Rueng Dinka shield
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1932.30.4
Country:
Sudan
Region:
Kordofan Bahr el Abiad
Cultural Group:
Rueng Dinka
Date Made:
By circa 1907
Materials:
Wood Plant , Animal Hide Skin , Animal Tail , Textile
Process:
Carved , Hollowed , Covered
Dimensions:
L = 680, W = 81, th = 76.7, W handle = 27.8; hide sheaths (top to bottom) L = 245, 156, 235 mm; textile L = 12, W = 11, W threads = 1 mm [RTS 11/1/2005].
Weight:
691.6 g
Field Collector:
Charles Armine Willis
PRM Source:
Charles Armine Willis
Acquired:
Donated 1932
Collected Date:
circa 1907
Description:
Parrying shield carved from a single piece of soft, lightweight ambatch wood, orangey brown in colour (Pantone 722C).
This is largely solid, with the central part carved out to form a rectangular handle on one side, with a section shaped like a trapezium.
The inner face of wood opposite this grip has been carved out concavely to make room for the knuckles.
The shield has been shaped with compartments at either end.
The lower end has a concave surface, with a narrow circular hole at its centre; this is around 90 mm deep, and could have been used for storing a thin implement, such as a pair of tweezers.
The upper end has a wider cavity hollowed out that is roughly cylindrical in shape and which was used for storing snuff.
This currently contains a small circular piece of light brown textile (approximately Pantone 7508C) with loose edges that now form a fringe, possibly cotton, with a simple chequer pattern weave.
This appears to have been cut from a larger piece, and may have been used either as a plug for the end of the cavity or to wrap small objects.
The shield has been fitted with 3 hide sheaths, cut from tail sections and stretched to fit over the body.
They are covered with reddish brown and buff coloured hair (Pantone 469C and 7401C); this has worn off in patches, particularly over the surface of the upper piece.
The bottom sheath covers the lower part of the shield, continuing right to the bottom edge, which has been cut straight, while the upper edge is more jagged with several diagonal cuts across it.
The central sheath covers the handle area, and has 2 oval holes cut into the surface on either side of the handle.
Two holes have been cut into the hide near its lower edge, and may have been used to attach a carrying loop at one time.
This lower edge has been slightly pleated to fit it onto the shield body.
The upper sheath covers the top third of the shield, and extends slightly beyond its upper edge, where it has been compressed to create a narrower upper opening, protecting the cavity in this end.
The shield is complete, but the wood is split in places and the handle has a break down its centre.
It has a weight of 691.6 grams, and is 680 mm long, 81 mm wide and 76.7 mm thick; the handle is 27.8 mm wide, and the hide sheaths are 245, 156 and 235 mm long respectively, from top to bottom.
The textile scrap measures 12 by 11 mm across, and the component threads are 1 mm wide.
Collected by Charles Armine Willis in the Bahr el Abiad in Southern Kordofan in around 1907.
This was a multifunctional object, that was used as a parrying shield, seat and headrest; the hollowed out cavities could be used to store snuff and other objects. It is made from ambatch wood ( Aeschynomene sp . ), a type of leguminous shrub found through many parts of Africa, including the Sudan, growing in river shallows to a height of 4 to 6 metres. The wood is light and spongy, making it ideal for this type of object (source: http://www.probertencyclopaedia.com/B1AB.HTM). For similar examples in the collection, see 1934.8.31 and 1937.34.44 (Nuer, who call it ghur ), 1903.16.116 (Shilluk) and 1979.20.80 (Dinka Tuich, where it is known as adet). See also the descriptions in C.W. Domville Fife, 1927, Savage Life in the Black Sudan, pp 70 and 161).
Rachael Sparks 23/08/2005.
Collected by Charles Armine Willis in the Bahr el Abiad in Southern Kordofan in around 1907.
