Cowries Research Articles

Discovering Dadu: A Ludemic Enigma from South Asia

Abstract Dadu is a traditional board game exclusively played within the Muslim Dawoodi Bohra community in South Asia. Most households have their own hand-stitched cloth board, together with a set of wood-turned playing pieces and cowrie shells for dice. Though formally a two-player game, it is commonly played in large teams during family gatherings. Non-community members rarely take part and the game remains virtually unknown to outsiders. Descriptions of the game are absent from the scholarly literature and it does not find mention in any of the major game encyclopedias. Surviving boards and communal memory trace the game back to the early 20th century, but the hybrid nature of the game and the origin of the Dawoodi Bohra community in Yemen suggest that it may go back several centuries further. The present article uses ludemic theory to analyze the constituent elements of the game and demonstrate their affinity with elements in other games both inside and outside South Asia. The findings are contextualized within the wider history of the Dawoodi Bohra community, suggesting that Dadu may have resulted from the adaptation of a West Asian Tab game to a South Asian single track race game. A detailed set of rules gathered from interviews with members of the Dawoodi Bohra community is appended to the article.

English

English

Book Review: Cowrie Shells and Cowrie Money: A Global History by Bin Yang

Book Review: <i>Cowrie Shells and Cowrie Money: A Global History</i> by Bin Yang

Muszle – zawieszki – amulety we wczesnym średniowieczu z terenu Polski na przykładzie znalezisk z Kruszwicy

In this article, the author takes a closer look at the finds of sea shell ornaments in the early Middle Ages, based on artefacts discovered at two sites (Nos. 2 and 4) in Kruszwica. The four pendants in question come from settlement levels dating from the 11th to the 12th centuries. A malacological analysis suggests that the ornaments reached Kruszwica from the Mediterranean area (Acanthocardia tuberculata and Bolinus brandaris), and probably the Red Sea (Monetaria moneta), and from southern Poland (Turritella sp). These objects had been in use for a long time, as evidenced by the microtraces and damage visible on their surface. During the early medieval period, among the various species of shells that were ‘imports’, money cowrie shell ornaments with the most ‘exotic’ origins were the most common in Europe. It is highly probable that during this period of time, they were used in the exchange/trade and their value as a female symbol object and an amulet. Most likely, the shell pendants reached Kruszwica via trade routes that have been previously documented, alongside other artifacts. These ornaments provide additional evidence of long-distance trade.

Global Connections and Connected Communities in the African Past: Stories from Cowrie Shells

Through the stories of four people who carried or traded cowrie shells, this article examines the connections between various parts of the world from a thousand years ago to the present. These connections spanned great distances, linking communities in West Africa and the Indian Ocean islands of the Maldives, and they bring to light the vast land and sea links that connected different regions of the African continent to the wider world in this period. We use cowrie shells to explore how objects participate in creating social relations, shaping senses of self and identity. When viewed in relation to the theme of connections, this offers a springboard for thinking about how things and their biographies fit within our lives today.

We Made It in Venice! But Then …? Reversing Notions of Center and Periphery

We Made It in Venice! But Then …? Reversing Notions of Center and Periphery

Diligence and intelligence in “Makato and the Cowrie Shell” and “Ang Pagong at Ang Matsing”

A comparative study of folk tales between Thailand and the Philippines is conducted. Thailand's "Makato and the Cowrie Shell" and the Philippines' "Ang Pagong at ang Matsing" are studied and compared using pre-identified areas of comparison, which include orality, characters, setting, plot, conflict, theme, and moral lesson. Content analysis is used as a critical lens in the study of these two famous Asian folk tales. This comparative literature study reveals that both folk tales share common Asian values of thrift, hard work, diligence, and intelligence. The findings also show the strong agricultural background of these two Asian countries, which is depicted in the concept of planting found in both stories. This portrayal highlights how farming is an important communal work that engages members of society.

