Mongo - DR Congo

Anklet/Currency - Bronze - Mongo - Ekonda - Kongo DRK

Austrian Collection
R. Herzog Vienna

Such heavy anklets, called 'Konga', were cast by the blacksmiths of the tribes mentioned above in the central Congo from bronze (copper-tin alloys in varying proportions). To do this, flat wooden molds, which already bore the distinctive ridges, were pressed into the sandy ground. Into these negative forms the metal was poured. The cooled plates were then hammered by the blacksmith over a wooden core into a circular, open shape and fitted directly to the woman's leg. The legs of the women were wrapped at the lower edge of the anklets with fabric to prevent injury. Only women from wealthy upper-class families wore such anklets. These 'Konga anklets' were formerly also used in the central Congo as a form of payment ('primitive money').