Here at Tinga Tinga Art, we are known for our paintings. But for a long time, people who visited our website or came to us through our customers kept asking the same question: "Do you sell anything else? Something small I can take home, or give as a gift?"
Well, today we are very happy to say — yes, we do. Meet our Shanga collection.
Shanga (pronounced SHAN-ga) is the Swahili word for bead. In East Africa, beadwork has been part of daily life and celebration for hundreds of years. You will find it at weddings, worn by elders, given as gifts between friends, used to tell stories without a single word. Beads carry meaning. They carry colour. They carry love.
Our Shanga pieces are handmade beaded accessories — bracelets that you wear on your wrist, and keychains that hang from your bag or keys. They are small, but they are full of life and personality.
Every single bead is placed by skilled Tanzanian hands, following patterns that are inspired by the flag, the land, the identity, and the pride of Tanzania.
Look at the Tanzanian flag.
Green for the land — the forests, the mountains, the great plains of the Serengeti.
Yellow for the mineral wealth beneath the soil — the gold, the tanzanite, the richness of this earth.
Black for the people — the Swahili coast, the Maasai, the Chagga, all the beautiful communities that make Tanzania who she is.
Blue for the sea and the lakes — the Indian Ocean that kisses our shores, Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika, the waters that give life.
When you wear a Shanga bracelet made with Tanzania’s colours, you are not just wearing jewellery. You are wearing a piece of this story.
Every bead placed by hand. Every colour chosen with meaning. Every bracelet a small piece of Tanzania going out into the world.
We currently offer three beautiful styles in our collection, and each one is unique in the way it looks and the feeling it gives.
This is the bracelet for people who love clean style. It is a wide band bracelet made with woven rope or cord, sitting flat and smooth on your wrist. Along the middle, it carries a stripe of colours — green, yellow, black, blue — the Tanzania flag colours running along the band like a quiet signature.
It adjusts easily so it fits any wrist, and it is comfortable enough to wear every day. It is the kind of bracelet you put on in the morning and forget you are wearing — until someone notices it and says, "That is beautiful, where is it from?"
This one is perfect for: everyday wear, gifting to a friend who loves simple but meaningful style, children and adults alike.
This is for the person who wants the world to know who they are and where they come from. It is a wide beaded bracelet made from tiny seed beads, woven tightly in a loom pattern. Across the face of the bracelet, bold letters spell out a name (such as TANZANIA) in bright yellow beads on a black background, with the flag colours on each end.
It is striking. It is proud. It is the kind of accessory that makes a statement without saying a word out loud. It closes with a sliding knot and two beaded ends so you can adjust the fit perfectly.
This one is perfect for: people in the diaspora who are proud of their roots, anyone who wants a personal or country name bracelet, travellers who love unique souvenirs with real character.
This one takes your breath away a little when you see it up close. It is a wide cuff-style beaded bracelet, and it carries the full Tanzania flag design mapped out in tiny beads across the whole surface. The diagonal stripe, the triangles of green and blue, the yellow and black outlines — everything is there, in miniature, wrapped around your wrist.
It is wider than the other styles and makes more of a statement. This is the bracelet that people will stop and look at. It is wearable art — and yes, we say that with confidence, because this is genuinely craftsmanship.
This one is perfect for: collectors, those who love wearable art, someone who wants the most detailed and eye-catching piece.
We also make Shanga keychains — small beaded pieces in the same Tanzania flag colours and patterns, designed to hang from your keys, your bag, your zip, or anywhere you like. They are small enough to travel anywhere in the world with you, and they carry that same handmade quality as the bracelets.
Keychains make wonderful little gifts, especially when combined with a painting order. They are light, they pack easily, and they always make people smile when they see them dangling with all those bright little beads.
Here is something important we want you to know: Tanzania is where we start, but it is not where we stop.
Our beadwork artists can create bracelets and keychains in the colours and patterns of any country’s flag — Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Jamaica, the USA, the UK, Germany, the Caribbean islands — wherever you are from, we can make a piece that carries your colours.
