This intriguing necklace with it's delicately hand carved Mokolwane Palm nut pendant is made by the San Bushmen of Tsodilo Hills, Botswana.
Locally gathered materials form the beads on this lovely, traditional necklace. Seeds and pods from a variety of local trees are pierced one-by-one to form beads by using a piece of wire heated in an open fire. The red hot metal wire sears a hole in the bead. An old, worn out flip flop sandal is used by the Tsodilo Hills ladies as a platform on which to place the beads as they are being burned. Tubular segments of twigs, reeds and porcupine quills form the longer beads.
A few ostrich egg shell beads are part of the design in many of these necklaces, appearing as small white disks. These beads are also created painstakingly by hand. Each egg shell bead is drilled using a sharpened piece of stiff wire which is rapidly rolled back and forth between the palms. The rough beads are then threaded onto a string, creating a strand of uneven beads which are then smoothed into circles.
The pendant on this necklace is carved from the kernel the Mokolwani Palm nut. The hard material is often referred to as "vegetable ivory". The carving on each piece is unique and one of a kind, as is the selection of bead design and pattern.This is a long necklace, measuring approximately 24” around, with the “wearing length” being about 12” from where a clasp would be.
The end of the pendant falls at approximately 16” from this point. The necklace is made in the popular over-the-head style without a clasp.
The photos show both sides of the design on the Mokolwane nut.
