism (red, white, black, blue) is often culturally specific.
Thus, beads are not simply jewellery—they are laden with multiple layers of meaning.
The Esan People: Historical and Cultural Background
The Esan people (also spelled Ìshan) live in central Edo State, Nigeria, constituted of about 35 traditional kingdoms each ruled by an Onojie (king). Their cultural heritage is linked in many ways to the neighbouring Benin Kingdom, both through language and tradition, although the Esan have their distinct identity.
In Esanland, as in many other African societies, material culture was and remains an important component of social life—textiles, wrappers, metalwork, and importantly for our focus here, beads and regalia. For example, a study of Esan sculpture and ornamentation describes how beads, wrappers and other dress elements encode gender, status and ritual positions.
Beads in Esan Culture: Forms and Practices
Types and uses
Among the Esan, two bead-forms are well attested in the ethnographic/material literature:
- Waist-beads:
Known locally as akpono (or spelled “akpgno” in one source) for
young girls and women: “Girls wore strings of akpono, discoid waist beads
now made of plastic, but once produced by painstaking chipping shell into
shape. At one time akpgno beads were a measure of the wealth of a family
and the value placed on their daughters.”
- Coral or red beads: Large beads called ekan (or strings thereof) made of coral or red substances. The literature explains: “Large beads (ekan) of coral or other red substances were particularly valued in Esan, as in Benin, and were used as a centerpiece in a string of smaller beads, or by elder men as a hair ornament in times past.”
Occasions and contexts of use
- Ceremonial
wear: The Esan dress tradition features the Igbulu wrapper and other
cloths; beads accompany these for special occasions (marriage, festivals,
chieftaincy). For example, "Today akpono beads are used almost
exclusively for ceremonial occasions, and mostly worn with clothing."
- Status
and privilege: The wearing of coral beads was restricted. “When visiting
the palace, however, only chiefs or priests with the license to wear coral
would dare to do so.”
- Gender, puberty, and fertility: The waist beads (akpono) given to girls are linked to value and status of daughters in past times—implying their readiness for marriage, their social worth, and their family’s standing.
Cultural Significance of Beads Among the Esan
Social status and rank
Beads among Esan serve as visible markers of social stratification. The coral/ekan beads function analogously to those in Benin—signifying authority, lineage, and affiliation with the palace. By restricting coral bead usage to chiefs or priests, the Esan articulate an internal system of symbolic capital: those who may wear the beads display elevated status.
Moreover, the use of waist-beads historically as a “measure of the wealth of a family and the value placed on their daughters” (akpgno beads) links beads to family prestige and marriage negotiation.
Gender, fertility and identity
Beads also play a role in articulating gendered identities and fertility. For girls, wearing waist beads (akpono) signifies either readiness or entry into womanhood. Beyond the Esan context another study of West African waist beads notes their use to mark puberty and fertility.
In the Esan context, giving beads to girls and the social weight they carried suggests that beads are both adornment and signifier of feminine identity. They help encode a woman’s value (in social/ranking terms), her maturity and family’s regard for her.
Ritual, spirituality and cosmology
While less documented in very specific Esan-bead ritual usage compared to adjacent cultures, the scholarship does give indications: the association of beads with the palace, with chiefs, and with spiritual authority suggests that beads are not purely decorative but part of ritual-dress. For instance:
“These traditional art forms, ideas and materials (Esan Treasures) speak volume … wood carving, story telling, beads making, metal works and regalia form a veritable medium through which non-literate Esan visually communicate with the unborn, the living and the ancestors.”
Thus beads may partly act as visual lexicons: of ancestor respect, of lineage, of cosmological belonging. Also, the mention of izakpa, akpono beads, ere (native chalk) indicates a broader ritual palette in Esan dress and ornamentation.
Continuity, change and modernity
Over time, the material and function of beads have changed. The waist beads (akpono) have shifted from shells to plastic in some cases. The function of beads is increasingly ceremonial rather than everyday: “Today akpono beads are used almost exclusively for ceremonial occasions.”
The
interplay of tradition and modernity also raises issues of cultural change: the
value attached to beads, the knowledge about their meaning, and the material
sourcing have shifted. The Esan continue to hold to the symbolic value of
beads, yet some scholars warn that commercialization or fashion may erode
cultural specificity (as happens elsewhere in Africa).
Interpreting
Keys of Significance
Here we identify key thematic pillars that help explain why beads matter among the Esan:
Identity, memory and heritage
Beads are tangible, visible tokens of cultural identity. For the Esan—especially in a world where modern dress and global fashions are pervasive—traditional beads and the attire they accompany become markers of ethnic identity, communal belonging, and heritage preservation. The art-exhibition in Esanland underscores the importance of beads among other “treasures” in preserving culture.
