貝殼串珠

貝殼串珠Wampum)是北美洲东部林地印第安人所使用的一種類似貨幣的物件。“Wampum”一詞本意就是“白色貝殼珠子”,由沟螺殼軸製成[1]。而類似的“Sewant”、“Zeewant”或“suckauhock”則是由蚌蠣或其他牡蠣的殼製成的[2]

19世紀的貝殼串珠
2009年製作的貝殼串珠

歷史

“Wampum”一詞為“wampumpeag”的縮寫,源自馬薩諸塞語纳拉干西特語,意思是“白色貝殼珠子”[3]。16世紀初,殖民者在今紐約州附近的地區發現了這種東西[1]。傳説中,易洛魁联盟的创建者海華沙是貝殼串珠的創造者,起初是用它來記錄信息[4]

歐洲人抵達北美後開始大規模製造貝殼串珠,結果導致通貨膨脹。[5]

參考文獻

  1. Dubin, Lois Sherr. North American Indian Jewelry and Adornment: From Prehistory to the Present. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1999: 170-171. ISBN 0-8109-3689-5.
  2. Jaap Jacobs. The Colony of New Netherland: A Dutch Settlement in Seventeenth-century America. Cornell University Press, 2009. pg. 14
  3. Harper, Douglas. . Online Etymology Dictionary. [2011-10-15].
  4. Gawyehnehshehgowa: Great Law of Peace. 存檔,存档日期2009-02-09. Degiya'göh Resources. (retrieved 14 March 2009)
  5. Otto, Paul "Henry Hudson, the Munsees, and the Wampum Revolution" (retrieved 5 September 2011)

外部連接

维基共享资源中相关的多媒体资源:貝殼串珠
维基文库中的《1911年版大英百科全書》條目:Wampum
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