Cowrie shells were also an important source of wealth from as early as the 14th century. They’re believed to be the original Pan-African currency originating in West Africa, but being used in ...

Further, cowrie shells have been used by Black women to make bold fashion choices many times. While slaying BET’s 2022 Awards, Sistas star Novi Brown wore a dress covered in the shells.

Cowrie shells were believed to play an active role in divination due to their white colour and their association with the ancestral realm. Divination, in turn, encompassed concepts of ancestry ...

Cowrie shells were an important object of exchange in West Africa. They were largely sourced from the Maldives in the Indian Ocean and brought to West Africa by the trans-Saharan trade as well as ...