The waist beads are African customs mainly worn as an ornament to beautify the wearer’s looks.

It has its roots in Old-Egypt, while many others believe it is from the Yoruba tribe in the Southern part of Nigeria.

This is a traditional adornment called several names like Ileke-Idi, Jigidi by the Hausa.

What is Waist Beads?

A waist bead is a traditional female beauty enhancer worn to distinctively bring out feminism and beauty.

It draws main attention to the hips, bum and thighs as well as the way it sways when a woman walks. A woman’s chastity and sexual character can easily be interpreted by the use of waist beads.

Waist beads can also be described as an embellish beautiful array of blended colours which often glistens against its rays of light when the beads escape from the hiding under the clothes.

Some men are interested in the sexual attractiveness and sensuality of waist beads and encourage their wives/partners to wear them so as to accentuate their beautiful look. Today, some men make further move to the extent of presenting waist beads as a gift to their wives/partners to pass a strong message of their interest in this traditional adornment.

Benefits Of Waist Beads

Females who adorn beads today use them more for ornamental and beautification purposes or simply to measure their weights, so the reasons depend on the wearer.

Although some people are unaware of the benefits of waist beads, the attraction of a beaded woman is practically undeniable.

• Decoration
• Representation of love
• Weight control
• Contraception
• Spiritual protection
• Chastity/Sensuality
• Rides of Passage
• Royalty

Decoration:
These waist beads are often colourful, shiny and fascinating just like other modern accessories like a necklace, watch or earring. This ornament is very feminine and Yoruba women are urged to wear them as they grow older.

Representation of Love:

Some suitors give their women waist beads as a symbol to profess their love, and also husband can gift his wife. Many parents can present waist beads to their female children to prove the love and affection they have for them.

Weight Control:

Some women employ the use of their waist beads as a means of measuring and controlling their weight. They get to known when the waist beads become tighter, the woman will decode she’s adding weight and needs to do act against gaining more weight if the needs arise.

Contraception

It is used as an instrument or procedure to prevent conceptions as a result of having sexual intercourse. It acts as fertility beads which are also used to determine ovulation in order to abstain from making love with her husband.

Spiritual Protection:

Some Yoruba women believe that when they adorn the waist beads they protect them from any sexual diseases.

Women also adorn them as protector for their pregnancies against spiritual and magical spells.

Proclamation of Chastity/Sensuality

The waist beads are used to ascertain if a woman is morally pure or not.

Rites of Passage 

It is believed that younger women who start the wearing of waist beads from an early age will achieve more rounded hips, slim waists and firmer breasts.

The waist beads also served as a rite of passage. The more a girl grows, she changes her old waist beads for more fashionable ones that are more fitting for her growing body.

Royalty:

Some waist beads represent royalty because of cost, and scarcity. This is mostly found among the Yoruba princesses and other women of royalty who adorn these beads to stand out from the crowd.

Importance Of Waist Beads In Love Making

Although there is rather a focal fascination with waist beads that existed mostly for some younger women who desired to reach the stage where they could embellish some hidden view underneath their modest. Women clothes that were covered in the ages, the beads sneaked out at irregular intervals, surprising and enticing the onlookers.

Sexual Attraction:

Some women adorn waist beads because they know they attract the opposite sex. The waist beads bring out the body figure and allure attention to the movement of the waist.

The ancient tradition believed that seeing a woman’s waist beads equates seeing her nudity. Many brides increased the numbers of their waist beads in other to seduce their husbands.

Fertility:

Waist beads also serve as potency enhancer, according to some traditions. They believe the beads help a woman to conceive easily because of what it entails.

It Boosts Sexual Libido:

The waist beads are believed to hold great sensual appeal possessing the ability and power to stimulate sexual desire and deep emotions from the opposite sex.

The importance of Ileke Idi in lovemaking plays a great role because it often fuels the ability of the opposite sex to do more during sex.

It prolongs sex foreplay

They can be used to improve and prolong romance during lovemaking. During foreplay, you will have to run your fingers on it.

Since waist beads are adorned against the skin, they serve as another way of teasing your partner. Also, the moving of the beads against the skin among the partners during sexual intercourse increases excitement and sensation.

Extend patronage

They prolong patronage of opposite sex to women because of sensation.

In conclusion, there are different types of names of waist beads determined by different tribes among which are Ibebe-Idi or Ileke-Idi by the Yoruba, Jigida by the Hausa and Mgbaji by the Igbo, while some other tribes name the beads as Giri-Giri, Yomba, Jel-Jelli; Bin-Bin, and Djay-Djay.

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