Acholi food cover
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1998.9.13
Country:
Uganda , [Sudan]
Region:
Masindi District Kibanda County Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement [Southern Sudan]
Cultural Group:
Acholi?
Maker:
Christine Lakot Martin
Date Made:
By 1997
Materials:
Wool Textile Animal
Process:
Crocheted , Stitched
Dimensions:
L = 393, W = 385; blue border W = 30 mm wide, rosette diam = 32 mm [RTS 16/2/2005].
Weight:
57.9 g
Local Name:
Latam me umo kwon
Other Owners:
Made by Christine Lakot Martin; sold to Tania Kaiser in 1997 for 2500 Ugandan Shillings; purchased by PRM on 19th January 1998 for £3.
Field Collector:
Tania Kaiser
PRM Source:
Tania Kaiser
Acquired:
Purchased 19 January 1998
Collected Date:
1997
Description:
Food cover made from European style wool.
This consists of a square body, crocheted in fluorescent pink (Pantone 204C), with a close-knit design that divides the area into 4 sections, drawing the eye towards the centre of the piece where a crocheted rosette made of royal blue wool has been stitched in place (Pantone 2748C).
This has 8 petals on its upper face; there is a second smaller rosette on the underside directly below whose body shape is less well defined.
It is not clear if these 2 parts are physically joined or made separately.
A border has been added around the outside edge of the square, using a much looser type of stitch in the same blue coloured wool, that loops over the edge of the pink body section at 2 cm intervals.
This stitch creates a lattice pattern with large lozenge-shaped gaps.
The object is complete and intact.
There are some patches of discolouration over the surface, including some orange stains that look as though they may be traces of food, suggesting the cover had been used.
There is also some dirt on the underside.
The cover has a weight of 57.9 grams, and is 393 mm long and 385 mm wide; the blue border is 30 mm wide and the central upper rosette has a diameter of 32 mm.
Made by Christine Lakot Martin using wool bought at Bweyale market, and sold to Tania Kaiser in 1997 for 2500 Ugandan Shillings; purchased by the Pitt Rivers Museum on 19th January 1998.
The Acholi call this item latam me uno kwon, which translates literally as 'thing for covering food'. These sorts of handicrafts are made either individually by women, to use, or as gifts, or by women's groups associated with churches or small local development projects, as was the case with this object. These tended to be sold within the community, and some women complained that they lacked the materials needed to carry out this kind of work.
For details of Kaiser's work in Uganda, see: T. Kaiser, 1999, Living in Limbo: Insecurity and the Settlement of Sudanese Refugees in Northern Uganda (Unpublished PhD); T. Kaiser, "Making Do and Making Beautiful: Recycling in an African Refugee Settlement", in: J. Coote, C. Morton and J. Nicholson (eds), Transformations, the Art of Recyclying, 44-47; T. Kaiser, 2000, UNHCR's Withdrawal from Kiryandongo: Anatomy of a Handover , New Issues in Refugee Research Working Paper No. 32, 1, 3.
Rachael Sparks 29/8/2005.
Made by Christine Lakot Martin using wool bought at Bweyale market, and sold to Tania Kaiser in 1997 for 2500 Ugandan Shillings; purchased by the Pitt Rivers Museum on 19th January 1998.
The Acholi call this item latam me uno kwon, which translates literally as 'thing for covering food'. These sorts of handicrafts are made either individually by women, to use, or as gifts, or by women's groups associated with churches or small local development projects, as was the case with this object. These tended to be sold within the community, and some women complained that they lacked the materials needed to carry out this kind of work.
For details of Kaiser's work in Uganda, see: T. Kaiser, 1999, Living in Limbo: Insecurity and the Settlement of Sudanese Refugees in Northern Uganda (Unpublished PhD); T. Kaiser, "Making Do and Making Beautiful: Recycling in an African Refugee Settlement", in: J. Coote, C. Morton and J. Nicholson (eds), Transformations, the Art of Recyclying, 44-47; T. Kaiser, 2000, UNHCR's Withdrawal from Kiryandongo: Anatomy of a Handover , New Issues in Refugee Research Working Paper No. 32, 1, 3.
Rachael Sparks 29/8/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Day book entry -
20/1[/98].
