Codex of FaithsAn illustrated atlas of belief

Sacred objects

Cowrie shells

Cowrie shells in Yoruba religion: their use in merindinlogun divination, their history as money in West Africa and their place as offerings and adornment for the orisa.

Also called Owo eyo · Merindinlogun

In brief

  1. I.Cowries are small glossy sea shells that were once used as money across West Africa.
  2. II.In merindinlogun divination sixteen cowries are cast and read by how many land mouth up.
  3. III.Shrines, costumes and sacred objects of the orisa are decorated with cowries, signs of wealth and blessing.
  4. IV.The custom travelled with Yoruba religion to the Americas.

Chapter I

What it means

Cowries mean wealth and blessing. Because they were money, a shrine or garment covered in cowries showed abundance offered to the gods. They are sewn on to the beaded objects, crowns and costumes of the orisa, and given as offerings.

They are also voices. In merindinlogun divination, sixteen shells are thrown on a mat, and the number that land with the opening upward points to a sign, which the diviner interprets with stories and advice from the orisa.

Chapter II

Where it comes from

Cowries from the Indian Ocean circulated as money in West Africa for centuries, and in the 18th and 19th centuries European traders shipped them in enormous numbers. Their value collapsed under colonial currencies, but their religious meaning remained.

Cowrie divination crossed the Atlantic with enslaved Yoruba people and survives as dilogún in Cuban Santería and as jogo de búzios in Brazilian Candomblé.

Chapter III

Where you see it today

Cowries are cast by diviners in Nigeria, Benin, Cuba, Brazil and the United States. They decorate shrines and festival dress, and are worn as jewellery as a sign of African heritage.

Questions people ask

How is cowrie divination different from Ifá?

Ifá uses palm nuts or a chain and is the work of the babalawo. Merindinlogun, “sixteen”, uses cowrie shells and is practised by priests and priestesses of many orisa, including women.

Where did the shells come from?

Most money cowries came from the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, traded across the Sahara and later by European ships in huge quantities.

Sources and further reading

  1. William Bascom, Ifa Divination: Communication Between Gods and Men in West Africa (Indiana University Press, 1969)
  2. Henry John Drewal and John Pemberton III, Yoruba: Nine Centuries of African Art and Thought (Center for African Art, 1989)
  3. Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Religious symbolism and iconography”

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