Attractive and colorful, beads are among every modern fashionista’s must-haves. Matched and mixed appropriately, they can transform a simple outfit into something to die for, and make the wearer stand out. But beads are really nothing modern. And what’s more, beads in the olden days had deeper significations than what fashion aficionados of our generation take them to be.

The Indigenous Peoples use beads generously to embellish their attire.

Beads have been around much longer than written history. Pieces of evidence show that early humans have adorned themselves with beads. Archeological sites have yielded beads believed to have been used as ornaments alongside other artifacts. The earliest beads had been generally believed to be 40,000 years old, until the research team headed by Dr. Francesco d’Errico of the National Centre for Scientific Research in France reported in 2006 their discovery of what could be the oldest shell beads dating back to 100,000 years.

The discovery of beads in different archeological sites has given scientists clues about human history, and has provided them a glimpse into the cultures of the people who used them — their rituals, social systems, and their conception of aesthetics, among others.

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Beads and the Early Filipinos

Although the Filipinos might have started wearing decorative beads much later than the early civilizations in the world, our ancestors have also worn beads since time immemorial. Historians believe that beads were introduced to the country by traders from China, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia, among others. These ornaments were traded together with precious metals, porcelains, silk, and other goods.

Kalinga men find their women beautiful when they wear beads.

According to anthropologist Dr. Jesus Peralta, resident cultural consultant of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the earliest beads in the Philippines were found in Bonggao, Tawi-Tawi. “They are red glass beads — the kind that is associated with trade,” he shares.

He adds that the earliest indigenous beads found in the country were the puka shells. Puka, meaning ‘hole’ in the Hawaiian language, refers to a naturally-occurring hole in the middle of the shell fragment, making the beads easy to string together.

Early Filipinos used beads for different purposes and occasions. To this day, beads are still worn by the country’s indigenous groups in the same way their ancestors used and wore them.

The most obvious use of beads to our ancestors was as body adornments as well as embellishments to their traditional attires. Beads were strung together and worn as necklaces, earrings, headdresses, anklets, and belts. Some ethnolinguistic groups also wore beads on their arms and legs.

According to Vicente Gumowang, a Kalinga leader, women wearing beads are perceived to be beautiful. “The more beads one wears, the more beautiful she is,” he says. Thus, during rituals and festivities, the indigenous peoples put on their best clothes, complementing them with their colorful beads and headdresses.

In some cultures, beads are important in rituals.

“We offer our beads to Kabunian during our rituals,” shares Ifugao leader Ellenora Aliguyon. “We put our beads together with a complete set of clothing into a container and offer them to our ancestors and to Kabunian, alongside the animal sacrifices,” she says. Kabunian is their name for the Supreme Being.

Among the Kalingas, there are kinds of adornments that can be worn by an individual only after he has performed a certain ritual. “Young men need to undergo this ritual we call igam in order for them to wear a certain kind of headdress. The ritual is meant to drive away diseases,” shares Gumowang. “Young men who don’t undergo the ritual cannot wear this headdress even when they are much older.”

Bagobo royalties wear fully beaded clothes adorned with colorful bead necklaces, earrings, and headdresses, among others.

Beads likewise are indicative of status or class and wealth. “You would know the status of a person just by the way he or she is dressed. Royalties wear clothes that are fully-beaded; peasants wear ordinary clothes,” shares Bagobo leader Bae Sonia D. Mangune, adding that ordinary Bagobo clothes are unbeaded and have simple designs.

Among the Ifugaos, the kind of beads worn also indicates status. “We now have beads made of plastic, but our royalties used only the agate beads. These are brown beads that are matched with the gamit, or red and white tapis (skirt). Agates are expensive beads,” shares Aliguyon. 

Indeed, beads were very important to our ancestors. Considered a sign of wealth, beads were, and still are, considered heirlooms in some indigenous communities. “The native beads we are using have been passed on from our ancestors,” says Gumowang. “The one I am wearing on my neck is made of ancient beads. It costs about P60,000.”

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Published in Manila Times. October 23, 2009 issue.