Category Archives: Ethnic Jewelry

Wooden Jewelry

Wood is among the oldest materials used for body piercing jewelery. It is a natural material sourced from different types of trees and can be shaped, polished, carved and refined in many forms. The use of wood in jewelry making has been practiced since the dawn of time. People of ancient civilizations adorned themselves with jewelery made of different natural materials as a form of status symbol or to ward off evil spirits. Wood can be easily carved and shaped into different forms. This is probably why wooden jewelery has always been tagged as native, tribal, and cultural.

Wood can be used to make earrings, bracelets, anklets, and necklaces. Aside from making jewelry in pure wood, wood beads can also be combined with other materials such as glass and plastic beads. They are assembled using nylon strings, threads, or elastic strings. Larger pieces of wood with unique shape and intricate grain patterns are made into pendants as is or glued to other materials like metal and clay.

Many species of trees provide material for wood beads. These include olive, sandalwood, bamboo, bayong, ebony, ironwood, palm, apple, pear, and rose, to name but a few. All of these types of wood have been used for beads either because the grain of the wood is beautiful or because the wood is aromatic.

Olive trees have a natural red grain that is wavy and the heart wood darkens and hardens with age to produce an elegant pattern. The heart wood comes from olive trees which are pruned each year after harvest and the pruned wood is used for decorative carvings and beads.

Sandalwood beads are light both in color and weight and they have a distinctive soothing aroma. Among Hindus, sandalwood is believed to bring clear perception to the wearer.

Rosewood is great for making beads, it is dark and heavy and dense and its grain appears in subtle lines of black and dark brown. Rosewood beads are said to strengthen the aura and ward away negative energy.

Wooden beads are cherished for a variety of reasons beside beauty and aroma. Some woods are prized because they are considered sacred like that of the bodhi tree, where the Buddha found enlightenment.

Most exotic wood beads originate in the middle-east or southern Asia, but Europe is also a source of wood beads, the Czech Republic produces inexpensive pine and bass wood beads for children’s toys or macramé crafters as well as inexpensive wood beads you’d find in bead shops worldwide.

Wood is one of the most natural and comfortable materials available in fashion jewelry making. Let us take advantage of their natural aesthetic value and add wooden jewelery a part of out jewelery box.

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Aceh Traditional Accessories

Aceh Wardrobe

Aceh Traditional Accessories

Aceh is one of Indonesia provinces, that located in the northern tip of Sumatra island. This tribe has its particular wardrobe and accessories that particularly be worn on occasional time. Those are:

Keureusang (Kerosang / Kerongsang / Brooch)

Keureusang is jewelry that has the dimension of 10 cm and 7.5 cm wide. This chest jewelry is pinned in female clothes (a kind of brooch) made of gold encrusted with diamonds. The overall shapes like hearts adorned with diamonds jewel of 102 points. Keureusang is used as pin clothes in the chest. This jewelry is such a luxury and wore by certain people as their daily jewelry.

Dhoe plate

Dhoe plate is one of woman’s forehead jewelries from Aceh. Usually, it made from gold or from gold plated silver. Shaped like a crown.

Dhoe plate made of silver gilt. Divided into three parts that each other connected by hinges. In the center there is the size of calligraphy with the writings of God and in the middle there are writings of Muhammad, the motive is called Bungong Kalimah, which is encircled by dots patterned carvings and small flowers.

Peuniti

Peuniti strand is made of gold; consists of three decorative motif Pinto of Aceh. Pinto Aceh motif created by carving piligran, a woven with a pattern of fern and flower bud shape. In the center, there is motive boheungkot (small dots, such as fish eggs). Pinto Aceh motif is inspired from the shape of the house of Aceh, which is now known as the motif carvings typical of Aceh. Peuniti is used as an ornament of women, as well as pin clothes.

Simplah

Simplah is a jewelry chest for women. Made of silver gilt. Consisting of 24 pieces of hexagonal plates and two octagonal plates. Each plate is decorated with carved flower and leaf motif and a red jewel in the middle. Plates are connected by two strands Simplah chains, which have size by 51 cm length and width by 51 inches.

