Anuak ring-pad

Other views of this artifact:

Accession Number:

1936.10.51

Country:

Sudan

Region:

[Southern Sudan]

Cultural Group:

Anywaa [Anuak]

Date Made:

By 1936

Materials:

Grass Fibre Plant , Zebra Skin Animal , Plant Fibre

Process:

Bound , Covered , Stitched , Twisted , Knotted

Dimensions:

Outer L = 222, W = 215 mm, inside L hole = 137, W hole = 135 mm, Ht max = 35.5 mm, min Ht = 29.4 mm, diam cord = 1.5 mm [RTS 11/8/2004].

Weight:

220.7 g

Local Name:

cibi

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 1936

Collected Date:

March - May 1935

Description:

Circular ring-shaped stand for a gourd, made from a solid frame of grass stems gathered together and bent into a loop, then tightly bound together by winding strips of yellowish brown grass around the body (Pantone 7510C). This frame was then covered with 2 rectangular strips of zebra hide. The surface of the hide is striped with white and dark brown hair (Pantone black 4C) in typical zebra patterning; there are a few small holes and the hair has worn off in patches. These strips have been folded over the framework and sewn together using pieces of thick two stranded twisted plant fibre cord in a simple zigzag stitch running backwards and forwards across the join. This stitching runs around the inside circumference of the ring, and then around the width of the ring in two places where the separate pieces of hide meet. Two lengths of cord have been left projecting at the outer edge of one of these sections; these have been tied together to form a suspension loop, and then knotted off at the ends to stop these fraying. The cord is a light yellowish brown (Pantone 7509C). The object is essentially complete, apart from the wear to the skin covering; the ring has a circular section on one side, and a more flattened section on the other where the frame has become compressed, probably through use. It weighs 220.7 grams, and measures 222 by 215 mm across its outer diameter, and 135 by 137 mm across the inside diameter, with a height ranging from 35.5 to 29.4 mm. The cord has a diameter of 1.5 mm.

Collected by E.E. Evans-Pritchard during his fieldwork amongst the Anuak, which took place 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 type of ring-pad is called cibi, and is used for as a stand for beer gourds that are placed on the ground.

Rachael Sparks 25/9/2005.

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. 414] [insert] 51 [end insert] - Cibi , ring-pad for standing beer-gourds upon on the ground; of grass covered with zebra-skin. ANUAK.
Additional Accession Book Entry [p. 413] - 1936.10.51 number given, LW.

Card Catalogue Entry - The card repeats the information given in the accession book, with added detail in red biro: 'A9-F4-32' [RTS 30/1/2004].

Old Pitt Rivers Museum label - cibi , ring-pade for standing beer-gourds upon. Of grass & zebra-skin. ANUAK, E. SUDAN, d.d. Evans-Pritchard 1936 [rectangular metal-edged tag, tied to object; RTS 11/8/2004].