ԴՐԱՄՆԵՐԻ ՄՈԳԱԿԱՆ ԵՎ ԳԵՂԱԳԻՏԱԿԱՆ ԱՐԺԵՔՆԵՐԸ (ՀԱՅ.) / MAGICAL AND AESTHETIC VALUES OF COINS

In folk traditions and beliefs, money has various properties in addition to its main function- the amount of value. In Armenian folk beliefs, coins protect against evil forces –they are apotropaic charms; besides, they bring abundance, happiness, health, growth, etc. Thus, they play an important role in popular feasts and rituals. The supernatural features of coins are related to the power attributed to metals. Coins save from terrible dreams, help to overcome fear, heal the diseases, protect from the evil eye, ect. According to the foundation ritual when building a house, money is placed in the basement- in the corner, under the threshold, in walls so that the building be strong: the devils are afraid of the coins so they do not approach and destroy the house. Besides, the coins bring abundance, wealth, fortune, and many children. The practice of consecrating foundation offerings originated as early as the art of building. On the occasion of engagement ceremonies and wedding rituals both jewellery and money were presented to the newlyweds. In agricultural rites, the coins help to ensure the fertility of the soil: when plowing the land, money is thrown into the first furrow and when planting a tree, money is put into the pit for auspicious growth and abundant harvest. Money is a means of divination. The most powerful coin is the one got out of the New Year's bread called “tari hats” (literally: year bread). The person who finds it is “the owner of the year and the luckiest one”. He keeps it in his purse so that it be full of money all year round or takes it to the church, buys a candle and lights it, praying before the saints. Money is a charm by itself or a component part of various charms. The magical power of money comes from the moon (besides the metals). As the symbol of the adorable moon, the coin bears its miraculous features. Especially the growing new moon brings happiness, health, and fullness. In order “to turn the coin into a new moon”, the coin was cut (circular on the bottom) by special people: 1. the priest during the liturgy, 2. the witch, praying on the new moon, 3. the blacksmith, 4. the member of the family that has received this gift from above. Jewellery and patterns symbolizing the moon have always been of special value and popular in Armenia. It is noteworthy that pendants of different decorations symbolizing the new moon (called "new") made in various jewellery techniques were often replaced by coins in 18th – 20th centuries. Most of the ornaments have their counterparts in coins, such as forehead ornaments, bracelets, breast ornaments, belts and the like. But more common were the countless types of jewellery and amulets mixed with coins (Russian, Ottoman, Persian and European) and various types of jewellery. The money, which is not made of metal, and was of great importance in Armenia was the cowrie shell. Besides their monetary value, they were used as magical multi-functional amulets and adornments. These shells were obtained from the Indian, Pacific Oceans, Mediterranean and other seas and were brought to Armenia since ancient times as evidenced by archaeological excavations in different regions of Armenia.

РАКОВИНЫ КАУРИ ИЗ АРХЕОЛОГИЧЕСКИХ ПАМЯТНИКОВ ТУВЫ: ИСТОРИЯ И СОВРЕМЕННОСТЬ

In this article, cowrie shells from the family of cypriae have been studied, which have been used since ancient times by many peoples, and which served as a kind of money. The fnds of cowrie shells in the territory of the Minusinsk Basin and the modern Republic of Tuva in archaeological sites are analyzed. In Tuva, the period of the Scythian culture is considered, where it begins to be found in archaeological artifacts as an object of study. In addition, the practical signifcance of the use of kaori shells today in shamanic rites is revealed

Cypraea Moneta (Cowry) Shells in Archaeological Sites of Eastern Europe: Spread, Classification, Use (8th Сentury BC – 7th Century AD)

The paper publishes information about finds of Cypraea moneta (cowry) shells in archaeological sites of Eastern Europe of the VIII century BC – 7th century AD. There are 4 time periods during which cowry shells were distributed in Eastern European territories: 1. 8th – 6th centuries BC; 2. 5th – 1st centuries BC; 3. 11st– 5th centuries AD; 4. 6th – 7th centuries AD. Later the territorial (from Dniester region to the Kama region) and quantitative diversity of archaeological sites on which Cypraea moneta shells were found increased. They were of great value in the life of ancient Eurasian tribes. The proof of this is the variability of their use by local tribes. Cowry shells had both sacred and utilitarian uses. In the first case, they were used as amulets against the evil eye and maleficium. In everyday life cowries used as jewelry. They were sewn on women's dresses and headdresses, on the burial curtains, and were used as pendants for necklaces, bracelets and knives.

