Title: Katanga Cross
Material: Copper
People: Luba, Kuba and Songye
Country: D.R. Congo
Description: The Katanga Cross is a form of currency used
by the Luba, Kuba, and Songye people in D.R. Congo.
Copper was a choice metal due to its availability in the
Katanga region. Katanga crosses have been used for
centuries in trade and dowry payments.
One cross = 5-6 chickens, 2 lengths of cloth or 6 small axes.
Four to six crosses = 1 goat.
Fourteen crosses = bride dowry (the crosses had to be returned
to the brideís family if the marriage failed).
Provenance: Ex Private Collection. Collected about 50 years ago by a Belgian living in the D.R. Congo.
Dimensions: 7" from end to end.
