4 JACKSON, Use of Cowry -shells for Currency, Amulets, etc. 



East African coast, ranging from Ras Hafun (near the 

 Gulf of Aden) to Mozambique. As currency these shells 

 circulate not only through Southern Asia and certain of 

 the Pacific Islands, but far into the African continent. 



The term cowry, cowrie, or gowrie, is said by Dr. J. 

 Cosmo Melvill 2 to be derived from a Greek word meaning 

 "a little pig/' and according to Liddell and Scott this was 

 probably the shell used by the Athenian dicasts in voting. 

 " Following the example of the Greeks, the Romans 

 termed these little shells porci or porculz\ whilst the French 

 nowadays term them/w* de mer ; and in the word porcelain 

 we can also trace the same derivation" (Melvill, p. 1S6). 

 Deniker, 3 however, says the term cowry, cowrie, or cauri, 

 appears to be a corruption of the Sanskrit word Kaparda, 

 whence Kavari in the Mahrattan. Murray's dictionary 4 

 gives the Hindi and Urdu equivalents as Kauiliox Kaudi). 

 In Monier Williams' "Sanskrit-English Dictionary" 5 the 

 following interpretations are given : " Kaparda, as : a small 

 shell or cowrie used as a coin and as a die in gambling, 

 Cypres a moneta ; braided and knotted hair, especially that 

 of S'iva (knotted so as to resemble the cowrie shell). 

 Kapardin, i, in!, i : shaggy ; wearing braided and knotted 

 hair like a cowrie shell ; epithet of Rudra, of Pushan, of 

 the descendants of Vasishtha and of Durga ; (I) name of 

 S'iva; name of one of the eleven Rudras." 



The Portuguese called the cowry Boudji or Bought ; 

 the inhabitants of the Maldives, Boll; the Siamese, Bios 

 (which means shell in general in Thai). By the Arabs it 

 is known under the name ouoadda or vadaat (Deniker, 

 op. at). 



- J. C. Melvill, " A Survey of the genus Cyprsea," Memoirs and Proc. 

 Manch. Lit. & Phil. Soc, 4th Ser., vol. 1. (1887-8), pp. 184-252. 



Deniker, li Races et peuples de la Terre," Paris, 1900, p. 324 foot- 

 note. 



4 Murray, " New English Dictionary." 



5 Oxford, 1872, p. 201. 



