Anuak wheel trap
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1936.10.99
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan]
Cultural Group:
Anywaa [Anuak]
Date Made:
By 1936
Materials:
Wood Plant , Plant Fibre
Process:
Carved , Bound
Dimensions:
Diam fram = 456 mm, diam framing rods = 14.5 mm; Wheel L = 523, W = 520 mm, spokes W = 7 to 10 mm; binding strips Max W = 13 mm [RTS 22/9/2004].
Weight:
1700 g
Local Name:
thac?
Other Owners:
Presumably collected by Evans-Pritchard during his period of fieldwork amongst the Anuak between early March and May 1935 [RTS 18/6/2004].
Field Collector:
Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard
PRM Source:
Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard
Acquired:
Donated May 1936
Collected Date:
March - May 1935
Description:
Wheel from a wheel trap, usually used in conjunction with a noose, although in this case the noose was never obtained by the museum.
The wheel is circular and constructed from two round-sectioned rods, each bent into a circular loop of similar diameter with their ends overlapping.
These two rings form the framework of the wheel.
They were placed together and a series of short wooden rods passed through the gap between the rings, their broad ends left protruding on the outer edge, and their tapering ends, sharpened to points, meeting at the centre of the object where they overlap one another.
This forms the hub of the trap, which would break when trodden on by an animal, leaving its hoof trapped by the surviving spokes and caught in the accompanying noose.
The framework was then secured by winding flat strips of plant fibre, possibly palm, around the two rings.
Each strip has been split just above each spoke, with the two parts of this strip then passing around each side of the wooden rod, securing both it and the framework.
The wheel is essentially complete, although at least one spoke is broken off at its tip.
The wood is a light yellowish brown (Pantone 7509C), and the binding ranges from yellowish to reddish brown (Pantone 729C).
The trap has a weight of 1700 grams.
The frame has a diameter of 450 mm, and the rods at its core have a diameter of 14.5 mm.
The wheel itself measures 523 by 520 mm across, while its component spokes vary from 7 to 10 mm in width.
Each spoke has been whittled to a point, and most ends have flat or angled cut marks present.
The fibre binding strips have a maximum width of 13 mm.
Presumably collected by Evans-Pritchard during his period of fieldwork amongst the Anuak between early March and May 1935 (E.E. Evans-Pritchard, 1940, The Political System of the Anuak of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, p. 3). This example was used for catching 'large animals'; we are not told its Anuak name, but a similar, smaller variety they use is known as thac (see 1936.10.26).
Wheel traps of this type are discussed by K.G. Lindblom. They were used by a number of Sudanese groups, including the Nuer, Lango, Acholi, Bari and Baggara, for catching antelopes as well as larger animals such as giraffe and rhinoceros - with the size of the animal determining the size of the trap. This particular example is said to have been used for giraffes. The trap would be placed over a hole, dug into the ground, with a noose laid over the top and secured to either a tree or a wooden block. The trap was then covered with earth to hide it. When an animal trod on the trap, the spikes secured the wheel to the foot and allow the noose to tighten around the leg (K.G. Lindblom, 1928 , The Spiked Wheel-trap and its Distribution, Statens Etnografiska Museum, Smärre Meddelanden 5).
For similar wheel traps, see 1936.10.26 (Anuak, for catching 'Kob, Tiang, Waterbuck'), 1922.25.6 (an Acholi trap used for catching giraffes), and 1934.8.35.1 (Moru, also used for giraffes).
Currently on display in the Upper Gallery, case 53A.
Rachael Sparks 28/8/2005.
Presumably collected by Evans-Pritchard during his period of fieldwork amongst the Anuak between early March and May 1935 (E.E. Evans-Pritchard, 1940, The Political System of the Anuak of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, p. 3). This example was used for catching 'large animals'; we are not told its Anuak name, but a similar, smaller variety they use is known as thac (see 1936.10.26).
Wheel traps of this type are discussed by K.G. Lindblom. They were used by a number of Sudanese groups, including the Nuer, Lango, Acholi, Bari and Baggara, for catching antelopes as well as larger animals such as giraffe and rhinoceros - with the size of the animal determining the size of the trap. This particular example is said to have been used for giraffes. The trap would be placed over a hole, dug into the ground, with a noose laid over the top and secured to either a tree or a wooden block. The trap was then covered with earth to hide it. When an animal trod on the trap, the spikes secured the wheel to the foot and allow the noose to tighten around the leg (K.G. Lindblom, 1928 , The Spiked Wheel-trap and its Distribution, Statens Etnografiska Museum, Smärre Meddelanden 5).
For similar wheel traps, see 1936.10.26 (Anuak, for catching 'Kob, Tiang, Waterbuck'), 1922.25.6 (an Acholi trap used for catching giraffes), and 1934.8.35.1 (Moru, also used for giraffes).
Currently on display in the Upper Gallery, case 53A.
Rachael Sparks 28/8/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Accession Book Entry
[p.
410] - 1936 [insert] 10 [end insert] E.
EVANS-PRITCHARD, M.A., Exeter College, Oxford.
- Specimens collected by himself in the EASTERN SUDAN, while travelling with a Grant from the
Rockefeller
Leverhulme Trustees, viz: [p.
418] May [insert] 99 [end insert] - Large ‘wheel-trap’ (the noose is missing) for capturing large animals, ANUAK.
Additional Accession Book Entry [p. 417] - 1936.10.99. Number given MdeA. [red biro] A22.F31.13-14.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 30/1/2004].
Written on object - Wheel-trap, ANUAK, E. SUDAN. d.d. E. Evans Pritchard. 1936.10.99 [RTS 22/9/2004].
Additional Accession Book Entry [p. 417] - 1936.10.99. Number given MdeA. [red biro] A22.F31.13-14.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 30/1/2004].
Written on object - Wheel-trap, ANUAK, E. SUDAN. d.d. E. Evans Pritchard. 1936.10.99 [RTS 22/9/2004].
Display History:
Current display label - AFRICA, SUDAN; ANUAK.
Large spiked wheel-trap used with running noose (which is not displayed) for capturing game animals.
Collected and donated by E.E.
Evans-Pritchard.
1936.10.99 [in case U.53.A; RTS 4/6/2004].
