ABSTRACT
This article aims to explore the polysemy of glass beads between African Central Western societies described by the Portuguese expeditionary Henrique Augusto Dias de Carvalho in his incursion through the Lunda’s region (West Central-Africa) in the late nineteenth century. Through the narratives of African populations and aspects of their material culture recorded by the European traveler, we intend to discuss the multiple social uses, cultural, political and economic factors that calls glass beads had reached between local groups, relativizing, in turn, certain interpretations which had conceived such items as mere “trinkets” requested by the central African people. Recognized as one of the essential items by figures such as expeditionaries, merchants and missionaries who aimed to visit other African territories, the glass beads allow us to understand the different forms of insertion of these objects in the daily life of African Central Western populations. From this analysis key that focuses on understanding the phenomena of appropriation and reinterpretation of European goods, specifically the glass beads, in the social universe of the local population, this article aims to highlight the potential of the material culture studies to further understanding of the interactions established between Europeans and Africans in the late nineteenth century.
KEYWORDS:
Glass Beads; Henrique de Carvalho; West-Central África; Material culture; Travel writings
