加納玻璃珠 Ghanaian Glass Beads

加納是非洲最大的玻璃珠市場，玻璃珠製作順理成章是當地一門得意手藝！

在加納，這門手藝的出現，可能比「環保」這個概念更早傳入非洲。每粒玻璃珠的製作過程並不複雜但工序就出乎意料地多，為了讓玻璃珠成品效果更佳更耐用，單是進行火爐燒焗就有3次之多。在高溫的工場中，工匠們所花的功夫、時間和心血就是完全是耐性的表現，所以說每粒玻璃珠是「心血結晶」也不為過。【製作方法片段：按此】

玻璃珠作為其中一個傳統襯式，在節慶、婚喪、嬰兒出生、成人禮等不同場合，層層纏疊於人們的脖子上或手腕上、穿戴各式各樣、色彩斑斕的手工珠鏈，顯示了對場合的尊重及體面。

Ghana has the largest market of powder glass beads. The making of powder glass beads in Krobo, Ghana, has been documented to date from as early as the 1920s but despite limited archaeological evidence.

Each bead is handmade from finely ground glass, the main source being broken and unusable bottles and a great variety of other scrap glasses. Patterns on the beads are hand painted and burnt in high temperature kilns for pigments to settled. The making process may look easy, but beadmaker takes years of apprenticeship and practice to be recognized as an accomplished artisan. 【Making of video：Click Here】

Today, glass beads still play important roles in Krobo society, they are worn for ceremonies such as rituals of birth, coming of age, marriage, or death.

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