“If a Woman Knows Cult Secret, She Must Never Tell”: Ritual Consecration, Secrecy, and Female Power in Egungun Pageantry Among the Yoruba

“If a Woman Knows Cult Secret, She Must Never Tell”: Ritual Consecration, Secrecy, and Female Power in Egungun Pageantry Among the Yoruba

COWRIE SHELLS IN OJO-ALAWORO: A NEXUS OF ART, CULTURE, TRADITION, HERITAGE, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

In the old days, most villages and towns of states and nations in Africa are founded with or through cowrie shells (owo eyo), thereby serving as evolutionary symbols and objects. There are several arts, cultures, traditions, heritages, and economic development (ACTHED) activities, cowrie shells (owo eyo) are being used in Nigeria and Africa generally, and Ojo-Alaworo town specifically, which is the target of this study. This ACTHED does not leave out socio-cultures, religion-magical and spiritual endowments. The aforementioned artistic activities are gradually facing out in our society through civilisation. Therefore, this study focuses on appraising and refreshing our memories of the significance and vital roles that cowrie shells (owo eyo) played and still play in the sojourn of the human race in Ojo-Alaworo town of Lagos State, Nigeria. In this regard, functionalism and symbolic interactionism theory of culture were used as a theoretical framework to analyze this study. As a qualitative research design, data were collected through semi-structured interviews (SSI) with five participants. They are indigenous elders (three males and two females) ages 70 to 85 years. The reason for this purposive sampling is that elders are wiser and more experienced in ACTHED, hence the Yoruba adage “iriri lagba”. The findings were discussed extensively which shows that cowrie shells (owo eyo) are inevitable in Ojo-Alaworo town despite civilisation in the town. To this end, a conclusion was made, and recommendations were suggested to revive the values of cowrie shells (owo eyo).

NECKLACE FROM CHORNIVKA HILL-FORT OF THE 13th CENTURY (EXCAVATION OF 1999—2020)

During the archeological works on the Chornivka hillfort various ornaments which decorated the everyday and festive clothes of women having lived on the territory of the feudal castle in the first half — the mid-13th century were discovered. The material from which they are made, typology and production technology suggest that definite jewelry could belong to different social, ethnic and age groups of local people.&#x0D; The old Ukrainian women’s necklaces and breast adornment in addition to aesthetic function also had protective and social ones. These categories include a number of necklaces with numerous pendants. Their form and ornamentation reflected the local population worldviews, where together with Christian symbols, pagan elements were used. All of this shows the combination in these ornaments the primitive and Christian principles and the syncretism of their semantic content.&#x0D; One of the most numerous groups of women’s breast ornaments from the hillfort is a necklace. Most of the beads are represented by single finds but their clusters (minithesaurus) have also been recorded.&#x0D; During the study of the hillfort 72 whole and fragmented beads were found. They are represented by metal items such as elliptical beads decorated with filigree and grain, openwork frame beads decorated with grain, figured beads; cowrie shells; glass items — monochrome, polychrome and beads with metal foil.&#x0D; The beads found on the hill-fort significantly increase the information on the elements of old Ukrainian women’s costume decoration in the region and allow tracing the trade, economic, cultural and possibly military and political ties of the feudal castle in the first half — the mid-13th century.