Subang Aceh

Subang Aceh has a diameter the size of 6 cm. A pair of Subang is made of gold and jewels. The shaped is like a sunflower with a pointy tip-pointed petals. The top of a flower-shaped slab of the Sun called “Sigeudo Subang”. This Subang is also called as subang bungong mata uro.

Taloe Jeuem

This is kind of trand rope clock, which is made of gilt silver. Consisting of a series of small rings with a chain shaped with fish-shaped ornament (two pieces) and one key. At the end of the chain there are two hook-shaped figure of eight. This watch strap is a complement to traditional clothes of men that implicated in the clothes.

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History Of Bangles

Bangles

Bangles

Bangles or Chudi are traditional ornaments worn by Indian women, especially Hindus. They are circular in shape, and, unlike bracelets, are not flexible. The word is derived from Hindi bungri (glass) They are made of numerous precious as well as non-precious materials such as gold, silver, platinum, glass, wood, ferrous metals, plastic, etc.

The Indian women are worn after marriage to signify matrimony. It is tradition that the bride will try to wear as many small glass bangles as possible at her wedding and the honeymoon will end when the last bangle breaks. In certain communities, there is a custom which says that gold bangles should not be worn alone by married women and should be teamed with glass bangles, popularly known as ‘kaanch ki choodiya’, as it symbolizes well-being of husband and sons. In some communities women are so superstitious, that even when changing bangles, they never allows their arm to be completely bare. A simple string or even the end of her sari is wrapped around the arm, until the new set is worn. In certain communities, widows are not allowed to wear glass bangles.

There are strong evidences that shows that women have been adorning their arms with bangles since ancient times in India. One of the oldest art objects in India, the bronze figurine of a dancing girl excavated at Mohanjodaro epitomizes the antiquity and the universality of wrist ornaments in India. The figurine stands in the nude with one arm at her hip, the other arm completely weighed down with a collection of bangles. Even the Yakshinis are depicted wearing bangles.

Ancient fragments testify that bangles were made from terracotta, stone, shell, copper, bronze, gold, silver, lac, glass and almost any material that lent itself to craftsmanship. From simple plain circlets of metal, to ones decorated with etched and exquisite designs of bird and animal-head terminals and studded with gems, bangles in various forms existed in ancient in India.

There are two basic types of bangles: a solid cylinder type; and a split, cylindrical spring opening/closing type. Primary distinguishing factor for these is the material that is used to make the bangles. This may vary anything from glass to jade to metal to lac and even rubber or plastic. Bangles made from gold are considered the most expensive ones.

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Dayak Jewelry

Dayak Earring

Dayak Earring

Dayak is one of Indonesia tribes who mostly live in Borneo Island. Like any traditional tribe in Indonesia, Dayak people is having a thick tradition concerning their rules and the way of living. The appearance of the men and women are are also particular and interesting to be discovered.

The main jewelry from Dayak people are earrings, bracelets, necklaces and head ornaments. Those jewels can be made from anything like rock, metal, animal bones, tusks, horns, bird feathers, and beads, the motives can be plain or have pattern. The Motif in jewelry is usually drawn from the surrounding flora and fauna. There is also a motif taken from mythology such as the dragon motif, which is probably the most popular and most often found.

A simple geometric motifs like circles, lines and angles, are rarely used for jewelry and it is only used as a fabric motif, carving and tattoo. There is jewelry that can not be used by everyone. The jewelry made of hornbills feathers or in the form of hornbills patterned. It may only be worn by aristocratic class or it being called as The Patent.

Dayak Women

Dayak earrings are generally bulky and made of heavy material. This is because in Dayak culture, a person is considered more attractive if you have long ears. Big and weight earrings is have function as a decoration and also it helps to pull out ears longer. The use of earrings is done in stages starting from the not-too-heavy and small to widen the hole so that it can be added by next earrings. This is also to prevent tearing of the ear.

For jewelry, Dayak bracelets also has another function. The bracelets made from materials such as ivory, bone, tusks and certain timber and usually not motivated, has a function as a protector for the user of things that are evil and bad. These bracelets are usually full circle as the symbol of the user is surrounded or guarded by ancestral spirits and ancestors.

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