[Tsc of C(uviv-slit-lls for Cm rouy, . Imu/i/s, etc. I 39 



this group of shells, " Cypr;i;a, (n" more classicall)' C)'pria, 

 is derived from one of the man\' attributes of Aphrodite, 

 owing, doubtless, to her worship not only having been 

 inaugurated, but for long years principal!)' centralized, in 

 C}-prus, then a luxuriant and smiling island, teeming with 

 industrial wealtii. Horace'" ackiresses her as 'Diva poteiis 

 Cypri,' and TibuUus,"* when apostrcpiiidng tiie goddess, 

 thus : ' Et faveas concha, Cypria, vecta tua.' " 



As previously remarked, cowries were worn as amulets 

 by the women of I'ompeii in order to prevent sterility. The 

 presence of these shells in womcn's-graves in h'rance and 

 the South of England seems to point to the prevalence 

 of the same ideas in the Middle Ages. 



In the 1 8th century the custom of wearing a large 

 cowry as an amulet or charm was prevalent among Ken- 

 dure Tartar women and girls.* And in the neighbourhood 

 of Xa[)les, cowries, it is stated, are still worn b\' the poorer 

 class."'" Money-cowries are used b\- the Jiedouin women 

 of the Hadramaut, South Arabia, to adorn their girdles;"'' 

 also by the women of the races of the Volga region, as 

 breast and forehead ornaments by the Tshuwash and 

 Mordvins, and as necklaces b)' the Tsheremis. The\' arc 

 also to be seen on the necks of the Kirghis women, and 

 on the curious head-dresses of the Bashkir women ;'' and 



*" Horace, Od., i, 3. i. 



^■^ Tibullus, III., 3, 4. 



*» G. .\. Cooke,- ".System of I'niveisal ( ;e(.t;iai)liy,"' vol. i. (iSoi), 

 p. 44S. 



''" I'aus'-c-tt, " Inventorimn SriJulclirule," 1S56, p. 6S. 



■'•' Schneider, op. <//., p. 117; Slrabo, hk. xvi., cli. iv., par. I7(Hi)Iim's 

 Ed., vol. iii., p. 202). .speaking of the Troglodyt.e of the .Vrabian Ciilf says: 

 "The women carefully paint themselves with antimony. They wear about 

 their necks siiells, as a [jrotection again.st fascination by witchcraft."' 



^- Schneider, op. cit .. p. 117; Katzel, "History of Mankind," iii., 

 P- 327, gives a figure of one of these I'.ashkir h-raddresses ornamented with 

 small cowries. 



