Circulação e usos dos têxteis importados no Congo e Angola (séculos XVII e XVIII)

Abstract

The present article intends to discuss the use of imported textiles among Western Central Africans Congo and Angola, related to the slave trade, since fabrics were one of the main products used to acquire slaves in those territories, circulating everywhere. Besides the use as currency for purchasing sundry products, the article focus on contemplate the use of these textiles in rites and ceremonies, highlighting the symbolisms and meanings that have been constituted around the imported textiles goods among the natives of Congo and Angola. We conclude that textiles gathered high cultural value in Western Central Africans cultures have become object