When the Black Panther trailer dropped during the NBA Finals Game 4, the internet went wild. So wild, there are some tiny details you probably overlooked, one of them being Kimoyo beads.
What are Kimoyo beads? They are more than just jewels. Because of the large deposits of vibranium in Wakanda, these beads tap into the energy force. If you read the comics, you know what these beads are capable of. If not, we have you covered.
In Bantu, Kimoyo means ‘of the spirit.’ It’s unclear if this comes into play in the movie, but in the comics, there are different types of beads that do different things.
"They’re similar to the [Kimoyo] tech that’s been established in Black Panther before and they do tap into the vibranium of Wakanda," Black Panther comic book artist Brian Stelfreeze explained to Popular Science back in 2016. "There’s just power in the ground of Wakanda all the time. So the [Kimoyo Beads] work well in Wakanda, but, when you leave, it’s like taking out the battery.”
The Prime Bead is known to contain birth and medical information about the individual wearer. The AV Bead is capable of producing a holograph, which connects to basically the Wakandan internet and allows access to loads of information. Hand motions control the Communication Bead, which is self explanatory, allowing Wakandans to speak to one another like a cell phone.
“A bead acts as a cell phone, but from there we thought about the other beads: what if another bead is their personal data, holding medical records and such,” said Stelfreeze. “What if a separate bead is GPS? If you work a certain job, you’d get a bead tied to the machines of that workplace.”
It’s also worth mentioning there’s another piece of tech known as the Kimoyo Card, similar to the Avengers Identicard, which has tons of practical applications. It connects to satellites and can be used to do things like land a plane or stop explosives or hail an aircraft. It will be interesting to see if Black Panther has the Kimoyo system integrated into his suit.
“I think of Wakandan technology as organic technology. Most of their tech mimics nature because it comes from nature. Wakanda was a tremendously warring nation, with a very feudal time early on. But after a while, proper borders were established, which ushered in a time of peace. Peace time shifted concerns from war to agriculture, from agriculture to early days of knife and spear-building to developing exotic materials. Rather than coming from industry, Wakandan tech came from agricultural needs—using organic tech to build machines,” Stelfreeze added.
He also pointed out younger people may have a bracelet full of beads, while the elders who are retired and maybe not doing as much, would only have a few beads on their bracelet. In the photos above, we saw T’Challa, Erik Killmonger, Okoye and Isaach De Bankolé, who plays a River Tribe elder. Hopefully in the next trailer, we’ll get to see what these beads are capable of first hand.
For more information on the tech from the Black Panther comics, check out the full interview with Popular Science here. Are you excited for Black Panther ? Let us know in the comments below!
