Tantrik Kauri, kaudi,
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| Yellow Cowry For Wealth |
Cowry, also sometimes spelled cowrie, plural cowries, is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries. The word cowry is also often used to refer only to the shells of these snails, which overall are often shaped more or less like an egg, except that they are rather flat on the underside.
Many people throughout history have found (and still find) the very rounded, shiny, porcelain-like shells of cowries pleasing to look at and to handle. Indeed the term "porcelain" derives from the old Italian term for the cowrie shell (porcellana) due to their similar translucent appearance. 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 jewellery, and for other decorative and ceremonial purposes.
Some species in the family Ovulidae are also often referred to as cowries. In the British Isles the local Trivia species (family Triviidae, species Trivia monacha and Trivia arctica) are sometimes called cowries. The Ovulidae and the Triviidae are somewhat closely related to the Cypraeidae.
The shells of cowries (especially Monetaria 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. 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. They were also used as means of exchange in India.
The Classical Chinese character for money originated as a stylized drawing of a cowrie shell.[citation needed] Words and characters concerning money, property or wealth usually has this as a radical.
The Ojibway aboriginal people in North America used cowry shells which they called sacred Miigis 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, 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.
Cowrie shells were among the devices used for divination by the Kaniyar Panicker astrologers of Kerala, India.
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| Cowry |
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. 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.
Cowry shells are sometimes used in a way similar to dice, e.g., in board games like Pachisi, Ashta Chamma (board game) 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 chieftains as a badge of rank.
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.
Cowrie-shell divination
Cowrie shell divination is a form of fortune-telling using cowrie shells that is part of the rituals and religious beliefs of several Afro-American religions, such as Candomblé and Umbanda. It is called jogo de búzios (Portuguese for "cowrie game") or merindinlogun (Yoruba for "sixteen") by its practitioners, although the two names may designate somewhat different systems.
Cowrie-shell divination is derived from the Ifá divination practiced by Yoruba priests in Africa. However, Ifá uses palm seeds instead of shells, and different ways to "throw" and count them. Also, cowrie-shell divination is widely practiced in the Americas by women, whereas Ifá divination in Africa is traditionally reserved to men.
There are many variants, but generally the divination entails throwing a set of 8 to 21 (most commonly 16) cowrie shells on a prepared table or on the ground, and interpreting the patterns that result. Before each throw, the practitioner invokes and salutes the Orishas, and poses questions to them. It is believed that the Orishas answer the questions by influencing the way the shells fall on the table.
Divination ritual
The cowrie shell, as collected from a beach, has a flattened side with a longitudinal slit, and a smooth rounded side. Like a coin, the shell has only two stable positions on a flat surface, with the slit side facing either up or down. A few cowrie-shell diviners use the shells in this natural state; then the outcome of the throw, for each piece, is either "open" (slit up) or "closed" (slit down).
Cowrie shell modified for divination, showing the natural and artificial openings.
Most priests, however, use modified shells whose rounded part has been ground away, creating a second, artificial opening. The two stable positions of the shell are still called "open" or "closed" for divination purposes. In most candomblé houses (temples), "open" still means that the natural opening is facing up; but some traditions (mainly in the Candomblé Ketu sect) use the opposite convention
Long been used in Spiritual and Divine Rituals throughout the World by Ministers, Priests and Master Healers! These Cowrie shells have little teeth that Hurt the Devil and make him run far and fast ! 9 lucky shells to carry or place wherever you wish . Get rid of evil and be Protected from All harm, danger, jealousy and from your worst enemies. These Shells “bite back” and Return the evil to the sender—so you will be cursed no more.
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