Waist Belt

Description:

Collected by Dr John Kirk, part of the party during Zambezi Expedition 1858-64, in what is modern day Malawi. Dr John Kirk collected it close to the River Shire. It is made of shells and glass beads, with a wooden fringe. Cowrie shells were used as they were associated with protection. The name of the young girl it belonged to was not recorded.The National Portrait Gallery (1996, p45) describes the belt as ‘probably of toka origin’. ‘Toka’ Could refer to the Batoka Plateau, but the area where this belt was collected is far from this area. It could refer to a group of people, such as the ‘tokaleya’ people who were situated around the Victoria falls at this time. This group can be subdivided into ‘toka’ and ‘leya’ people (Jeal, p150). However this group is still far from the collection site. We cannot say for sure that it is of ‘toka’ origin. Another possible origin of the belt is the Yao ethnic group. The Yao were situated in this part of the Shire at this time, and the largest group in the area. They also traded frequently with Arab traders and other African groups.