"Whoever is patient with a cowrie shell will one day have thousands of them." This is a proverb by the Hausa people of northern Nigeria. Cowrie shells are no longer used as currency in Africa but their legacy lives on. In "Cash Cowries: A look at cowrie shells", we are informed that in Ghana, the history of the cowrie shell is captured in a 20-cedi coin. In fact, the Akan word for cowrie is Cedi and it is the unit of currency in Ghana.
In the nineteenth century, cowries were used as currency in some parts of East Africa. They were also exported to West Africa and this became such a lucrative business that a Hamburg shipping business is said to have gone from one to eighteen ships, with seven of them focused on shipping cowries!
Cowries have been recovered at some Swahili settlements. At Shanga, which was occupied between the eighth and fifteenth centuries, more than 400 cowries were recovered. Furthermore, a large number of cowries were reported at Manda and Gedi in Kenya. One structure in Gedi was even named "House of Cowries". Thousands of cowries were discovered after decades of being locked up in storerooms in the Gedi houses and palaces.
Goths and those who are interested in the gothic would feel right at home in mysterious Gedi. According to local legend, the Gedi ruins are protected by the spirits of its priests. These “Old Ones” allegedly curse anyone who destroys the site in any way or removes anything from it, even stones! James Kirkman, the archeologist who first worked on the site said: "When I first started to work at Gedi I had the feeling that something or somebody was looking out from behind the walls, neither hostile nor friendly but waiting for what he knew was going to happen." Meria_Mata in kenyatalk.com makes an important observation: "the sophistication of Gedi debunks the concept that Africa wasn’t developed at the time European colonizers arrived on the continent. The medieval city featured streets as well as a water and sewage system. Visitors have noted that the long-drop toilets there are better than many of the ones currently found in Kenyan villages."
Artists such as Fahamu Pecou and fashion designers such as Lafalaise Dion have used cowries shells in their creative works and celebrities like Beyonce and Zendaya have popularized cowrie jewellery. In the conclusion of her comprehensive article titled "Currency to Couture: The Fashion Evolution of Cowrie Shells in Africa ", Halleluyah Aremu writes that cowries have become quite common in the fashion industry, on earrings, necklaces, bangles, bracelets, belts, hair accessories "and in the hearts of wearers who understand their depth. They aren’t just trending; they’re reclaiming space."
According to accio.com, cowrie shell products range from less than 10 dollars to more than 1000 dollars. What was once currency is now couture!
