Saying I Love You, The Zulu Way with Beaded Love Letters

According to Regina Twala (African Studies, Volume 10, no 3 1951, pp 113 - 123) all traditional Zulu beadwork, excluding items used by ritual specialists, relates in someway to courtship and marriage.

Love letters (incwadi) as we know them have been around since the introduction of glass beads, these were quickly given meanings dependent upon their colour. Prior to beads, Zulu girls would use seeds, ostrich eggshell and seashells for adornment. The love letters are small, postage stamp sized plaques of beads that convey an emotion to the recipient - usually a favourable or unfavourable inclination towards his advances. The colours are mixed to convey a range of meaning. Here are some examples:

• Black indicates the colours of the rafters of the hut, to which colour the maiden has turned in pining for her loved one.
• White is the colour of purity.
• Blue - if I were a dove, I would fly to your home and pick up food at your door.
• Yellow - I shall never eat if we marry because you own no beast you can slaughter.
• Pink - You should work harder to gain your lobola and not gamble your money away.
• Green - I have become thin like the sweet cane in a damp field and green as the first shoots of a tree because of my love for you.
• Red - My heart bleeds and is full of love.

Zulu beadwork forms a complex means of communication which is devoted entirely to the expression of ideas and feelings. Zulu beadwork is normally made only by women, but is worn by both sexes, as a result, any beadwork worn by a man has been given to him by a woman. In this way, beaded items can be used as a means of communication between unrelated males and females, which avoids the age old problem of initiating direct discussion on the sensitive subject of love.