Acholi lamp
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1998.9.9
Country:
Uganda
Region:
Masindi District Kibanda County Bweyale [Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement]
Cultural Group:
Acholi?
Date Made:
By 1997
Materials:
Aluminium Metal
Process:
Recycled , Hammered , Bent , Soldered , Printed
Dimensions:
Ht = 107; nozzle diam = 7.5, neck diam = 21.3, shoulder diam = 67, base diam = 63.4, handle L = 34.5, handle W = 8.8 mm [RTS 14/7/2005].
Weight:
57.1 g
Local Name:
Laput
Other Owners:
Purchased by Tania Kaiser in Bweyale market, Kibanda County in 1997 for 200 Ugandan Shillings; sold to PRM on 19th January 1998 [RTS 14/7/2005].
Field Collector:
Tania Kaiser
PRM Source:
Tania Kaiser
Acquired:
Purchased 19 January 1998
Collected Date:
1997
Description:
Oil lamp made in several parts from at least 2 types of recycled aluminium containers, which have a base colour of metallic grey (Pantone 877C).
An unidentified type of container with Arabic writing was used to make the nozzle, while the body was made from a pesticide can.
The nozzle has been made as a separate part that fits into the top of the body, and can be removed to fill the lamp with oil.
It consists of an upright section made from a rectangular piece of sheet metal rolled into a narrow cylinder with overlapping ends, and the printed surface facing to the inside.
This is not clearly visible, but has black Arabic script printed onto a pale pink surface.
This has been pushed through the centre of a horizontal metal disc with the unprinted side of the sheet facing outwards.
This probably has a stoppered base, but it is jammed tightly into the neck of the lamp and consequently not visible.
Its edge overhangs the neck below slightly, which is similarly formed from a metal cylinder with a seam running up the side.
This is heavily coated with a dull grey solder (Pantone 430C), as is its base where it fits into the centre of a conical sloping shoulder.
Both neck and shoulder have no printing on their visible surfaces.
This fits over a squat, cylindrical body, made from the upper part of a pesticide can, with the join sealed by yet more solder.
The can has a seam running down one side, and a flanged bottom; the underside is formed by what was the top of the original can, with a moulded surface made up of concentric ridges, around a central nozzle where the aerosol spray fitting was originally attached.
This has been removed, and a small patch of solder neatly dropped over the central hole to seal it.
The sides of the can are printed with a yellow background (Pantone 106C), with the red (Pantone 186C) and black text positioned upside down.
The text is bilingual, with English on one face of the can, and an as yet unidentified African language on the other.
The centre of the English side consists of the phrase 'SUPER FAST-ACTING' above a white star, outlined in black, yellow and red, with the trademark name 'DOOM' at its centre. A block of text to one side in black reads: 'Household pesticide - Domestic class. DIRECTIONS FOR USE. Flying insects: spray directly at insect. To clear room of flying insects, spray into the air, keeping doors and windows closed for 19 minutes after spraying. Crawling insects: spray directly onto the insect. GUARANTEE: Contains 0.19% pyrethrun 0.105% permethrin (25.75 cis trans isomers), 0.5% dichlorvos, 0.5% piperonyl butoxides, with perfume, propellant and solvents to 100%. Average net contents: 275 ml/200 g. CAUTION - READ LABEL BEFORE USE. Pressurized container. Protect from direct sunlight. Do not store at temperatures over 50° C. Do not puncture or incinerate even when empty. Do not spray on naked flame or any incandescent material. Avoid contamination of foodstuffs. Keep away from children. Harmful to fish'. Below, a red rectangular box contains the warning 'HIGHLY INFLAMMABLE'.
The African side contains what is presumably the same text. The logo caption reads: 'SUPER huangamza wadudu mara moja', while the side panel text reads: 'Household Insecticide - Domestic Class. JINSI YA KUITUMIA. Wadudu wanaoruka: Wanyunyizie wadudu wenyewe. Ukitaka kuwaua wadudu wanaoruka waliomo chumbani, nyunyiza dawa katika chumba na uhakikishe umeyafunga madirisha na milango kwa muda wa dakika kumi hivi. Wadudu wanaotambaa: Wanyunizie wadudu wenyewe. GUARANTEE: Vilivyomo [then with chemicals and amounts listed above] manukato na nyenyusho kufikia 100%. Kipimo cha wastani: 275 ml/200g. ONYO: SOMA MAELEZO KABLA YA KUTUMIA. Mkebe huu umeshindiliwa upepo. Jiepushe na popote penye joto linalozidi kipimo cha 50° C. Usiutoboe au kuuchoma mkebe hata ukiwa mtupu. Usinyunyize dawa karibu na moto wa aina yoyote. Usitumie dawa karibu na vyakula. lweke mbali na watoto. Yaweza kudhuru [...]'. Finally, a rectangular strip of metal has been bent into a vertical loop handle and soldered to the edge of the shoulder and the lower body. This has printing visible on the inside surface, with a white background and blue area on top (Pantone 2746C), and the single letter 'M'. The lamp is complete, with patches of surface rust and some surface scratches; the nozzle, which is made as a removable piece, has rusted into its current position. It has a weight of 57.1 grams, and is 107 mm high. The nozzle has a diameter of 7.5 mm, while the neck diameter is 21.3 mm, the shoulder measures 67 mm across, and the base is 63.4 mm in diameter. The strap handle is 8.8 mm wide and 34.5 mm long.
Purchased by Tania Kaiser in Bweyale market, Kibanda County in 1997 for 200 Ugandan Shillings; sold to the Pitt Rivers Museum on 19th January 1998. It is known in Acholi as laput, which translates as 'something unmoving'.
