Using Natural Resources to Make Jewelry - Keep it Green, Wear a Job's Tear's Necklace from Nature!

People have always found a way to to make jewelry from natural resources like: bone, tusks, teeth, sea shells, gemstones, seeds and more. Most of these natural resources need polished and finished - but not Job's tears (Coix Lacryma-Jobi). This natural and almost perfect bead is from a tall roadside wild grass that American Indians called the corn bead plant. This plant is a relative to the corn plant and the seed even has a hole through the center making it a natural bead for stringing.This hard droplet-shaped seed, beautiful in earth-tone shades will even become naturally shiny by absorbing the body's natural oils - or it can even be dyed and painted!

Stringing the beads for necklaces!

Some jewelry makers use dental floss or nylon fishing line for stringing the necklace or bracelet (not recommended for making gourd-rattles or toy-strings for baby's play because of the potential of chocking-hazard).

American Indian's and the corn-bead plant - Job's tears!

During the winter of 1838 - 9, the U.S. government began a far-away relocation westward of many American Indians: Cherokee, Muscogee-Creek, Seminole, Choctaw nations and more. Most were marched along with little clothing, many with no shoes or moccasins - and through flash floods, sleet and snow. The Cherokee were given blankets from a hospital with a small pox epidemic and many died from this disease. They suffered from exposure, starvation, illness and multitudes died including 4,000 of the 15,000 relocated Cherokee. Some of the food rationing was a handful of corn, one turnip and 2 cups of warm water daily. Because so many died on this march it was called the "trail of tears." By 1837, 46,000 American Indians had been removed from their homelands, making 25 million acres open for settlement!

The Legend of Job's tears!

The legend goes that on "the trail of tears" wherever a tear fell a plant sprang from the earth - the corn bead plant, Job's tears. The bead, being naturally shaded in grays and symbolizing the color of grief, is made into jewelry in memory of "the trail where they cried."

Sources:

www.ucan-online.org/tradeblanket_products.asp?​category=44 (pictures of Job's tear's necklaces)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_of_Tears (pictures of some of the American Indians)
waynesword.palomar.edu/plapr99.htm (pictures - see a patch of Job's tears in bloom in Southern California)
www.localharvest.org/​jobs-tears-necklaces-C5539