Necklace

Item number 2878/8 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

Public

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Data
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Description

Women's circular-shaped brass neck ring, open at the top. There is spiraling groove carved around the central two-thirds of the neck ring. Both ends taper at the opening and are smooth with no carving present. One tapered end curves to make a “U” shape, while the other end has a much broader bend.

History Of Use

Gringas are an essential marriage item that fathers try to obtain from traders or the Chitral bazaar to give to their daughters when they are betrothed to a young man of the father's clan's choosing.

Narrative

This brass gringa is made from spent bullet cartridges. Brass necklaces and bracelets are much sought after by Kalash'a women and girls. Many gringas are silver and come from the Pathan tribal areas to the southwest, but this gringa was made locally in the Kalash'a valleys by a Nuristani craftsman (a Kom Kati tribal man whose family fled from the Bashgal River valley in 1896). Because these neck rings are no longer being made, and are passed from mother to daughter, they are valued by Kalash'a women.