We can also do:
Custom name bracelets — your name, your child’s name, your organisation’s name
Custom colour patterns — if you want something that matches a school, a sports team, a wedding colour scheme
Bulk orders for events — corporate gifts, wedding favours, reunion gifts, school or charity merchandise
Matching sets — bracelets and keychains together as a gift set
Just get in touch with us, tell us what you have in mind, and we will make it happen.
🌍 Ordering is easy. When you place an order for a painting on our website, simply contact us to add Shanga accessories to your order. We will sort everything out for you and ship it all together. Whether you are ordering from the US, UK, Germany, Canada, Australia, or anywhere else in the world — we pack everything carefully and ship internationally from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
There are many places in the world where you can buy African-themed jewellery. Mass-produced pieces made in factories, shipped in bulk, sold in tourist shops. We are not that.
Our Shanga pieces are made in Tanzania, by Tanzanian hands, using real beadworking skill that takes time and patience to master. When you buy from us, you are supporting real artisans — real people with real families who take genuine pride in what they make.
You are also getting something that nobody else has. A piece made to order, made specifically for you or the person you are gifting it to. That is something you simply cannot find in a high street shop.
And when it arrives at your door — all the way from East Africa, packed with care — there is something really special about that. We hear it from our customers all the time: "It felt like receiving a gift from a friend, not just a package from a shop."
That is exactly what we want you to feel.
Shanga bracelets and keychains are one of the best small gifts you can give. Here is why they work so well for so many people and occasions:
For the Tanzanian diaspora — a piece of home to keep close, wherever you are in the world.
For travellers and Africa lovers — a genuine handmade souvenir with real cultural meaning, not a factory replica.
For children — colourful, fun, and educational. Wear the flag, learn the story.
For wedding or event gifts — customised in your colours or flag, given to guests as a meaningful keepsake.
For colleagues or clients — unique corporate gifts from Africa that nobody else will have on their desk or wrist.
For yourself — because you love East African art, colour, and want to carry a little piece of that beauty with you every day.
Our heart and soul is in the paintings — the bold, vibrant Tingatinga art and contemporary East African paintings that we have been sharing with the world for years. And there is something really wonderful about pairing a painting with a Shanga bracelet or keychain as a gift.
You give someone a painting that hangs on their wall and fills their room with colour — and then a bracelet they can wear every day that carries those same colours on their wrist. Together, they make a gift that people talk about. A gift that people remember.
If you are ordering a painting for someone — a birthday, an anniversary, a housewarming — consider adding a Shanga piece. It costs very little more, and it transforms a great gift into an unforgettable one.
Browse our paintings at tingatingaart.com and place your order as normal
Before or after ordering, contact us to add Shanga accessories
Tell us which style — rope bracelet, name bracelet, flag bracelet, or keychain
Tell us any customisation — a different flag, a name, special colours
We confirm, pack everything together, and ship to your door
It is that simple. And if you want Shanga without a painting, please reach out — we are happy to discuss your order directly.
We started Tinga Tinga Art because we believe that African art deserves to be seen, appreciated, and owned by people all over the world. Not as an exotic curiosity — but as real art, made by real artists, carrying real stories.
Shanga is part of that same belief. These little beads — green, yellow, black, blue — they carry the story of Tanzania. And when you wear one, or gift one to someone you love, a small piece of that story travels with you.
Thank you, as always, for your support. It means everything to the artists here in Dar es Salaam who work so hard and so beautifully every day.
With warmth and colour — the Tinga Tinga Art team 🌿
Published by Tinga Tinga Art · Dar es Salaam, Tanzania · tingatingaart.com
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Centimeters (CM) |
Inches (IN) |
|
50CM x 40CM |
19 11/16 in X 15 3/4 in |
|
50CM x 50CM |
19 11/16 in X 19 11/16 in |
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60CM x 60CM |
23 5/8 in X 23 5/8 in |
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70CM x 50CM |
27 9/16 in X 19 11/16 in |
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80CM x 60CM |
31 1/2 in X 23 5/8 in |
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100CM x 80CM |
39 3/8 in X 31 1/2 in |
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140CM x 110CM |
55 1/8 in X 43 5/16 in |
