Why are beads so satisfying? What's so fascinating about them that they've been part of human culture for so long, even to the point of acting as currency? I know some of the theories behind wearing jewellery, but for me, and for others, I know, one of the pleasures is *having* the beads, not adorning oneself with them.
Personally, I don't wear jewellery often, and the rare times I do, I choose a simple bracelet with some beads I really love - that way, I get to look at them whilst I'm wearing them (I've tried doing that with a necklace, but looking down into your own cleavage in public places causes quite a number of raised-eyebrows.) To be honest, I'd be happy with carrying a handful of much-loved beads around in my pocket and occasionally looking at them (I make no apologies for this, because you probably want to do it too)
So here's where I'd love your opinions; why do you like beads? I'll start off with a few of my own:
The pocket thing: let's face it, jingling some beads in your pocket is just as satisfying a sound as jangling some solid gold coins for making you feel like a wealthy pirate.
The Scrooge McDuck thing: you can sit in a large pile of beads, throw them up over yourself, and swim through them, at a fraction of the cost of Scrooge's money vault.
The sparkly thing: seriously, has anyone ever said 'I don't like things that sparkle'? I don't think so. It's impossible.
The Gollum thing: knowing you have a stash of pretty little treasures to covet is irresistible.
Your turn....
Personally, I think it's all down to instinct.
ReplyDeleteWe do a lot of the things we do for instinctive reasons and don't even know it. If you think of us as animals living in a natural world, we need to gather valuable commodities in order to survive (i.e. food, water, tools).
We have become a society that values the collection of wealth beyond anything else, and this is also true of the collection of material things, such as beads. I think we have forgotten why we do it:
The Reason we like beads, in our caveman instinctive brains is "if I have a lot of this useful, shiny thing I will be ok, I will survive. If I have a lot, I may not have to gather more tomorrow".
Shiny things I think equate to grabbing your attention and pointing you to something useful (e.g. water glistens in the sun), shiny metal is useful for making tools with.
Ever wondered why most people make a bee line for shiny packaging or leaflets?
Small objects like beads can also be used for trade - to obtain other useful things.
We like things for an intangible reason, but in fact you can explain it with tangible reasons.
I completely agree that there is something very tactile about having beads on your person, and I also only wear bracelets to play with! :D
Yup, the Gollum thing!
ReplyDeleteThanks Elizabeth for such a well-thought out answer!
ReplyDeleteYou make very interesting points about the 'shiny' factor in terms of survivial (slight tangent, but shininess or glossiness of hair/fur is often a sign of health - and therefore strength - in animal terms, isn't it? Maybe another shiny connection...)
I suppose beads are a commoditity that is one step removed from actual survivial instincts - in themselves, they don't actually serve a purpose, but the symbolism given to them makes them of value.
I have an urge to go to try to find some anothropological papers on this subject now! Fascinating topic.
Hee, Lori - I'm now imagining you sitting in a small cave stroking some beads and whispering to them lovingly :D (Not that I do that when i'm alone, nope)
ReplyDeleteHehe went a bit mad with that explanation! ;)
ReplyDeleteIt is true though that sometimes we think we do things for no reason, but actually there's a reason for it buried deep in the brain.
Just going with my instincts, I like beads because they are tactile. I love the ones that are smooth and round, like a really well cut and polished quartz crystal or similar :D
I saw u in polymer cafe magazine(: ur cool(:
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