Tribal Necklace

First Grade

Youtube Video Links -
History - https://youtu.be/0_hJXVLuEuw Demo - https://youtu.be/43ba_NUA2o8

Tribal Necklace

African jewelry dates back thousands of years and the oldest jewelry known is some shell beads discovered in a cave in South Africa believed to be about 75,000 years.

Tribal African Jewelry was made from natural materials such as ivory, amber, bone, wood, shells, metal, hair and stone. These various materials were fashioned into necklaces, waist chains, bracelets, ankle chains and head adornments.

The jewelry of Africa is not just ornamental. For each group, rituals and religion play a major part in the adornment of jewelry. Each piece is represented and worn for a particular reason, ranging from aesthetics to identifying marks of a society or group. The climate also has a lot to do with the materials used to make the jewelry.

Tribal jewelry in West Africa was traditionally used to tell a story. Depending on the culture and times, jewelry has been appreciated as a status symbol or designated as a cultural affiliation. Anklets were used for ritual dances, beaded belts or waist chains were used at wedding ceremonies and cowrie shells have even been used as a form of money.

Today as in the past, African Jewelry is used to enhance personal beauty and at the same time displays the artistry of African craftsmen.

The Project

Prep – 30 min.

Materials
-2 paper plates with center cut out per student

-Different bright colors of tempera paint

-Paint palettes

-Paint brushes, small ones, one per color so students can share and not wash out

-Q tips

Lesson

Talk to students about tribal necklaces made and worn by the Samburu Tribe in Africa. Show them the intricate bead work and ask them what they see?
The beads were originally made out of ostrich eggs, wood, or bone. Now they get small glass beads to make their necklaces.
Show students how today they will be making their own necklaces out of paper plates that they will paint with brightly colored tempera paint, like the bright colors of the Samburu tribe.
Model painting stripes on the plate in different colors, then going back to add dots of color on top of the stripes with Q tips.
Tell students they will get to paint 2 necklaces today, one for home and one to go up in classroom or saved to hang up at the art fair in May.

Art Project

-pass out one paper plate to each student, have them put their name on the back

-pass out tempera paint palettes filled with paint and paint brushes for each color

-explain to students that they will not wash out brushes, but use the brush in the color it is in and put it back in that color for the students around them to use.

-pass out Q tips for each student to use to make their dots

-when they are done with their first paper plate, you can collect it and give them another to paint. Remind them to put their name on the back of that one also!

*have a parent volunteer wash out brushes and paint palettes and leave to dry on the counter in the Art room.

Citations