Cowry
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{{Taxobox | color = pink | name = Cowry | image = Cypraea caputserpensis.jpg | image_width = 250px | image_caption = Cypraea caputserpensis, very common in intertidal rocky areas | regnum = Animalia | phylum = Mollusca | classis = Gastropoda | subclassis = Orthogastropoda | superordo = Caenogastropoda | ordo = Sorbeoconcha | subordo = Hypsogastropoda | infraordo = Littorinimorpha | superfamilia = Cypraeoidea | familia = Cypraeidae | genus = Cypraea | genus_authority = | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision =
- Cypraea annulus
- Cypraea moneta
- Cypraea pantherina
- Cypraea spurca
- Cypraea tigris
- Cypraea vitellus
- Cyprea linx
}}
Image:Different cowries.jpg Cowry shells (also spelled “cowrie”), are marine snails of the genus Cypraea (family Cypraeidae), found chiefly in tropical regions, especially around the Maldives or the East Indies. The shell itself is smooth and more or less egg-shaped, with a long, narrow, slit-like opening (aperture). Sizes range from 5 mm (1/5") for some tropical species to 15 cm (6") for the Tiger Cowry, Cypraea tigris.
Cowries (esp. Cypraea moneta) were used as a currency in Africa (e.g., Nigeria) and elsewhere. They are also worn as jewelry or otherwise used as ornaments or charms, as they are viewed as symbols of womanhood, fertility, birth and wealth. Many find the shiny, porcelain-like shells pleasing to look at.
Cowry shells are sometimes used in a way similar to dice, e.g., in board games like Pachisi, or in divination (cf. Ifá and the annual customs of Dahomey). A number of shells (6 or 7 in Pachisi) are thrown, with those landing aperture upwards indicating the actual number rolled.
The Ojibway aboriginal people in North America used the cowry shells (which they called sacred Megis Shells or whiteshells), in Medewin ceremonies, and the Whiteshell Provincial Park in Manitoba, Canada is named after this type of shell. There is some debate about how they traded for or found these shells so far inland, away from the natural sources. Oral stories and birch bark scrolls seem to indicate that they were found in the ground, and/or washed up on the shores of Lake Superior. This story needs to be confirmed by elders, but may indicate the use of them by an earlier tribe or group in the area. Petroforms in the Whiteshell Provincial Park may be as old as 8000 years, and there are questions about how long the shells were used in the area.
Cowrie (stamp)
The typewritten postage stamps of 1895 Uganda also are called “Cowries”.