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Worry Beads - Komboloi & Begleri - Tons Of New Worrybeads!!! |
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We just received a huge shipment of worrybeads from Greece in all different colors and styles. All of our worry beads are authentic and made in Greece! Worry beads are the perfect gift for a Greek gentleman. Browse below our large selection of worry beads, komboloi, begleri and beberia.
Need a large order of worrybeads? Please contact us and we can obtain large orders of 100 or more worry beads for your special event. |
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| Evil Eye Worry Beads |
Classic Worry Beads |
Glass & Metal Worry Beads |
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| Worry Beads With Tassles |
Worry Bead Gift Packs & Sets |
Silver Worry Beads |
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Begleri |
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Worry Beads History |
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Worry beads first appeared in India, invented
to help count prayers. They consisted of a series of fruit pits, punctured
and stringed on a piece of string. By the time fruit pits were replaced
by amber, ivory, coral, semiprecious stones, or other precise stones
and noble metals. Then a tassel was added and a “papas” (the bead that
marks the beginning and end of its cycle). They embellished them in
various ways and thus created a work of art. A collectable jewel , that
soon became a symbol of wealth, prestige, power and culture. they were
used by Maharajahs, Sultans, Pashas, Emirs and generally those having
and keeping. They were something between jewel and sceptre.
The
Greek word for worry beads is kompoloi (Greek: κομπολόι), often
spelled koboloi, komboloi, or coboloi and was first introduced by the
Turks. From the Turks it became popular, as an accessory at the hands
of the dignitaries and sovereigns as symbol of force, wealth and power.
Soon kompolois became popular among the common people as means for meditation
and companion in lounging and to calm the pain.
Because
kompoloi is a accessory able to cover various human needs, it passed to
the hands of antisocial elements. For them it became symbol of independence,
freedom and reactive and rough behaviour. The above, in addition to the
intensification of the production and the rhythms of life after the second
World War, lead to the decay of kompoloi, since the new conditions and
ideologies created societies of people struggling to success and survive.
During that period worry beads were only popular among religious people.
They used names such as Deitiko Stefani tis Panagias (Greek:
δεητικό στεφάνι της Παναγιάς), meaning
"Praying Crown of Virgin Mary" or paterimi (Greek: πατερήμι).
However the most common name for the religious worry beads is worry knots
or komposkini (Greek: κομποσκοίνι), meaning a rope with
knots, because the religious persons in each knot say a prayer. The Greek
word for worry beads: kompo~loi (Greek: κομπο~λόι) also derived
from this expression: "in each knot he says" which
in Greek language is translated to "se kathe kompo leo"
"Greek: σε κάθε κόμπο λέω".
When
tourism development in Greece occurred, kompoloi, being an important element
of Greek culture and tradition, became again popular but this time as
a souvenir sold to tourists. During this period kompoloi was a just kitschy
festoon usually made of plastics, metals, or machine made silver platted
beads and had nothing to do with the jewel of superior aesthetics and
a symbol of wealth, power, freedom and prestige that used to be in the
past.
In
our age, when rhythms of life are exhausting and stress, shopping, drinks,
smoking, depression and antidepressant drugs have become a matter of everyday
life, kompoloi makes a dynamic come-back and offers many solutions to
the "dead ends" of contemporary life. Because kompoloi is:
- a way of giving up bad habits, such as smoking, nervousness
or comfort eating, or biting our nails;
- a jewel, when it is strung with valuable beads made
of amber, semi-precious stones or precious metals;
- a remedy, when it is made of semiprecious stones, which
radiate a health-enhancing energy;
- a piece of art, when it is designed with high standards
of aesthetics;
- a collector’s item, as it can be rare, beautiful, and
precious;
- a symbol of strength, power, when it is artistic and
precious;
- an amulet, when it contains symbols of our beliefs
and good luck;
- a psychotherapist, because the massage to
our fingers can relax our neural system;
- a home decorative for our the furniture, table and
the walls;
- a joy for our senses, with its purling beads, silken
touch, vibrant colours, and the magical scent of amber and aromatic wood;
- our personal trainer, because we can use it to train
our fingers' skills.
- a heirloom, redolent of our forebears’ lives and the
tales they told, and bearing the story of our own lives forward to generations
to come;
- a medium between man and God, because it can be used
as a rosary to count prayers
- a
symbol of wealth; it points out that we have plenty of free time;
- a reflection of our personality, as it reflects our
ego, in the same way as our car or our house does
This
is why we are not exaggerating if we say "show me your worry beads
and I’ll show you who you are". Indeed, kompoloi is not just a fashion
fad: it is a necessity! It is the jewel of men and the
symbol of independency for women. Instead of smoking cigarettes one after
the other, or yelling out angry vocals, lets keep or fingers busy with
our favourite worry beads. Because of the ability of kompoloi to change
shape form, content and role depending on its holder, everyone can buy
or design and make the kompoloi that corresponds to his/her personality.
Choices include the size, colour, number of beads, shield, tassel and
priest head (papas). In order for a kompoloi to be functional as a toy,
it should consist of an odd number of beads, with a sum always equal to
a modulus of four, plus one. So functional kompolois are only those with
(4x4)+1=17,
or (5x4)+1=21 etc beads.
The
rope of the kompoloi that is not covered by beads is only functional when
it has length, equal to the width of the holder's palm. Muslim string
of beads (sibhah) always have 33 beads, divided by spacer discs into 3
sections of 11 beads. The beads are tightened as this worry beads are
only designed to count prayers and not for joy.
Open-style worry beads (Mpegleri, or Begleri)
In the decade of 1930, outcasts invented something similar to the kompoloi.
Open-style worry beads consisted of a festoon of 16 beads. The rope were
the beads were hold, was far bigger than the total length of the beads.
They named it "Mpegleri" (Greek: Μπεγλέρι)
and this name derived from the verb mpeglerizo (Greek: μπεγλερίζω)
that means "I roll the dices". The teenagers of the 1990's used
to hold mpegleris made of only two beads. The two edges of the rope were
not tied up together, so they didn't shape a festoon. Nowadays mpegleris are designed with as many beads as desired and some times we add a tassel
in each edge of the rope. Usually beads are made of semiprecious stones
to take advantage of their positive energy.
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