Among the Ashanti people of West Africa, gold has long been a commodity but is also a symbol of kinship, prosperity, and immortality. In the past, gold dust and gold nuggets were used as means of payment and weighed meticulously on small scales. Small, imaginatively designed weights were balanced by heaps of gold dust. Here we see weights with geometric decoration, as well as others in the form of a peanut, a ladder and a beetle.
Beside the small weights lies a special kind of case or cover. Such cases are called kipande or "native passports". The inhabitants of British East Africa, now Kenya, were forced to carry passports like this during the colonial period.
Inside the case were detailed the person's name, domicile, and fingerprints, much like on a dog collar. At any time, an official could open the case and check on someone's right to be in a certain place. The kipande passports are a clear expression of how colonialism impacted harshly on people's everyday life. This kipande was owned by Kiptilak from the village of Sibou in northern Marakwet.