Kiffa beads (sometimes called "saliva beads") are recycled-glass beads that reportedly have been made in the African country of Mauritania for a 1000 years! Mauritanian women are the typical creators of these festive ornaments. First, the beadmaker grinds available glass objects into a fine powder. Then, she creates a core shape by using saliva to mold glass powder around a stick (the stick creates the bead hole). Intricate, colored designs are then added to the surface of the core shape, again using saliva to hold the powdered glass together. Finally, the beads are placed on a potsherd, covered and fired on a bed of charcoal. Because Kiffa beads achieve such intricate designs using very basic tools and materials, they have been hailed as an example of the highest level of beadmaking skill and ingenuity.