Beads also function as memory-objects. They recall older practices: shell beads for girls gifted by suitors, coral beads inherited or worn by chiefs, etc. The persistence of those practices, albeit transformed, links present users to their ancestors and traditions.
Social communication
Beads communicate social information: rank, gender, marital eligibility, wealth, familial value. In a society with traditional kingship and chieftaincy (35 kingdoms, each with an Onojie) the visible markers of status are important. Beads function alongside cloth-wrappers and ornamentation as sign-systems.
Interestingly, the description of akpono beads measuring the wealth of a family and the value placed on their daughters shows that beads also navigate the marriage economy. Here, beads act as bride-price adjuncts, gift-objects, or markers in courtship.
Beauty, body and gendered adornment
Beads enhance physical appearance, articulate femininity and masculinity, and mark special occasions. Waist beads encircle the female body, accentuating shape, and conveying fertility. They also serve as private adornments that may be visible only on intimate occasions. While specific Esan data are thinner here, the broader African context shows waist beads as part of female aesthetics and sexual identity.
More broadly, beads worn in hair, on necks or wrists speak to beauty and fashion in a cultural lens. For Esan women of status, hair-dos decorated with beads were described as “elaborate, often requiring the addition of hair-pieces … and decorated with beads and other ornaments.”
Spiritual and symbolic meaning
Beads among the Esan are not purely secular. Their association with chiefs, palaces, and traditional arts suggests they partake in a ritual-sphere: beads as part of regalia, as visual communication with ancestors and the living. The phrase “communicate with the unborn, the living and the ancestors” in discussions of Esan art forms confirms that beads can carry symbolic weight beyond aesthetics.
Also, beads in many African contexts are protective, carry charms, connect to the spirit world. While specific Esan ritual uses of beads might require deeper ethnographic research, the parallels are there.
Continuity, change and resilience
Finally, beads articulate continuity and change. While the materials shift (from shell to plastic, for example) and the contexts mutate (from daily wear to chiefly/ceremonial only), the symbolic system persists. Beads remain relevant even in contemporary Esan culture. For example, the Association of Esan Professionals mentions that “Akpono (beads) is commonly used by the young girls and women during occasions.”
However, this also raises concerns about heritage erosion: if beads become mere fashion accessory detached from their deep meanings, their cultural significance may weaken—an issue observed elsewhere in West Africa.
Challenges and Areas for Further Research
While our understanding of beads in Esan culture is significant, there remain gaps and challenges:
- Detailed
ethnographic documentation: Many references are broad or comparative; more
focused fieldwork on Esan bead-making, bead-use rituals, meaning systems
would deepen knowledge.
- Material
sourcing and change: The shift from shell to plastic, from coral to other
materials, raises issues of authenticity, value and cultural meaning.
- Gendered
perspectives: While beads are clearly gendered, more work is needed on how
young boys/men use beads in Esan culture, in rites or status.
- Contemporary
vs. traditional valuation: As modernity, global fashion, and tourism
influence bead culture, how do Esan people negotiate tradition and
innovation?
- Trans-ethnic influence: Given Esan’s proximity to Benin, Yoruba land and trade routes, how did (and does) bead culture flow between these groups, and how does this affect Esan usage? For instance, the coral beads saga in Benin may impact Esan.
In the life of the Esan people, beads are much more than decorative accessories. They are living cultural texts—encodings of identity, status, gender, fertility, spirituality and heritage. From the waist-beads (akpono) of young women to the coral-bead regalia of chiefs, beads speak of social structures and values.
As Esan society negotiates modernity, beads remain a potent symbol: connecting the present to the past, the individual to the lineage, the human to the ancestral. Ensuring that the cultural meanings embedded in beads are not lost—through understanding, documentation and respectful continuation—is a key challenge for scholars, cultural activists, and community members alike.
References
- AClasses
Media. “Esan Sculpture and Culture, Edo State, Nigeria.” ― Description of
Esan bead usage and ornamentation. (AClasses Media)
- Association
of Esan Professionals. “Arts – Esan Culture.” ― On akpono beads and Esan
dress. (associationofesanprofessionals.com)
- The
Traditional Significance of Waist Beads. Guardian Life. ― On waist beads
in West Africa generally. (The Guardian Nigeria)
- “Here’s
Why Coral Beads Are Important To Benin People.” Pulse Nigeria. ― On coral
bead symbolism (useful comparative context for Esan). (Pulse Nigeria)
- “Cultural Significance of Coral Beads.” The Guardian Nigeria. ― On royalty, spirituality and coral beads in southern Nigeria. (The Guardian Nigeria)
