strangely shaped bottle

[cappyjon431]

I found this bottle while diving yesterday. It is approximately 5" tall ans about 1" at the base. There are some letters along the shoulder, not all of which are clear. What I can make out, it looks like "KANA_GA" (the underscore represents a letter I could not read). There are some letters on the bottom, but they have been worn away to the point of being unreadable. It is a very unusual shape, not sure what it is. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

[cappyjon431]

After doing a little research on the net, I found that there was a cologne called Kananga Water which was used to cast spells in Jamaica. Since I am also in the Caribbean and at one time in this area they imported Jamaican workers to work the banana plantations I am pretty sure this is what the bottle contained, but I am still not sure why the neck of the bottle is bent. Perhaps it was subjected to heat and bent after it was sold?

 

[BeachComber]

Hey,

Cool bottle, it seems to be definately bent by heat exposure. I am from Bermuda and find many bottles that are typically found in the west indies. Bottles such as the florida waters, sauce bottles and even a few examples just like yours. Most of my examples of your bottle all have straight necks. I never did know what it was used for until now!

Do you find many other bottles from the West Indies in Panama?

 

[cappyjon431]

Yes, we get many from the West Indies but because this area had immigrants from all over the world we get a large variety from Europe (particularly Spain and England), Australia, South America, the U.S., and the West Indies. I just Googled "Kananga Water" and there was a lot of info on the uses for casting spells.

Most of my bottles I have found within 20 feet of the shoreline because it used to be common practice to just discard into the sea. Most of my collection consists of bottles from the 1880s to the early 1920s.