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Hands Around the World |
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Hands Around the World |
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Hand Made Native American Indian and Ethnic Jewelry, Beads, and Beadwork
Hands Around the World is dedicated to providing a marketplace for traditionally produced Native American jewelry. Jewelry making is one of the oldest Native American arts. The Indians had created a repertoire of jewelry, beads, and beadwork shapes and design elements specific, if not unique, to each tribal grouping. The variety and beauty of these creations are prized throughout the world. Jewelry crafts are ideal for starting a Native American art collection.
The Amazon Indians of South American have always produced jewelry, beginning and continuing with seeds and natural objects, and since Columbus, with glass beads. Their craftsmanship with beadwork has become a fine art. Penare Indians live in the Amazon Basin of Venezuela. The Penare make a large variety of necklaces with beads, seeds, bone and other natural objects, as well as Venezuelan coins. The Guahibo Indians of the Venezuelan Amazon make jewelry of seeds, beads and woodcarvings. Often their jewelry has a Christian theme as there is a strong mission influence in the tribe.
The Shuar Indians, who live in the Amazon Basin of Ecuador, are a very artistic tribe. One art form that they are very adept at is the making of jewelry from seeds, nuts, teeth, bone and other natural objects. They are also musical and perform many traditional dances and rituals. They make dance belts which are hand woven. From the woven part of the belt they hang beads, from the beads they continue down with the shells of nuts and/or sea shells which rattle when they dance.
The most traditional area of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi is called Torajaland or Tana Toraja, which means land or people of the mountains. In this remote area, many people still follow the "way of the ancestors". It is still possible to find the trappings for the Torajan Warrior. Helmets "Topi" and neck ornaments "Tora-tora" were worn by the Torajan warrior when going into battle, and are still used today for funeral processions and other traditional rituals and events. They also have necklaces that are hand carved bone figures.
The Dayak are to Asia as the American Indian to the Americas. They are the native peoples of the islands. The Dayak of Borneo are in 12 major tribes. Isolated in the vast rainforests of Borneo, they were headhunters until the year 1965. Beads are very valuable to the Dayaks. From the time of the European traders beads have been used as a precious currency and show the family's wealth. Sometimes a single large bead was not only worth a whole village but the inhabitants of it.
Hands Around the World also has jewelry, beads, and beadwork from other artists from Mexico, South America, Indonesia, and Europe.
Click here to learn more about the jewelry, the artists, and their cultures.
Hands Around the World
111 E. Main, Jonesborough, Tennessee 37659
Phone: (423) 753-8177 Fax: (423) 913-2489
