Fußreif - Bronze - Konda, Mongo, Kutu - Congo

Ankle bracelet - Congo From an Austrian collection. R. Hezog, Vienna Such heavy ankle bracelets, called ' konga ', were cast bronze (various grades of copper-tin alloys) by smiths of the above tribes in central Congo. For this purpose, flat wooden models, which had already been carved with the characteristic ridges, were pushed into the sandy ground. The metal was poured into these negative moulds. The smith then hammered the cooled sheets over a wooden trunk into a round, open shape, and then adjusted them directly on the woman's leg. The women's legs were wrapped with cloth at the bottom edge of the bracelets to prevent injury. Only women from wealthy, upper-class families wore such ankle bracelets. In earlier times, these 'konga bracelets' were used as a means of payment (' primitive money ') in central Congo.