Jewelery in a wide variety of shapes and materials has always accompanied and fascinated people from all cultures.
From a cultural point of view, bracelets and anklets, amulets and necklaces are much more than just pieces of jewelry. In Africa in particular, the precious objects are not only valued for their beauty, but are also revered as magical, protective forces.
In West Africa, too, ornaments are part of religious beliefs and symbolize the rank and affiliation of the wearer. In some ethnic groups, fortune tellers mandate the wearing of protective jewelry to keep the evil spirits away.
Due to the value of the processed raw materials, such jewelry was also an investment and was used in trade as a pre-coinage means of payment. This so-called primitive money was poured or forged into standardized forms and exchanged over long distances.
The use of imported manillas made of copper alloys as barter items in Africa dates back to at least the 16th century, when the Portuguese established trading posts in West Africa. Over the course of time, these imported goods were repeatedly melted down and processed. New shapes were created and other materials, such as iron, were increasingly traded in the same way.
At the beginning of the 20th century, most colonial powers then banned jewelry rings and other forms of money as a means of payment in order to establish their own currencies.