Power, Cloth and Currency on the Loango Coast

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Date

1986

Journal Title

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African Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin--Madison

Abstract

Cloth was a basic resource for the peoples of the Loango Coast throughout their precolonial history. It was used in daily life for furnishings and for clothing; it was essential in landmark events such as initiation and burial ceremonies; it was part of key transactions that cemented lineage and state alliances; and it served as a currency. The importation of European cloth from the sixteenth century began a transition from indigenous, domestically produced cloth to a reliance on foreign cloth, but cloth maintained its significance as a key resource at all levels of society. Access to sources of cloth and control of its distribution were closely associated with the wielding of power, whether by royal administrators, lineage elders, religious specialists or merchant-brokers.

Description

Keywords

Africa, history, Congo, textile fabrics, cloth, rites and ceremonies, currency

Citation

Martin, Phyllis M. (1986) "Power, Cloth and Currency on the Loango Coast." African Economic History 15, 1-12.

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This material is the copyright of the African Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin--Madison. Please contact them for information about reuse or reproduction.

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Article