By Sandra J. Paluzzi
The Bead Peddler®

There is not a book written on beads that does not discuss prayer beads.  In fact, the word bead comes from the Anglo-Saxen word, bede meaning prayer.  Prayer beads are used by most major religions.  They date back to before Christ with the Hindu mala prayer beads.  They spread from Hindus to Buddhists and Muslims.  Almost all major religious groups, including the Pagan Wiccas, have prayer beads.  In the early 15th century, Christianity was one of the last religions to start using a set of beads to count prayers.

The original prayer beads were not beaded.  Instead they were knotted. There was a myth that the devil could untie the knots so bigger, stronger knots were made.  The devil couldn't undo them.  Beads were eventually added and the specific type of bead used typically had a spiritual meaning.

Prayer beads are circular in form.  The circular shape represents eternity or the universe.  Prayer beads have a beginning and end point.  The number of beads on each religion's prayer beads differ, but each has a spiritual meaning for that religion.  For example, the Roman Catholic rosary has 53 beads for saying a prayer to Christ's mother, Mary.  The 53 beads represent the number of years she lived on earth. Repetition of the same prayer(s) on several of the counting beads is common.  The repetition helps the prayer to meditate. 

Prayer beads were initially a very public matter.  The ancient Hindus used to chant their prayers on their mala beads loudly and repeatedly as they walked through the Indian market.  In the early 1500s, praying on the Catholic rosary became extremely prominent.  Saying the rosary was thought to be so powerful that wealthy noble men paid a 'beadsman' to walk behind them constantly saying the rosary on their behalf.  People signed their letters to loved ones as 'your beadsman' signifying their willingness to intercede with God on their behalf.

Other cultures have hidden their use of prayer beads due to religious persecution.  When they were forbidden to say the rosary, Irish Catholics invented a small circular disk with ten points on it.  The circlet was easily hidden while they said their rosary.

Today, particularly in America, prayer is a private matter.  Prayer beads, like the Catholic rosary, are typically carried in a pocket or change purse.  Rosaries are said in private or in church.   However, that does not mean that the power or popularity of prayer beads is waning.  Indeed, if anything, prayer beads are gaining in popularity.  Recently the Anglican church has developed it's own rosary. 

References:  The History of Beads, Concise Edition, Lois Sherr Dubin