Displayed in the exhibition 'Transformations - The Art of Recycling', Pitt Rivers Museum, 25th March 2000 to Easter 2002. Kaiser discusses this type of recycling, and comments that: "Aerosol cans of 'Doom' insecticide are particularly popular [for making into recycled objects], both for their bright yellow colour and for the fact that they feature pictures of bugs and cockroaches" (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, p. 46).
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), and 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.
The centre of the English side consists of the phrase 'SUPER FAST-ACTING' above a white star, outlined in black, yellow and red, with the trademark name 'DOOM' at its centre. A block of text to one side in black reads: 'Household pesticide - Domestic class. DIRECTIONS FOR USE. Flying insects: spray directly at insect. To clear room of flying insects, spray into the air, keeping doors and windows closed for 19 minutes after spraying. Crawling insects: spray directly onto the insect. GUARANTEE: Contains 0.19% pyrethrun 0.105% permethrin (25.75 cis trans isomers), 0.5% dichlorvos, 0.5% piperonyl butoxides, with perfume, propellant and solvents to 100%. Average net contents: 275 ml/200 g. CAUTION - READ LABEL BEFORE USE. Pressurized container. Protect from direct sunlight. Do not store at temperatures over 50° C. Do not puncture or incinerate even when empty. Do not spray on naked flame or any incandescent material. Avoid contamination of foodstuffs. Keep away from children. Harmful to fish'. Below, a red rectangular box contains the warning 'HIGHLY INFLAMMABLE'.
The African side contains what is presumably the same text. The logo caption reads: 'SUPER huangamza wadudu mara moja', while the side panel text reads: 'Household Insecticide - Domestic Class. JINSI YA KUITUMIA. Wadudu wanaoruka: Wanyunyizie wadudu wenyewe. Ukitaka kuwaua wadudu wanaoruka waliomo chumbani, nyunyiza dawa katika chumba na uhakikishe umeyafunga madirisha na milango kwa muda wa dakika kumi hivi. Wadudu wanaotambaa: Wanyunizie wadudu wenyewe. GUARANTEE: Vilivyomo [then with chemicals and amounts listed above] manukato na nyenyusho kufikia 100%. Kipimo cha wastani: 275 ml/200g. ONYO: SOMA MAELEZO KABLA YA KUTUMIA. Mkebe huu umeshindiliwa upepo. Jiepushe na popote penye joto linalozidi kipimo cha 50° C. Usiutoboe au kuuchoma mkebe hata ukiwa mtupu. Usinyunyize dawa karibu na moto wa aina yoyote. Usitumie dawa karibu na vyakula. lweke mbali na watoto. Yaweza kudhuru [...]'. Finally, a rectangular strip of metal has been bent into a vertical loop handle and soldered to the edge of the shoulder and the lower body. This has printing visible on the inside surface, with a white background and blue area on top (Pantone 2746C), and the single letter 'M'. The lamp is complete, with patches of surface rust and some surface scratches; the nozzle, which is made as a removable piece, has rusted into its current position. It has a weight of 57.1 grams, and is 107 mm high. The nozzle has a diameter of 7.5 mm, while the neck diameter is 21.3 mm, the shoulder measures 67 mm across, and the base is 63.4 mm in diameter. The strap handle is 8.8 mm wide and 34.5 mm long.
Purchased by Tania Kaiser in Bweyale market, Kibanda County in 1997 for 200 Ugandan Shillings; sold to the Pitt Rivers Museum on 19th January 1998. It is known in Acholi as laput, which translates as 'something unmoving'.
Displayed in the exhibition 'Transformations - The Art of Recycling', Pitt Rivers Museum, 25th March 2000 to Easter 2002. Kaiser discusses this type of recycling, and comments that: "Aerosol cans of 'Doom' insecticide are particularly popular [for making into recycled objects], both for their bright yellow colour and for the fact that they feature pictures of bugs and cockroaches" (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, p. 46).
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), and 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.
Pitt Rivers Museum label - AFRICA, UGANDA MASINDI DISTRICT; SUDANESE ACHOLI? Paraffin lamp. Coll. Tania Kaiser, 1997. 1998.9.9 [plastic label with metal eyelet, tied to object; RTS 14/7/2005].
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 10: "Paraffin lamp. Made from recycled metal (laput - lit. something unmoving). Bought for 200 U[gandan]Sh[illings] in Bweyale market, Kibanda County". Purchased by PRM for £1. 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. A mixture of home produced and manufactured goods are used in the household; plastic jerrycans and basins are ubiquitous, and aluminium saucepans more common than pottery cooking ware. There is a blacksmith's workshop in the settlement, used for making new items when materials are available, otherwise for repairs and modifications [RTS 15/12/2003].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - AFRICA, UGANDA MASINDI DISTRICT; SUDANESE ACHOLI? Paraffin lamp. Coll. Tania Kaiser, 1997. 1998.9.9 [plastic label with metal eyelet, tied to object; RTS 14/7/2005].
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 10: "Paraffin lamp. Made from recycled metal (laput - lit. something unmoving). Bought for 200 U[gandan]Sh[illings] in Bweyale market, Kibanda County". Purchased by PRM for £1. 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. A mixture of home produced and manufactured goods are used in the household; plastic jerrycans and basins are ubiquitous, and aluminium saucepans more common than pottery cooking ware. There is a blacksmith's workshop in the settlement, used for making new items when materials are available, otherwise for repairs and modifications [RTS 15/12/2003].
Display History:
Displayed in the exhibition 'Transformations - The Art of Recycling', Pitt Rivers Museum, 25th March 2000 to Easter 2002 [LP 7/6/2000].