PRELIMINARY INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOUNDRY OF THE RESIDENTS OF SHYRIAEVE HILLFORT

The Shyriaeve hillfort has been permanently explored for 5 years. Сonsidering the excavations of the late 1940s and 1950s, the total excavation area reaches 556 m2. The period of existence of the fortified settlement covers the late 6th—4th centuries BC. As a result of recent work, three chronological horizons have been distinguished. The spectacular material is obtained which allows us to get closer to the characteristics of different aspects of life of ancient inhabitants.&#x0D; One of the least studied cases is the degree of development of the bronze foundry. The information available today allows us to describe this craft in general terms and draw preliminary conclusions.&#x0D; Copper and (or) bronze were imported goods. Finds of the fragments of amphorae, glass beads and cowrie shells should be included in the category of other imported items. Exchange links with the neighbors have been established but the extent of their intensity remains unclear.&#x0D; The consequence of activities of local craftsmen are the findings of clay tapholes and crucibles. Other tools, including chisels, are made of iron. There is no complete certainty about its use by artisans — foundries, because such things were multifunctional.&#x0D; Other finds include the bronze or copper bars which were commodity ingots, in the primary raw material for smelting various products. Craftsmen also used colored scrap metal in the form of various plates and fragments of objects.&#x0D; Indisputable evidence of local production is its remnants in the form of splashes. The conducted analyzes with care allow to assume smelting of copper from ore directly within the settlement.&#x0D; The ways of getting copper ore (bronze) and a number of other things to the Shyriaeve hillfort have not been clarified yet. It is possible to assume that the main importer was the hillfort of Basivka — the central point of the Sula river basin. To date there is little material for a full analysis of the foundry of the residents of the Shyriaeve hillfort. Its study has just begun.

Культурно-хронологическая локализация раковины каури у народов Западной и Южной Сибири по данным археологии и этнографии

The study represents the first attempt to summarize available information related to a rare category of archaeological finds, that is cowrie shells. The interest is sparked by fourteen cowrie artifacts collected in 1954 from the Selkup burial complex Pachanga dated to the 16th century. In comparison with South Siberia regions where due to geographical proximity to the centers of its origin and distribution, the volume of these finds is much higher, the amount of material found in the North is very small, but its scientific value cannot be overestimated. The study aims to give a cultural and chronological attribution of the cowrie shells in archaeological and ethnographic material collected in West and South Siberia. The study is based on the published artifacts from the burial and residential complexes. Judging by the number of the finds, cowrie shells were universally in demand but hard to acquire material, which explains their imitation in stone and bronze. The same can be suggested in the relation to the cowrie shells distribution in ethnographic material — cowrie shell artifacts are more present in the South populated by the Turkic ethnic groups.

Раковина каури в культурах мира (по материалам археологии и этнографии)

The study summarizes the available information about cultural- chronological localization and the functions of the cowrie shells in societies outside the West and South Siberia, the territories not included in my previous work. The research focuses on the artefacts from Eurasia, Africa and North America dated from the Antiquity to the Contemporary period. The paper continues the study initiated by the cowrie finds from the Narym Selcup burials, and add them to the vast number of cultures in Siberia and its outside territories. Being imported for its symbolic rather than utilitarian qualities, cowrie shells brought a new non-material value from the outer world with different culture and economy. Expanding the group of cowrie culture representatives is necessary for estimating the role of the shell artefacts from Taiga region among the more studied cultures that originally provided the system of sacralization and symbolism for these type of objects.

