cowrie

Cowry
A live Cypraea caputserpentis L., 1758; this species is very common in intertidal rocky areas of the Indo-Pacific ocean.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Gastropoda Subclass: Orthogastropoda Infraclass: Apogastropoda Superorder: Caenogastropoda Order: Sorbeoconcha Suborder: Hypsogastropoda Infraorder: Littorinimorpha Superfamily: Cypraeoidea Family: Cypraeidae Genus: Cypraea
Species
See text.

Cowry, also sometimes spelled cowrie, plural always cowries, is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Cypraeidae. The word "cowry" is also often used to refer to the shells of these snails.

Many people find the very rounded, shiny, porcelain-like shells of cowries pleasing to look at and to handle. Shells of certain species have historically been used as currency in several parts of the world, as well as being used, in the past and present, very extensively in jewelry, and for other decorative and ceremonial purposes.

It is worth noting that a few species in the family Ovulidae are also often referred to as cowries. In the British Isles the local Trivia species (Triviidae) are sometimes called cowries. These other two families are somewhat closely related to the Cypraeidae.

Distribution

Cypraeidae are found in tropical and subtropical oceans and seas worldwide.

Shell description

Shells of various species of cowry from all over the world; all but one have their anterior ends pointing towards the top of the page in this image

The shells of cowries are almost always smooth and shiny and more or less egg-shaped, with a long, narrow, slit-like opening (aperture).

All cowry shells have a porcelain-like shine (except Hawaii's granulated cowry, Cypraea granulata) and many have colorful patterns. Lengths range from 5 mm (1/5") for some species up to 15 cm (6") for the tiger cowry, Cypraea tigris.

Human use

The shells of cowries (especially Cypraea moneta) were used for centuries as a currency in Africa. Huge amounts of Maldivian cowries were introduced into Africa by western nations during the period of slave trade.^[1] The Ghanaian unit of currency known as the Ghanaian cedi was named after cowry shells. Starting over three thousand years ago, cowry shells, or copies of the shells, were used as Chinese currency^[2]. They were also used as means of exchange in India.

The Ojibway aboriginal people in North America used cowry shells (which they called sacred Megis Shells or whiteshells) in Midewiwin ceremonies, and the Whiteshell Provincial Park in Manitoba, Canada is named after this type of shell. There is some debate about how the Ojibway traded for or found these shells, so far inland and so far north, very distant from the natural habitat. Oral stories and birch bark scrolls seem to indicate that the shells were found in the ground, and/or washed up on the shores of lakes or rivers. Finding the cowry shells so far inland could indicate the previous use of them by an earlier tribe or group in the area, who may have obtained them through an extensive trade network in the ancient past. Petroforms in the Whiteshell Provincial Park may be as old as 8,000 years. There are also questions about how long the shells were used in the area.

Cowry shells are also worn as jewelry or otherwise used as ornaments or charms they are viewed as symbols of womanhood, fertility, birth and wealth.^[3] The symbolism of the cowry shell is associated with the appearance of its underside: the lengthwise opening makes the shell look like a vulva or an eye.^[4]

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.

On the Fiji Islands, a shell of the golden cowry or bulikula, Cypraea aurantium, was drilled at the ends and worn on a string around the neck by chieftans as a badge of rank.[1]

Large cowry shells such as that of Cypraea tigris have been used in Europe in the recent past as a frame over which sock heels were stretched for darning. The cowry's smooth surface allows the needle to be positioned under the cloth more easily.

Species

Media

Live specimens of Cypraea helvola (seen first) & C. caputserpentis (last)

Live Cypraea isabella (next to a C. sulcidentata)

Map cowry Cypraea mappa from East Timor

See also

• Shell-money

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cypraeidae

Wikispecies has information related to: Cypraeidae

• cowry.org
• Cowrie Genomic Database Project
• Genus Cypraea on Animal Diversity Web
• Beautifulcowries