Proudly I look at the beautiful necklace around my neck. I got it from my sister. She once brought it back from Suriname as a souvenir and because that's where our roots are, I think it's extra special. “You can have it,” she said one day, because she didn't know where to wear it. I do! My favorite colors are red/black and this necklace was made of beautiful shiny red beans with a small black spot.
“I picked them up there myself,” my sister said proudly.
That night I took off the necklace. I had worn it all day. It looked beautiful on my black tunic and in combination with my red boots it was a (for me) nice combination. Satisfied, I hung the chain on a hook and looked at it again. What did my sister call those beans or seeds? I decided to google it, but under the name “Kriki” I didn't find anything. Curious, I searched the Internet further and soon I found the bean in question. I read that "Kokriki seeds" are indeed made into beautiful jewelry and that the latin name is "Abrus Precatorius", which means softly praying or begging. That already sounded nice! So it didn't seem surprising to me that rosaries are also strung from it.
The name “Paternosterkransjes” therefore seemed vaguely familiar to me.
Suddenly the article took a bizarre turn and I read that under that beautiful hard shiny skin a very dangerous poison (called “Abrin”) is present, which is released after bruising or piercing the paternoster bean. It was therefore not so surprising that many people have died after stringing chains. It's dangerous work! It is also bizarre to think that with every prayer with your rosary, you come one step closer to God.
Suddenly I thought of my brother-in-law, who had been drilling holes in all those fresh beans and my sister… who then strung a bracelet out of it. They must have had guardian angels!
Terrified, I forwarded the article to my sister. I suddenly looked very differently at that beautiful necklace. She was also shocked, but could not believe it at first. “The locals wear them too!” There was silence on the other side for a while, but within a few minutes we were back in touch and she also knew it was true. That they were actually lucky, because customs immediately confiscate them if they are found in your suitcase.
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“Throw that necklace away immediately,” she called into the phone, but I decided to keep it. I won't wear it anymore, but you never know what it might come in handy for. The article also stated that beans had once fallen into a pot of tea and that the people who drank it all died within three days! A nice quick death. We would have loved to have granted that to our parents.
So soon I will write to my sister:
