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Another widely used common currency was woven goods. Two types are a part of this exhibitionthe cotton woven strip roll and the raffia mat or bundles. Strip cloth known among Nigerians as gabanga was often plain and undyed. As a rule, the strips had a standard width between four and six inches. Variations in width and the quality of the weave gave the parties of the transaction a means to negotiate value. Cloth was also frequently used in connection with other currencies, such as brass rods, lending additional flexibility to the negotiations. As there was no government regulation of cloth production, its circulation was limited by the cost and effort of production (the need to spin fibers into threads and then weave the fabric) and by demand. Cloths or mats of more-or-less uniform size were used for gifts, peace offerings, payment from a son to his father upon attaining adulthood and payment upon the birth of a child or the burial of a parent. Cloth currency was also used as a tribute for a spouse who remained chaste or, by contrast, as a penalty for adultery.
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