Öaknovations..


Xhosa bling as a social identity and status.

#xhosabling.

According to Bruce Metcalf " the most important subtext of jewelry is to mark social identity and status. Adornment has always been used to either distinguish or merge the wearer with social groupings. The coded information that societies evolve for jewelry can be employed to make the wearer different from his neighbors, or the same".

Adornments serve a particular purpose across different cultures as social markers. In xhosa culture they were used to ascertain where one belongs to with regards to identity, history and geographical location. They reveal personal information with regards to age and gender and social class as some symbols were meant to be worn by those of royalty.