Humpback Vocalizations

Humpback Vocalizations Rajiv Mohabir (bio) Rajiv Mohabir, poem, humpback, whales, Hal Whitehead, Luke Rendell, whale song In any birthing area, humpbacks sing the same, slowly evolving song. Learning strains from one another, they sing across the fathoms, their phrases and themes shifting in a pattern of small changes until they stitch new songs of older material. Songs at the end of the summer transform from the beginning of the season. Biologists Hal Whitehead and Luke Rendell write that, in Hawaiian waters, groups of the North Pacific variety alter their own songs in response to songs they have heard from other, very distant, humpbacks. This suggests music carries across thousands of miles. When apart the songs of different socializing groups evolve at similar rates. Or at some meeting place mid-migration do humpbacks gather? ________ Mysticetes do not have phonic lips or a museau de singe as with whales like odontocetes Larynges large as British call boxes emit frequencies Megaptera novaeangliae's U- folds between upper and lower respiratory systems vibrate [End Page 93] ________ To hear sound and song and noise alike, scientists must dig further into the biology of a humpback's curved bulla. They know it attaches to the cetacean's jaw. The bulla looks like a conch shell or a giant clam that's been warped into a cave. Or it looks like a sliced mushroom or the mouth of a cowrie shell, but delicate. For sound to be realized in the tympanic plate, fat and soft tissue must vibrate against the jaw. The cochlea joins to the periotic by a thin membranelike bone. This formation, the tympanoperiotic complex, processes soundthrough bone conduction. ________ No one knows the why or where of it, but most agree whale song is moving. Why else send recordings in the Voyager spacecraft on the Golden Record? Is it the slow erasure of a species that wails out? Humans look for meaning and aesthetics in what they cannot understand— Biologists Whitehead and Rendell wonder why whale song rhymes or is perceived as rhyming through pattern repetition. Is it lyrical? Is it cetacean rhetoric? How human language breaks apart at the point of conception. The echo is amniotic. We, once aquatic, heard as whales do. ________ Megaptera novaeangliae's tympanoperiotic complex is designed to hear songs across great distances at frequencies below what the human ear can discern. It is a delicate instrument of song and divination, an environment under threat of shipping lanes [End Page 94] and naval sonar pulses. Songs are made of notes, or base units that humpbacks emit at 30–4,000 hertz, which is in the range of human hearing. Acoustic trauma will rupture the process— whales no longer able to tell how deep they dive. The pressure crushes— ________ In representations of the structure of humpback vocalizations, bioacousticians chart the anatomy of the line. Repetition, irregularity, looseness, and deft shifts of breath and phrase magic the water column. aaa bcb cbc ded eff ded eff g The rhyme sense in a complete song leaves the listener in a sonically unfamiliar place. In fact, the g cascades, a grand departure—a kind of poetic anticlosure asking for riff and response. Perhaps this is an eight-stanza poem, mediated through human interpretation of what we can only imagine, not living in a three-dimensional water column. ________ O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O ________ OAccording to cetacean biologists, a unit may be imagined tO be nOtes of humpback song.| | | O | O | O | A collection of units is called a phrase (Of up tO ten seconds). Modulated O frequency O| | O | | | | and amplitude, the nOtes are wrOught into phrases humpbacks repeat into a theme. Whales,| O O O | | | | | which scientists postulate sing for aesthetics' sake (hence poetry), add theme to theme, they| | | | | | weave songs that last for up to twenty to thirty minutes each. Some, they repeat for days. [End Page 95] ________ Whale song constantly evolves though the extinction event looms—That great god. Whales in the same regions sing similar, if not the same, songs during the same times, each whale shifting tune and phrasing to...

Ewolucja środków płatności (zapłaty): od pieniądza gotówkowego do pieniądza elektronicznego

