Aggry beads (also spelledaggri beads oraggrey beads) are a type of decorated glassbead fromGhana, used byWest Africans asornaments innecklaces,bracelets and other jewelry.[1]
Aggry beads are also called Koli, Cori, Kor, Segi, Accori, or Ekeur.[2] They were also referred to by the indigenous people by several other names likeButa, orKor-pa as they were called in theFante (or Fanti) dialect of Ghana.[3]
They are often used for medicinal purposes, as it is believed that they have spiritual significance.[1] They are a significant aspect of modernprenatal andpostnatal care, as they are highly valued for protection against illness and misfortune.[4]
Various other uses and connotations include but are not limited to: representing wealth, marital status, health, representing social and political standing.[4]
Trade beads were used for exchange and as a means of payment during trade in Africa. Europeans first collected aggry beads from the West Coast of Africa in the fifteenth century.[1] These beads have been found in the residences and sites ofenslaved Africans and African Americans in the Southern United States. While it is known that they come primarily from west and central Africa, it is difficult to be more specific because of the separation of families and ethnic groups by those who enslaved them, causing various traditions to be lost or combined with other traditions to form a new practice.[4]
The origin of the aggry bead is obscure. Depending on different sources, beads labelled such may be made fromglass,coral, or stone, and were typically blue.[2][5] It is possible that the original aggry beads came from thePhoenicians, who used them as trade beads along the coasts of Europa, Asia, and Africa.[6]
One of their origin stories from theYoruba people is that these sacred beads grew out of the ground or that they were pieces of coral along the coast. This recount exists within the context of the worship ofOlokun, the god of wealth and the primordial oceanOkun. Further tied together is the link between the ocean and fertility byYoruba beliefs that Olokun makes all of the Yoruba women fertile with his spirit in the water.[7] Another link can be found between the use of these beads and the idea of fertility. InBadagry, Kori is the name of a goddess who wanted children so much that she conferred withIfa and because of this, she became fertile enough to have a city of her own children. Today, Yoruba women (specifically Kori's devotees) wear Kori beads as a representations of fertility. The beads serve as signs indicating her love for children.[7]
Sometimesmillefiori beads are called "Aggrey", but this may be incorrect.
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