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I don't know what kind of animal leather this is. It doesn't look or feel like cow leather, but I may be wrong. I believe the shells are cowry. The leather is quite dry and the strap is so brittle, it's fallen apart in areas. The leather squares are in decent shape.
If they are African, it would probably be goat or camel leather.Are they cowries? Cowries look a Little different and either the other side of the Shell is on top (forming a split in the middle) or the other (round) side is opened with a metal stick, revealing the inside of the cowrie, (this part then usually on the bottom side. I have never seen a "closed" cowrie on African jewellery, but I might be wrong. So, I am not 100% sure if it is African, but the square boxes look like Saharan amulettes to me. I really wonder if someone knows for sure.
The black is closed. The centerpiece has the shape of and feel of a cowry, but could be something else. The leather appears to have been shrunk around shell/white piece. It's very tight.