D[onation].
MdA.
[donor] TANIA KAISER.
1998.9.
AFRICA, UGANDA, MASINIDI DISTRICT, KIRYANDONGO REFUGEE SETTLEMENT.
Collection of objects collected by donor.
Related Documents File - RDF 1998.9: Acquisition Record, dated 19/1/1998, for 'collection of material from Uganda'. Memo dated 21/1/1998 from Jeremy Coote to Julia Cousins, dated 23/1/1998 regarding enclosed invoice for £150 from Tania Kaiser for 'collection of artefacts from Northern Uganda'. This object appears on an attached list as item 14: "Crochet food cover. latam me uno kwon - lit. thing for covering food. Made by Christine Lakot Martin from wool bought at Bweyale market. Florescent [sic] pink with navy edge. Bought for 2,500 U[gandan]Sh[illings]". Purchased by PRM for £3. There is also a typed document on file, titled "Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement, Masindi District, Uganda. Background to objects collected from a predominantly Sudanese Acholi community in 1997 by Tania Kaiser". The refugee settlement is described as being 14 kms from Kiryandongo town, near Bweyale and Nyakadot. The population is predominantly Acholi, but other groups represented there include Latuko, Madi, Bari and some Zande. There is a small market within the settlement itself, but many people go to the market at nearby Bweyale. Handcrafts are rarely sold in the settlement or in Bweyale in any systematic way. Most commonly made objects are embroidered tablecloths or bed sheets and crocheted food covers or chair backs; these tend to be produced individually by woman to use or as gifts, or by women's groups associated with churches or small local development projects, who sell them to members of the community; none so far have managed to establish an external market. Individual women complain that they are unable to undertake these sorts of activities as they do not have access to the necessary materials [RTS 15/12/2003].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - AFRICA, UGANDA, MASINDI DISTRICT; SUDANESE ACHOLI? Crocheted food cover. Coll. Tania Kaiser, 1997 [Plastic tag with metal eyelets, tied to object]; PITT RIVERS MUSEUM AFRICA, UGANDA, MASINDI DISSTRICT; SUDANESE ACHOLI. Crocheted food cover, coll. Tania TKaiser, 1997 [textile label, sewn onto object; RTS 16/2/2005].
Related Documents File - RDF 1998.9: Acquisition Record, dated 19/1/1998, for 'collection of material from Uganda'. Memo dated 21/1/1998 from Jeremy Coote to Julia Cousins, dated 23/1/1998 regarding enclosed invoice for £150 from Tania Kaiser for 'collection of artefacts from Northern Uganda'. This object appears on an attached list as item 14: "Crochet food cover. latam me uno kwon - lit. thing for covering food. Made by Christine Lakot Martin from wool bought at Bweyale market. Florescent [sic] pink with navy edge. Bought for 2,500 U[gandan]Sh[illings]". Purchased by PRM for £3. There is also a typed document on file, titled "Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement, Masindi District, Uganda. Background to objects collected from a predominantly Sudanese Acholi community in 1997 by Tania Kaiser". The refugee settlement is described as being 14 kms from Kiryandongo town, near Bweyale and Nyakadot. The population is predominantly Acholi, but other groups represented there include Latuko, Madi, Bari and some Zande. There is a small market within the settlement itself, but many people go to the market at nearby Bweyale. Handcrafts are rarely sold in the settlement or in Bweyale in any systematic way. Most commonly made objects are embroidered tablecloths or bed sheets and crocheted food covers or chair backs; these tend to be produced individually by woman to use or as gifts, or by women's groups associated with churches or small local development projects, who sell them to members of the community; none so far have managed to establish an external market. Individual women complain that they are unable to undertake these sorts of activities as they do not have access to the necessary materials [RTS 15/12/2003].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - AFRICA, UGANDA, MASINDI DISTRICT; SUDANESE ACHOLI? Crocheted food cover. Coll. Tania Kaiser, 1997 [Plastic tag with metal eyelets, tied to object]; PITT RIVERS MUSEUM AFRICA, UGANDA, MASINDI DISSTRICT; SUDANESE ACHOLI. Crocheted food cover, coll. Tania TKaiser, 1997 [textile label, sewn onto object; RTS 16/2/2005].
