This choker-length necklace is of braided black leather adorned with natural cowrie shells with a single small brass woman "akwaba" gold weight pendant. This is a representation of the fertility doll figure that women in Ghana wear on their backs, carved in wood and larger, when they want to promote their own pregnancy. Necklaces of this type are worn by tribal people of Mali for protective purposes, as well as personal adornment. The leather is made from goatskin. Such a necklace is imbued by tribal healers with medicinal or spiritual value which defend the wearer from whatever he or she may consider to be threatening to them. Each small brass pendant is individually hand cast using the traditional lost wax casting method so no two are exactly alike.

These same gold weight pendants are available for purchase alone elsewhere on our site.

 Approximately 2" pendant height (5 cm), 10" necklace length (25 cm)