The braids and front should be decorated in any way that is meaningful to you. Any form of a circle within a circle and/or oval with a circle are variations on a theme: protection from the evil eye which is popular in all eastern cultures. The triangle is an old feminine symbol, the yoni.... but you may use whatever you wish. Among the Tuareg, their jewelry tends to simple geometric designs. You should include cowrie shells in your design on the front, and also sewn to the braids.

It looks wonderful to have a variety of beads sewn to your braids. These serve the practical function of giving the braids weight, a very nice effect when you sway your head. You may attach it the same way the Guedra women do, by taking your hair over the wires and braiding it, or otherwise wrapping your hair around the wires. In authentic cultures, the women's hair would naturally be black, and might be a black woman with the same type hair. Because most of us Americans will not have this advantage, your headpiece can be thickly braided except for the gap in back. You could cover this section, but the assumption is that you will be working with a veil of some kind that can be kept over the back... or you can just not worry about it. If you have very light hair, you might want to put a black headband on first to keep from spoiling the illusion.

The full Guedra costume includes a haik, or wrapped garment worn somewhat like a Greek Chiton which is held together by fibula- type pins. This type of jewelry is becoming more available recently due to the popularity of American tribal bellydance, which also likes heavy ethnic jewelry. Basically they are like the celtic pins, plus various jewelry and chains hanging from them. Some people have said that they should have some natural stones such as lapis lazuli or carnelian.

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