Similar to the "Rosary" or "garland of roses", Prayer Beads are in effect prayer counters - each bead correlating with a line, passage or individual incantation derived from a literary source.
Although the area is mostly Christian, superstition also plays a very real part in the lives of Ethiopian tribes-people who believe the wearing of such beads wards off harmful spirits.
Being that each bead is hand made, they vary slightly in size from ⅜" - ⅝" with a diameter of ¼" - ⅜"