Cowrie shells were highly durable, lightweight, and difficult to counterfeit, they served as a primary form of currency across Africa, Asia, and Oceania for centuries. They facilitated massive trade networks, with early Chinese cultures using them as money as far back as 3,000 years ago
These beautiful necklaces are crafted & handmade in The Gambia they are of good strong quality and quite heavy
£19.99 each
Buy Two for £35
Colourful wooden bead necklace £9.99
Historically, beads held deep social and spiritual value across West Africa. Wearing specific necklaces or waist beads signified a person’s age, marital status, and social standing. Tragically, during the transatlantic slave trade, captured individuals were often stripped of their bead necklaces at holding sites like Fort James along the Gambia River, violently severing their cultural and familial ties.
The history of colorful wooden and trade bead necklaces in The Gambia is rooted in West African adornment traditions, where beads act as symbols of status, heritage, and spiritual protection. Local artisans and regional trade networks have shaped this history over centuries.
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