| Cowrie Cowry | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Cowries are generally seen on rocky areas of the sea bed. | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
| Order: | Littorinimorpha |
| Superfamily: | Cypraeoidea |
| Family: | Cypraeidae |
Cowrie orcowry (pl. cowries) is thecommon name for a group of small to largesea snails in the familyCypraeidae.
Cowrie shells have held cultural, economic, and ornamental significance in various cultures. The cowrie was the shell most widely used worldwide asshell money. It is most abundant in theIndian Ocean, and was collected in theMaldive Islands, inSri Lanka, along the IndianMalabar coast, inBorneo and on other East Indian islands, inMaluku in the Pacific, and in various parts of theAfrican coast fromRas Hafun, inSomalia, toMozambique. Cowrie shell money was important in the trade networks ofAfrica,South Asia, andEast Asia.
In theUnited States andMexico, cowrie species inhabit the waters offCentral California toBaja California (thechestnut cowrie is the only cowrie species native to theeastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of the United States; further south, off the coast of Mexico,Central America andPeru,Little Deer Cowrie habitat can be found; and further into the Pacific from Central America, the Pacific habitat range ofMoney Cowrie can be reached[1]) as well as the waters south of theSoutheastern United States.[2]
Some species in the familyOvulidae are also often referred to as cowries. In theBritish Isles the localTrivia species (family Triviidae, speciesTrivia monacha andTrivia arctica) are sometimes called cowries. The Ovulidae and the Triviidae are otherfamilies withinCypraeoidea, the superfamily of cowries and their close relatives.
The wordcowrie comes fromHindiकौडि (kaudi), which is itself derived fromSanskritकपर्द (kaparda).[3][4]
The termporcelain derives from the oldItalian term for the cowrie shell (porcellana) due to their similar appearance.[5]
The shells of cowries are usually smooth and shiny and more or less egg-shaped. The round side of the shell is called the Dorsal Face, whereas the flat under side is called the Ventral Face, which shows a long, narrow, slit-like opening (aperture), which is often toothed at the edges. The narrower end of the egg-shaped cowrie shell is the anterior end, and the broader end of the shell is called the posterior. Thespire of the shell is not visible in the adult shell of most species, but is visible in juveniles, which have a different shape from the adults.
Nearly all cowries have a porcelain-like shine, with some exceptions such asHawaii's granulated cowrie,Nucleolaria granulata. Many have colorful patterns. Lengths range from 5 mm (0.2 in) for some species up to 19 cm (7.5 in) for the Atlantic deer cowrie,Macrocypraea cervus.
Cowrie shells, especiallyMonetaria moneta, were used for centuries as currency by native Africans. Additionally, the money cowrie was almost impossible to counterfeit until the late 19th Century.[6] After the 1500s, however, the shell's use as currency became even more common. Western nations, chiefly through theslave trade, introduced huge numbers ofMaldivian cowries in Africa.[7] TheGhanaian cedi was named after cowrie shells. Starting over three thousand years ago, cowrie shells, or copies of the shells, were used asChinese currency.[8] They were also used as means of exchange inIndia.
TheClassical Chinese character formoney (貝) originated as a stylized drawing of a Maldivian cowrie shell.[9][10] Words and characters concerning money, property or wealth usually have this as aradical. Before theSpring and Autumn period the cowrie was used as a type of trade token awarding access to a feudal lord's resources to a worthy vassal.[citation needed]
Cowrie shells are used indivination amongst theYoruba people ofWest Africa (cf.Ifá and theannual customs of Dahomey ofBenin).
The indigenousOjibwe people ofNorth America use cowrie shells which are calledmiigis shells orwhiteshells inMidewiwin ceremonies, and theWhiteshell Provincial Park inManitoba,Canada is named after this type of shell.[11] There is some debate[by whom?] about how the Ojibwe traded for or found these shells, so far inland and so far north, very distant from the natural habitat. Oral stories andbirch bark scrolls seem to indicate that the shells were found in the ground, or washed up on the shores of lakes or rivers. Finding the cowrie shells so far inland could indicate the previous use of them by an earlier group in the area, who may have obtained them through an extensive trade network in the past.[citation needed]
In Eastern India, particularly in West Bengal, it is given as a token price for the ferry ride of the departed soul to cross the river "Vaitarani". Cowries are used during cremation. Cowries are also used in the worship of Goddess Laxmi.
In Brazil, as a result of theAtlantic slave trade from Africa, cowrie shells (calledbúzios) are also used to consult theOrixás divinities and hear their replies.
Cowrie shells were among the devices used for divination by theKaniyar Panicker astrologers ofKerala, India.[12]
In certain parts of Africa, cowries were prized charms, and they were said to be associated with fecundity, sexual pleasure and good luck.[13] It is also used in the treatment of certain diseases such as rashes and ringworm when it is burnt into ashes.[14]
InPre-dynastic Egypt and NeolithicSouthern Levant, cowrie shells were placed in the graves of young girls.[15] The modified Levantine cowries were discovered ritually arranged around the skull in female burials. During theBronze Age, cowries became more common as funerary goods, also associated with burials of women and children.[16] Thecowroid was an Egyptian seal-amulet imitating the cowrie shell. Their imitations in stone or faience appear in the early 2nd millennium B.C.
Cowrie shells are also worn asjewelry or otherwise used asornaments orcharms. InMende culture, cowrie shells are viewed assymbols ofwomanhood,fertility,birth andwealth.[17] Its underside is supposed, by one modern ethnographic author, to represent a vulva or an eye.[18]
On theFiji Islands, a shell of the golden cowrie or bulikula,Cypraea aurantium, was drilled at the ends and worn on a string around the neck bychieftains as a badge of rank.[19] The women ofTuvalu use cowrie and other shells in traditional handicrafts.[20]
Cowrie shells are sometimes used in a way similar todice, e.g., inboard games likePachisi andAshta Chamma. A number of shells (6 or 7 in Pachisi) are thrown, with those landing aperture upwards indicating the actual number rolled.[citation needed]
InNepal cowries are used for a gambling game, where 16 pieces of cowries are tossed by four different bettors (and sub-bettors under them). This game is usually played at homes and in public during theHindu festival ofTihar[21] orDeepawali. In the same festival these shells are also worshiped as a symbol of GoddessLakshmi and wealth.[citation needed]
Large cowrie shells such as that of aCypraea tigris have been used inEurope in the recent past as adarning egg over whichsock heels were stretched. The cowrie's smooth surface allows the needle to be positioned under the cloth more easily.[citation needed]
In the 1940s and 1950s, small cowry shells were used as a teaching aid in infant schools e.g counting, adding, subtracting.
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Media related toCypraeidae at Wikimedia Commons