This was a multifunctional object, that was used as a parrying shield, seat and headrest; the hollowed out cavities could be used to store snuff and other objects. It is made from ambatch wood ( Aeschynomene sp . ), a type of leguminous shrub found through many parts of Africa, including the Sudan, growing in river shallows to a height of 4 to 6 metres. The wood is light and spongy, making it ideal for this type of object (source: http://www.probertencyclopaedia.com/B1AB.HTM). For similar examples in the collection, see 1934.8.31 and 1937.34.44 (Nuer, who call it ghur ), 1903.16.116 (Shilluk) and 1979.20.80 (Dinka Tuich, where it is known as adet). See also the descriptions in C.W. Domville Fife, 1927, Savage Life in the Black Sudan, pp 70 and 161).
Rachael Sparks 23/08/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Accession Book Entry
[p.
72] 1932 [insert, in pencil] 30 [end insert]
C.
ARMINE WILLIS,
Esq.
- Specimens collected by himself in the EASTERN SUDAN, viz.
[insert, in pencil] 4 [end insert] - Parrying-shield of ambatch wood, used also as a pillow & as a seat; at one end is a receptacle with small orifice for containing snuff.
RUENG DINKA, BAHR EL ABIAD, S.
KORDOFAN, c.
1907.
Additional Accession Book Entry [p. 71] - 1932.30.4 No given AP l[ength] = 690 mm.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 6/4/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - Parrying-shield, also used as a pillow, squatting seat & snuff-box (v. small hole at one end. Made of ambatch. RUENG DINKA, BAHR-EL-ABIAD, S.W. KORDOFAN, 1907 (C.A.W.) PRES. BY C.A. WALLIS [sic - should be Willis], 1932 [rectangular woven label, stuck to surface of object; RTS 10/1/2005].
Related Documents File - Notes from Charles Armine Willis dated 4/12/07: "The long cylyndrical thing is i) a shield, ii) a pillow, iii) a support to balance the genial Dinka when he squats on his hunkers, iv) a snuff box - see hole at one end to keep the snuff in. I cannot find out its Dinka name. The Dinkas this came from are from the Bahr El Abiad, S. Kordofan (Sultan Rob), but it may be common to all Dinkas." [This note was originally mis-identified as part of the Powell-Cotton collections and filed in RDF 1934.8. It has now been transferred to RDF 1932.30; GI 3/12/2001].
This item also appears on typewritten list RDF 1932.30.1-15, under list item 6: 'Ambatch pillow or shield. This was obtained actually from the Rueng Dinka in South Western Kordofan about 1910. At one end there is a hole in which the owner kept his snuff. This specimen presumably belonged to an elderly man, past fighting age. A younger man would have had a longer one, and would have used it as a shield to divert spears'. [insert, probably associated with item 6 rather than the following item] Common to Dinka & Nuer [end insert] [RTS 18/11/2003].
Additional Accession Book Entry [p. 71] - 1932.30.4 No given AP l[ength] = 690 mm.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 6/4/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - Parrying-shield, also used as a pillow, squatting seat & snuff-box (v. small hole at one end. Made of ambatch. RUENG DINKA, BAHR-EL-ABIAD, S.W. KORDOFAN, 1907 (C.A.W.) PRES. BY C.A. WALLIS [sic - should be Willis], 1932 [rectangular woven label, stuck to surface of object; RTS 10/1/2005].
Related Documents File - Notes from Charles Armine Willis dated 4/12/07: "The long cylyndrical thing is i) a shield, ii) a pillow, iii) a support to balance the genial Dinka when he squats on his hunkers, iv) a snuff box - see hole at one end to keep the snuff in. I cannot find out its Dinka name. The Dinkas this came from are from the Bahr El Abiad, S. Kordofan (Sultan Rob), but it may be common to all Dinkas." [This note was originally mis-identified as part of the Powell-Cotton collections and filed in RDF 1934.8. It has now been transferred to RDF 1932.30; GI 3/12/2001].
This item also appears on typewritten list RDF 1932.30.1-15, under list item 6: 'Ambatch pillow or shield. This was obtained actually from the Rueng Dinka in South Western Kordofan about 1910. At one end there is a hole in which the owner kept his snuff. This specimen presumably belonged to an elderly man, past fighting age. A younger man would have had a longer one, and would have used it as a shield to divert spears'. [insert, probably associated with item 6 rather than the following item] Common to Dinka & Nuer [end insert] [RTS 18/11/2003].
