Aspects of the Use of Copper in Pre-Colonial West Africa

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Periodical article

Title:	Aspects of the Use of Copper in Pre-Colonial West Africa
Author:	Herbert, Eugenia W.
Year:	1973
Periodical:	The Journal of African History
Volume:	14
Issue:	2
Pages:	179-194
Language:	English
Geographic term:	West Africa
Subjects:	metal arts imports Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) Anthropology and Archaeology
External link:	https://www.jstor.org/stable/180443
Abstract:	Although copper and its alloys were for centuries staples of the import trade of West Africa, little attention has been paid to the reasons behind this ancient and sustained demand. Available evidence suggests four broad and overlapping categories of reasons: a medium or standard of exchange, ornamentation, insignia of rank and power, objects of cult and magic. Magic and ritual properties, ascribed to copper and brass, their scarcity, practical and aesthetic considerations appear to have determined the preference of copper and brass over other metals. Fitting them into a cosmological framework, myth and legend may help to elucidate the uses of copper and brass, e.g. along the Middle Niger copper is explicitly linked with the genie de l'eau and with myths of creation, while in the Niger Delta brass is frequently associated with the water spirits. Notes, summary.