Dimensions: H:12.6" W:2.8" L:2.8" Weight: 0.4 lbs.
Ndebele Beaded Stick - The bead-covered sticks known as amadondolo in isiNdebele are used in celebration during the boys' welcoming ceremony after their initiation. Women would ululate and wave these bead-covered sticks while chanting praise songs to their brave sons in the front courtyard. The Ndebele people of South Africa are well known for their colorful art forms such as painting and beadwork. Their ideas, values, traditions, identity, and beliefs are expressed through the art forms they create.
About the Tribe
Ndebele, also known as Transvaal Ndebele or (ama)Ndebele, are a Bantu-speaking African people who live primarily in the South African provinces of Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and Gauteng. The Ndebele people are divided into three groups: Southern, Northern, and the Ndebele of Zimbabwe. The Ndebele people of South Africa trace their ancestry back to Chief Muzi, who migrated his tribe around 400 years ago from what is now KwaZulu-Natal to Gauteng, both of which are South African provinces. The isiNdebele language is part of the Nguni language.