Such strings from shell discs of the land snail Achatina were used as decoration and currency in some regions of Africa. People wore them around their neck or around the waist. Some tribes used them both as adornments and as money; for others, they were purely currency. Quiranda de dongo was used as bride transaction money, for payments to secret societies, for fines and in trade. The Portugese colonial government of Angola accepted Quiranda de dongo for tax payments until 1868.