Nuer weaning device
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1936.10.30
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan]
Cultural Group:
Nuer
Date Made:
By 1936
Materials:
Animal Hide Skin , Wood Plant , Plant Fibre
Process:
Carved , Perforated , Stitched , Knotted , Twisted
Dimensions:
Total L (cord outstretched) = 680; W across ends band = 85; band W = 31.3, th (doubled) = 6.5; spike L = 82, diam at exposed part of base = 6.3 x 6; hide stitching thong W = 3 mm [RTS 30/6/2005].
Weight:
37.9 g
Other Owners:
This object was probably collected in 1935 or 1936, when Evans-Pritchard held a research fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust (see E.E. Evans-Pritchard, 1940, The Nuer) [RTS 28/9/2004].
Field Collector:
Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard
PRM Source:
Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard
Acquired:
Donated 1936
Collected Date:
1935 - 1936
Description:
Weaning device consisting of a rectangular hide band, doubled over itself at the centre with the loose ends overlapping, so that the outside end could be wrapped over the inside piece and secured with a knotted thong.
The resulting strip is of double thickness, and has been moulded to form a semicircular arc, that would fit over the muzzle of a calf.
It is a mottled brown and yellow colour (Pantone 7508C).
Both the inside and outside face of the strip have been perforated along their length, with 16 holes along the outside and 9 along the inside.
Alternating holes along the upper surface have been fitted with 6 single wooden spikes, carved from a light yellowish orange wood (Pantone 7510C), with the butt of each spike fitting through the hole and resting against the hide body beneath.
A narrow hide thong has been threaded through the alternating holes to pass over the top edge of every second spike, as well as through the second layer of the hide, sewing the two pieces together.
Simple knots secures this thong at either end.
A second, shorter strip has been tied around the body of the band on one side.
Finally, the device has been fitted with 2 cords of a cream coloured woolly, twisted plant fibre (Pantone 7506C).
One short length is tied around either end of the hide band, forming a bridge linking the two.
The second cord is longer, being made up of 2 pieces knotted together, and fastens around the same points; this would fit over the calf's neck, and prevent the device being removed.
The object is complete and intact, and has a weight of 37.9 grams.
The band, in its current shape, measures 85 mm across the opening between the ends, and is 31.3 mm wide and 6.5 mm thick.
The central wooden spike has a length of 82 mm, and measures 6.3 by 6 mm across the exposed part of its base, while the hide stitching is 3 mm wide.
The total length of the object is 680 mm, with the long cord outstretched; this cord has a diameter of 2.5 mm.
This object was collected by Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard when he held a research fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust (see E.E. Evans-Pritchard, 1940, The Nuer ), either during May to July 1935, when he worked amongst the Nuer Lou and Eastern Jikany, or from October to November 1936, when he was working amongst the Karlual section of the Nuer Leek, in Western Nuerland (pers. comm. Chris Morton 2004).
Evans-Pritchard illustrates a similar object, but although he states that this item is in the Pitt Rivers Museum, it differs from this object in having an additional spike and shorter cord ties. He states that while weaning devices are not often used, but may be if the mother is suckling while pregnant and the calf cannot be kept apart from her. The device illustrated is placed around the muzzle of the calf, allowing it to graze, but not to suckle, as the cow will be irritated by the thorns and push its calf away (E.E. Evans-Pritchard, 1940, The Nuer, p. 35, figure 6 , and note under the title list of maps and text-figures).
This object is mentioned by Blackman in his B. Litt. Thesis (A.A. Blackman, 1956, The Material Culture of the Nilotic Tribes of East Africa, p. 27).
Rachael Sparks 18/9/2005.
This object was collected by Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard when he held a research fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust (see E.E. Evans-Pritchard, 1940, The Nuer ), either during May to July 1935, when he worked amongst the Nuer Lou and Eastern Jikany, or from October to November 1936, when he was working amongst the Karlual section of the Nuer Leek, in Western Nuerland (pers. comm. Chris Morton 2004).
Evans-Pritchard illustrates a similar object, but although he states that this item is in the Pitt Rivers Museum, it differs from this object in having an additional spike and shorter cord ties. He states that while weaning devices are not often used, but may be if the mother is suckling while pregnant and the calf cannot be kept apart from her. The device illustrated is placed around the muzzle of the calf, allowing it to graze, but not to suckle, as the cow will be irritated by the thorns and push its calf away (E.E. Evans-Pritchard, 1940, The Nuer, p. 35, figure 6 , and note under the title list of maps and text-figures).
This object is mentioned by Blackman in his B. Litt. Thesis (A.A. Blackman, 1956, The Material Culture of the Nilotic Tribes of East Africa, p. 27).
Rachael Sparks 18/9/2005.
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.
412] [insert] 30 [end insert] - Hide band studded with wooden spikes, fastened to the muzzle of a calf to prevent its sucking, NUER.
Additional Accession Book Entry [p. 411] - 1936.10.30 number given - LW.
Card Catalogue Entry - The tribes catalogue card repeats the accession book entry, but is also annotated in red with photograph reference: A9-F4-33 [RTS 23/7/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - E. SUDAN, NUER TRIBE. Device to prevent calf suckling. Coll. E.E. Evans-Pritchard 1936.10.30 [plastic label with metal eyelet, tied to object; RTS 30/6/2005].
Additional Accession Book Entry [p. 411] - 1936.10.30 number given - LW.
Card Catalogue Entry - The tribes catalogue card repeats the accession book entry, but is also annotated in red with photograph reference: A9-F4-33 [RTS 23/7/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - E. SUDAN, NUER TRIBE. Device to prevent calf suckling. Coll. E.E. Evans-Pritchard 1936.10.30 [plastic label with metal eyelet, tied to object; RTS 30/6/2005].
Publication History:
This object is mentioned by Blackman in his B.
Litt.
Thesis (A.A.
Blackman, 1956, The Material Culture of the Nilotic Tribes of East Africa, p.
27).