Money has existed in civilization for thousands years. The development of money has passed through various stages in accordance with time, place and circumstances. Primitive money took many forms, from cowrie shells to cattle and later transformed into metallic money (like gold, silver, copper, bronze, etc.) The continued development of money was very much linked to the growth in world trade and commerce. Next to cash came up non-cash payment transactions, mainly with credit or debit card. Money serves three purposes. First, it serves as a medium of exchange. Second, as a standard of value, it serves as a measure for the value of a good or service and thus provides a standard for making comparisons between different goods and services. Third, it must be widely accepted. The larger the community of users who trust and accept money, the more that its value as a medium of exchange is increased. Finally, when it is exchanged, there is anonymity. Rapid advances in technology, including Internet have made a lot of changes in payment methods. Technological innovations convert money into something more virtual than physical. Electronic money (e-money) is the digital equivalent of cash. It can be used for making payments without involving bank accounts in the transactions and always acts as a prepaid bearer instrument. E-money can be software or hardware based. One common type of hardware-based e-money is the ‘electronic purse’, where users store relatively small amounts of money on the chip or magnetic stripe of their payment card, other smart card or on mobile phones, to make small payments. Another option is to store e-money in a payment account on the Internet (software based). In general, e-money should be characterized as a substitute for currency (cash) The development of innovative e-money raises numerous legal and regulatory issues that must be addressed. These include finding acceptable methods for authentication and protection of information, accommodating the special needs of law enforcement, and creating the requisite means of settling disputes. The progressive development of technology and communication, harmonization of currency systems and becoming more common use of electronic instruments may create the uniform (European) system of electronic money. That would made e-money the legal tender with the force of redemption obligations.

Stringing Together Cowrie Shells in the African Archaeological Record with Special Reference to Southern Africa

Archaeological explorations of the meaning of ‘trade objects’, such as glass beads and cowrie shells, remain hampered by theoretical and methodological limitations in both their analyses and interpretations. In this paper, we develop a methodology for critically engaging in multi-scalar questions of the circulation, exchange, and value of cowrie shells in African archaeological contexts. Species, size, dorsal modifications, and depositional contexts were compared across five sites from South Africa dating between 750 and 1350 CE. These results were positioned within a review of cowries from archaeological sites in the region and compared to the documented distribution of cowries from wider African archaeological contexts. Monetaria annulus were the prevalent cowrie species in southern African archaeological contexts over the last 2000 years, with a notable absence of Monetaria moneta, prevalent at contemporaneous sites in West Africa, as well as a variety of endemic southern African species. Breakage patterns on the dorsal surface correspond to different modification techniques, such as chipping and grinding. Combined analyses of modification, use-wear, and depositional patterns show variation, revealing a diversity in the biographies of individual cowries. While a comparison of the distribution of cowries across the continent confirms the circulation of cowries through known trade routes, such as the trans-Saharan trade network and the European mercantile network, they also reveal new pathways for exchange that highlight the need for further exploration of intra African networks. Finally, the breadth of the results of this study demonstrates the value of a focus on a specific artefact to address a wide range of themes, from exchange to the archaeology of everyday life.

Evaluation of mechanical properties of polypropylene – Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene blend reinforced with cowrie shell [Cypraeidae] powder

The urge to produce high-performance engineering products from the characteristic sustainable assets is growing continuously. Composite materials are amongst those versatile materials which combine the miscellaneous properties that can never be accomplished using the monolithic material. Nowadays, distinctive ecological issues are essentially influencing the advancements in material science and technology and there is a trend to investigate the capability of bio-fillers as the reinforcement phase for polymer matrix composites. The main impetus behind the use of natural resources is their renewability, biodegradable nature sometimes and importantly none of them impose any sort of adverse effect on the environment. Whereas sources of the synthetic reinforcing materials are limited and many of them cause environmental problems too. In this work, an attempt has been made to evaluate the potential of one such bio-filler, i.e., Cowrie Shell (CS) as a reinforcing phase for a polymer composite. Polypropylene (PP), Acrylonitrile-Butadiene Styrene (ABS) and CS Powder were used as a polymer, rubber phase copolymer and reinforcing filler respectively to prepare PP/ABS blend (80/20 wt%/wt%) and development of composite material. CS powder (of particle size − 90 µm & 150 µm) was prepared by crushing, grinding and sieving operations and was blended in five different ratios up to 15 wt% with PP/ABS. The characterization of mechanical behavior was done by carrying tensile, flexural, and impact tests. The results showed a steady improvement in the tensile, flexural and impact strength with increasing CS concentration having cost efficient application. The outcome of the Polypropylene-graft-maleic anhydride (PP-g-MA) compatibilizer addition was also studied which has shown a further increase in the mechanical properties.