Wearing gorgeous Maasai beaded wedding collars, bead working has a rich history among Maasai women on their wedding day.

Bead working has a rich history among Maasai women.

The Maasai community in East Africa is renowned for its unique and colorful jewelry, particularly among its women. This jewelry carries great cultural and symbolic significance and plays a crucial role in their traditions, ceremonies, and daily lives. Maasai brides wear an elaborate beaded wedding collar or inkarewa on her wedding day. African jewelry, such as the inkarewa is created from a wide variety of materials, including beads, seeds, woods, gourds, bone, ivory, copper, and brass.

Maasai Wedding Jewelry

Generally, African jewelry is made from materials that are immediately available to the artist in their community. White beads created from clay, shells, ivory, or bone. Black and blue beads fashioned from iron, charcoal, seeds, clay, or animal horns. Red beads came from seeds, woods, gourds, bone, ivory, copper, or brass.

The style of African jewelry is as wide and varied as the continent of Africa. African jewelry is created for more than personal adornment by the wearer; it also designates rank, class, affluence, rites of passage and tribal association. Certain kinds of jewelry are worn only by men or by women.

Bead working has a rich history among the Maasai women. The Maasai communicate their identity and position in Maasai society through body decorations and body painting. Maasai women wear elaborate ensembles of beaded clothing and adornment, including necklaces and ear ornaments. 

Marriage in traditional Maasai tribes is an arranged event. The elders arrange marriages and brides are married off for a dowry of cattle which is the measure of wealth in Maasai society.

In traditional African jewelry, bones are commonly used to make jewelry. Maasai cultures throughout Africa have passed down the process of bone carving from generation to generation with each elaborate beaded wedding collar or inkarewa using bone carving as a handmade art.

The bride wears her marriage collar or inkarewa on her wedding day. The Maasai inkarewa is created with a sense of honor and fine artistry since the bridal collar is thought to be a reflection on the bride. Similarly, in the United States a brides wedding dress sets the tone for the entire wedding party. 

Maasai women inkarewa wedding collars are worn on the brides wedding day and is one of the most important piece of wedding day attire. African jewelry such as the inkarewa is created from a wide variety of materials, including beads, seeds, woods, gourds, bone, ivory, copper, and brass.

Maasai women are known for their distinct and vibrant jewelry, which holds cultural and symbolic significance within the Maasai community in East Africa. Jewelry plays an essential role in their traditions, ceremonies, and daily life. 

Maasai women also wear beaded waistbands and body beads. These beads are worn around the waist and sometimes extend across the stomach and hips. The waistbands are worn as a symbol of femininity and beauty, and they may make rhythmic sounds as the women dance.

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Two out of three people in sub-Saharan Africa lack access to electricity. In economics the efficiency of electrification links technological progress.

Electricity is all around us but two out of three people below the Sahara desert in Africa lack access to electricity. In economics, the efficiency of electricity and electrification links technological progress. Educational opportunities are restricted by daylight for 662 million people in Africa. Learn the truth about reliable affordable electricity in Africa.

The period of reliable and affordable access to electricity for businesses and households in Africa will be one of the highest priorities for stable economic growth.

In economics, the efficiency of electrification links technological progress. The African continent is gifted with fossil fuels and renewable energy resources however; nearly 662 million Africans lack access to electricity and a life without electricity is a life with limited opportunities. 

Entrepreneurs cannot count on consistent power to operate equipment or access tools for communications and market development. Educational opportunities are restricted by daylight.

The top ten African countries with the highest electricity prices per watts.

Liberia

The Gambia

Sierra Leone

Togo

Niger

Madagascar

Burkina Faso

Central African Republic

Rwanda

Burundi

Electric power bills throughout Africa.

Power Africa’s approach considers three related but distinct challenges to bringing the vision of the project to life. Power must be available, meaning sufficient megawatts must be generated to meet people’s needs. It must be accessible so that even those communities that cannot be connected to national grids can still access electricity. And it must meet basic quality considerations, meaning natural resources and megawatts generated are efficiently managed to ensure optimal use.

In most countries in Africa, most households cannot afford to connect and pay tariffs for electricity access. This is why electricity access is often low. However, households and businesses with access often face multiple blackouts and brownouts per day. Electricity pricing varies widely from country to country, the cost of the service in Africa is often among the highest in the world.

Two out of three people in sub-Saharan Africa lack access to electricity due to high electric bills and lack of fundamental facilities and systems.

Percentage of electricity access in Africa is as follows.

African Country Name	Access to electricity % of population
Algeria	99.4
Angola	40.5
Benin	41.4
Botswana	60.6
Burundi	7.5
Burkina Faso	19.1
Cameroon	60
Cape Verde	92.61
Chad	8.83
Central African Republic	13.99
Egypt	100
Cote d'Ivoire	64.3
The Democratic Republic of the Congo	17.1
Republic of the Congo	56.57
Equatorial Guinea	67.89
Djibouti	51.78
Eritrea	46.68
Ethiopia	42.9
Guinea	33.5
The Gambia	47.76
Gabon	91.4
Ghana	79.3
Guinea-Bissau	14.66
Kenya	56
Liberia	19.8
Mauritania	41.65
Mali	35.07
Malawi	11
Lesotho	29.73
Libya	98.54
Madagascar	22.9
Mauritius	98.78
Morocco	100
Mozambique	24.2
Namibia	51.78
Nigeria	59.3
Niger	16.22
Rwanda	29.37
Sao Tome and Principe	65.44
Senegal	64.5
Sierra Leone	20.3
Seychelles	100
South Africa	84.2
Somalia	29.89
South Sudan	8.9
Sudan	38.53
eSwatini former Swaziland	65.79
Tanzania	32.7
Togo	46.93
Tunisia	100
Uganda	26.7
Zimbabwe	38.15
Zambia	27.22

Did you know? Two out of three people in sub-Saharan Africa lack access to electricity.

Vernonia amygdalina or Bitterleaf is a widely used cooking vegetable throughout Africa.

Bitterleaf Stew is not bitter as suggested by the name but a delicious mix of beef, fish, chicken, pork, and shellfish served over fufu. Bitter leaf leaves alone have a bitter taste and are sold fresh or dried. The leaves are green with a robust odor and a bitter taste. The Yorubas call bitter leaf Ewuro and the Igbos Onugbu, every part of the plant is beneficial from the stem, leaves, and root.

Liberian Spicy Bitter Leaf Stew African Recipes by African Gourmet.

Liberian stews are unlike most recipes, Liberian stews are hearty stews that combine numerous meats, fish, and vegetables in one stew. Prep time: 15 min Cook time: 1 hour 15 min Total time: 1 hour 30 min.

Liberian Spicy Bitter Leaf Stew ingredients and directions

Ingredients

5 ounces of cubed beef

5 ounces of pork or pork sausage

2 skinless chicken thighs

3 smoked fish, flaked

1/2 pound peeled and deveined shrimp

1/4 cup palm oil (optional if you are cooking palm oil free)

3 garden eggs (small eggplants) cut into quarters

2 bunches of scallions, finely chopped

1 punch of bitter leaf, chopped

1 very hot pepper, chopped

Water to cover

Directions

Add all ingredients except shrimp to a large pot over medium heat and cover ingredients with water. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour. Add shrimp and continue to simmer another 15 minutes.

About Liberian Bitter Leaf Plant

The bitter leaf grows in a large range of biological zones in Africa, produces many leaves, and is drought tolerant. Bitter leaf leaves have been used in African traditional folk medicine to stimulate the digestive system, lower blood sugar, antimalarial and reduce fever.

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