Cowrie Shells What Are They
Cypraeidae, common name cowries, singular: cowry, is the symbol of fertility and birth, as well as used for money and is a popular artifact used in fortune-telling.
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| Wearing cowrie shells and glass beads a Karo Woman in Ethiopia is beautiful |
Cowrie Shells What Are They
Explore and Understand Africa Through Her Food and Culture
8-29-2015
Brief History of Cowrie Shells
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| Cowrie Shells |
Cowries occur primarily
in coastal waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans. The cowries are a
relatively small family of about 200 species but are the most collected of all
seashells. The basic shape of the shell
is the same in all species. A natural coating of enamel on the outer surface
gives the shell a brilliant polished look.
Long prized by
people for their shape and attractive colors, they were widely used for money
in ancient times. While some cowries are abundant, some species are now quite
rare and get a very high price from collectors.
Cowrie or cowry
shells are believed to be the first form of universal money. What is cowrie? It
is a shell. There are over 200 species of cowrie shells but only two in
particular; Cypraea moneta and Cypraea annulus are used as money.
The cowrie shells
were used to buy slaves for transport to the colonies in the New World. Cowries
came to West Africa through trade with Arabia in the 14th century; they became
an important means of buying slaves. The cowrie shell has been used as money in
many parts of the world, including Africa, Arabia, and Asia.
The Thai folktale
Makato and The Cowrie Shell is a well-known folktale in which cowrie shells are
used as payment from the King to the orphaned Makato. He worked hard, became a
trusted member of the King's court and eventually Makato became King.
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| Cowrie jewelry has been a popular a form of African jewelry for centuries. |
In the book When
Things Fall Apart by Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe, there are many references
to the gifts of cowries, cowries for payment, and cowries as indicators of
wealth. In one scene in Achebe’s book, Okonkwo and other leaders of the village
of Umuofia were held in jail and would not be released until a fine of 200
cowries plus 50 cowries for the court messengers was paid for each prisoner.
A British officer,
who was in Eastern Nigeria in 1776, speaking of cowry money, said, "I
found no other currency of any kind in the country; and upon an occasion, when
an increase in the revenue of the province was enforced, several boatloads of cowries
were collected." As late as 1801, the revenues of the British were
collected in cowries, which was also the general medium of all financial
transactions.
The Cypraeidae, or
Cowries have long been one of the most popular collectible seashells. In many
parts of the world, cowrie or other shells form the currency, even in countries
long away from the natural source of supply of such shells.
Cowrie shells are also
used as a decoration around the world. Cowrie jewelry has been a popular form
of African jewelry for centuries. Many DIY jewelry kits feature cowrie shells
for do it yourself-jewelry projects as hair charms, necklaces, bracelets,
earrings their decoration uses are endless.
Apart from their use
as currency, cowries play a very important role as charms and in fetish-worship
among the Ewe people of Togo. These charms are worn on the neck, arm, wrist, and
ankle, and regarded as talismans against wounds and sickness, and for luck. Being
ornamented with cowries in many coastal parts of Africa is a common appearance.
The great demand for
cowrie shells for ornaments and charms caused people to exchange all manner of
articles for them, and therefore to make them into currency. The cowrie shell is used as a charm in America,
in Europe, and in West Africa, in places many hundreds, even thousands, of
miles from the places where it exists in nature.
Cypraeidae, common
name cowries, singular: cowry, is the symbol of fertility and birth, has
always been closely associated with women. It was the symbol of maternity by turning
the shell into jewelry by adding to the arms, legs, hair, and neck.
Cowrie shells are
popular artifacts used in fortune-telling. Divination or fortune-telling is the practice of
interrupting signs in order to see into the future. Witchdoctors, Sangoma,
Nyanga, and Traditional Healers believe cowrie shells are spiritually gifted in
bone divination readings. Traditional healing using fortune-telling is linked to wider belief systems
and remains integral to the lives of most Africans.
There was a time in
Togo when cowries were paid by the relations of a girl seeking admission among
the Ewe people witchdoctors. When the engaged brought his wife home he paid to
her parent's cowries.
At death ceremonies,
relations, friends and acquaintances, place quantities of cowries in the grave
with the dead, in order that the deceased may purchase food and palm-wine. Ewe
people believed that cowries and everything placed in the grave including
tobacco and the wine will be of use to the departed.
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Did you know?
The Ghanaian cedi is the unit of currency of Ghana. The cedi is the Ghanaian word for cowrie, from the Fanti language of the West African Akan people.
