This post is a really a continuation of my previous post about a couple of pendants of sentimental value which I had lost…and found. You can read it by scrolling down on my home page.
One of the pendants was a black design which appeared to have some ethnic symbolism and ‘spoke’ to me; indeed when I was first given it by my daughter I wore it all the time. It had come from New Zealand and although I wasn’t totally convinced I had decided it may have been made of plastic as it had a vaguely plastic-like feel to it. The reason was that I didn’t know what else it could be and when I wore it against my skin in bright sunshine it got very hot and seemed to burn. This was when I started to wear it less often. It turns out I had misjudged it’s composition.
After reading my post my wonderful daughter-in-law was intrigued enough to try to find out more about it from the Internet – something that hadn’t occurred to me to do, not being of the ‘Internet generation’; I wouldn’t have had any idea how to start looking! She found exactly the same pendant design available from a company called Mountain Jade in New Zealand. It turns out that it is hand carved from rare Australian Black Jade, jade being a semi-precious stone. I had never heard of black jade before and didn’t know jade could be anything other than green. When I compared it to some green jade that I have it did indeed feel the same – a little bit, but not entirely like plastic or some sort of resinous material.
The Mountain Jade website lists the pendant as being a Manaia Necklace. It goes on to explain that it is indeed symbolic. The Manaia apparently is a guardian representing balance and protection. The head of a bird, body of a man and tail of a fish represent sky, earth and sea. Some of the Manaia designs are more detailed so the explanation continues that the three fingers (which don’t seem to appear on the design like mine) signify birth, life and death. It connects the earthly and spirit worlds.
Representing balance and protection, connecting the earthly and spirit worlds – no wonder I was drawn to it. Now I am wearing it again and will be more careful not to lose it in the future.
If you wish to find out more about Australian Black Jade and Manaia jewellery (this one is also made in green jade and there are several other designs) then check out the website at Mountain Jade.
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