Idayimani, headband for Unomgcan

This is a headband made out of silver and leather. The headband is manufactured with the use of chain mail technique and a pattern pierced plate. This was an attempt to create a piece of jewellery that is an indicator of status (see fig 1) for the milestone (Unomgcana). I designed and created a piece of jewellery that addresses the aspects of coded information, meaning jewellery can be employed to make the wearer different from their neighbors or the same. The symbols and patterns (See fig 2) used to convey a specific message from the wearer to their neighbors. The headband dictates the status of the wearer.  I have incorporated these symbols and patterns to design a headband (see fig 3) I wanted to design and sketch in telling the story of a man who wants to distinguish his social status in the environment he lives in. This is the Xhosa bling Idayimani (headband) (see figure 4).

Figure 1: Xhosa Idayimani. (headband) Figure 2 - Xhosa symbols and patterns. Figure 3 - Rozani B., (2019) drawing of my design process.   Figure 4 - Rozani. B., (2019) Modern Xhosa Idayimani.