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Cowrie shell traders at the Coast claim watu wa bara are spoiling their business.
Speaking to The Nairobian, some of the traders said that customers from upcountry link their products to witchcraft or majini.
This, they claim, is hurting their business.
Mohamed Athman is one such trader along the busy Mama Ngina Drive.
“Some come to admire the shells and walk away. They claim the cowrie shells look like paraphernalia used by witchdoctors. I have to keep on convincing them that they are decorations,” he said, adding that, “I don’t know who is peddling theses lies. Since last year, my sales have gone down drastically”, he said.
Athman says that he buys the cowrie shells for Sh40 and sells them for sh400, but this depends on the customers he is dealing with.
“Wazungu buyers are better compared to locals who drive hard bargains. In a good day, I can make at least Sh1,000. But since these rumours started, even wazungu are now shying away from buying cowrie shells,” he said.
He explained that the cowrie shells are different.
“We have tiger shells, bull shells, rabbit shells, scorpion shells, tortoise shells and special shells which are not easily available,” he said.
