senegalese wedding beads

flat senegalese wedding beads

 

Senegalese wedding beads or Mali wedding beads are some of my FAVORITE beads to work with! I like to use them when i make loc jewelry or as center pieces in necklaces.  They come in a variety of shapes the flat teardrop featured above and the lightbulb shape are the ones that i see the most often.

just like honey

according to my research these beads were given to a brides in mali on their wedding day.  they originated in what was once Czechoslovakia in the 20th century. they are typically a molded bead so you may notice a line down the center of the bead where the two halves of the mold met as the bead was being made.