Job's Tears

Job's Tears are probably the oldest bead known. Job's Tears, in use for beads date to at least 2000BC. Earlier claims have merit, but remain unproven. It is not clear where these plants were first domesticated, but it is definitely one of the oldest agricultural crops, along with beans, corn and rice. Food was its first and most important use. The edible fruit is shaped like a tear drop. Legend has it that no one shed more tears than the biblical Job, and this is the name by which it is most widely known.

When dried the fruit has a hard outer shell, but a very soft inside. The flower end of the seed has a tiny natural hole, through which a needle is easily run through, and out the bottom end. Necklaces are perhaps the most common use for Job's Tears, but they are used by a wide variety of artisans for all types of embellishments.

~ Dazzle