Dinka Tuich jar
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1979.20.89 .1 .2
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan] Northern Bahr el Ghazal ?Dhangrial ?Wun Rog ?Mayen
Cultural Group:
Dinka Tuich
Date Made:
By 1979
Materials:
Gourd Plant , Cotton Yarn Plant? , String
Process:
Carved , Hollowed , Dried , Decorated , Pyroengraved Pokerwork , Repaired (local) ?
Dimensions:
H (total) = 294 mm; Lid H = 67, L = 104.5, W = 98.8, th walls = 7.3 mm; body H = 230, opening mouth = 82 by 80, max W = 250 mm [RTS 3/12/2004].
Weight:
347.4 g
Local Name:
kech dor
Other Owners:
Purchased by Patti Langton for £1.25 on 20th February 1979 as part of the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition to the Southern Sudan [RTS 14/5/2004].
Field Collector:
Patti Langton
PRM Source:
Patti Langton
Acquired:
Purchased 1979
Collected Date:
20 February 1979
Description:
Large jar and lid, cut from a single gourd.
The lid, 1979.20.89.2, has been cut out of the upper part and has a conical top where the stem of the plant was originally attached, with sides flaring concavely down and out toward its base.
This has been cut to form a crenelated edge, with a series of square teeth with concave gaps between.
The lid fits snugly into the top of the gourd body, 1979.20.89.1, which has the other part of these crennelations around its rim.
The body itself is very deep and globular, with convex sides flaring in to form a concave underside.
The underside of the lid, and interior surface of the gourd are a pale matt yellow colour (Pantone 7507C) and have a spongy texture. The outer surfaces are a deeper orange colour (Pantone 7411C) and are very smooth. Both pieces have been decorated with pyroengraved pokerwork bands. On the lid, this band runs around the middle part, and consists of 3 horizontal lines, with the spaces between filled with rows of oblique hatching, arranged in opposing directions to give a herringbone effect. On the body, the band is placed to run around the shoulder just below the rim, and consists of 3 similar lines with hatching in the spaces between, but in this case, the hatching runs in the same direction. Each 'line' is made up of a series of 2 or more cuts. This technique has discoloured the surface within the bands, and also led to some scorching of the gourd walls above.
The vessel and its lid are both complete, but have some damage. The lid has been broken along the edge of one of its square crennelations and repaired, perhaps locally, with the repair consisting of two pairs of holes drilled neatly into either side of the break, and fastened together using a thin twisted cotton yarn that is probably European; this is cream coloured (Pantone 7506C) and has been tied off on the inner face to leave 2 long trailing ends. There are numerous neat depressions of similar size around the inside surfaces; it is not clear why these are there, unless they represent insect damage in the past. There is also a hairline crack running down from the rim of the gourd body. Together, the two pieces weigh 347.4 grams. The lid is 104.5 mm long, 98.8 mm wide and 67 mm high, with a wall thickness of 7.3 mm. The gourd has a mouth opening of 82 by 80 mm, a maximum width of 250 mm, and is 230 mm tall. With the lid in place, the total height of the object is 294 mm.
Purchased by Patti Langton for £1.25 on 20th February 1979 as part of the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition to the Southern Sudan. The exact purchase place was not specified, but must have been at Dhangrial, Wun Rog, or Mayen, all of which lie in the modern district of Northern Bahr el Ghazal. For a map showing the distribution of Dinka Tuich groups, see J. Ryle, 1982, Warriors of the White Nile: The Dinka , p. 25.
This vessel has the local name of kech dor. Nebel defines the term Kec as ‘small gourd (for water)’ (Nebel 1979, Dinka-English Dictionary, p. 39); but has no obvious term matching ‘ dor ’. It was used to store beer or milk, and to carry clothing in the wet season. Gourd vessels were decorated by women; the pattern was first marked out in charcoal, then using a type of needle called a with , before scoring over the marks using a heated spear or knife blade; for another example of this technique, see 1979.20.91. The museum collection also includes an iron with, 1979.20.59.
Rachael Sparks 17/8/2005.
The underside of the lid, and interior surface of the gourd are a pale matt yellow colour (Pantone 7507C) and have a spongy texture. The outer surfaces are a deeper orange colour (Pantone 7411C) and are very smooth. Both pieces have been decorated with pyroengraved pokerwork bands. On the lid, this band runs around the middle part, and consists of 3 horizontal lines, with the spaces between filled with rows of oblique hatching, arranged in opposing directions to give a herringbone effect. On the body, the band is placed to run around the shoulder just below the rim, and consists of 3 similar lines with hatching in the spaces between, but in this case, the hatching runs in the same direction. Each 'line' is made up of a series of 2 or more cuts. This technique has discoloured the surface within the bands, and also led to some scorching of the gourd walls above.
The vessel and its lid are both complete, but have some damage. The lid has been broken along the edge of one of its square crennelations and repaired, perhaps locally, with the repair consisting of two pairs of holes drilled neatly into either side of the break, and fastened together using a thin twisted cotton yarn that is probably European; this is cream coloured (Pantone 7506C) and has been tied off on the inner face to leave 2 long trailing ends. There are numerous neat depressions of similar size around the inside surfaces; it is not clear why these are there, unless they represent insect damage in the past. There is also a hairline crack running down from the rim of the gourd body. Together, the two pieces weigh 347.4 grams. The lid is 104.5 mm long, 98.8 mm wide and 67 mm high, with a wall thickness of 7.3 mm. The gourd has a mouth opening of 82 by 80 mm, a maximum width of 250 mm, and is 230 mm tall. With the lid in place, the total height of the object is 294 mm.
Purchased by Patti Langton for £1.25 on 20th February 1979 as part of the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition to the Southern Sudan. The exact purchase place was not specified, but must have been at Dhangrial, Wun Rog, or Mayen, all of which lie in the modern district of Northern Bahr el Ghazal. For a map showing the distribution of Dinka Tuich groups, see J. Ryle, 1982, Warriors of the White Nile: The Dinka , p. 25.
This vessel has the local name of kech dor. Nebel defines the term Kec as ‘small gourd (for water)’ (Nebel 1979, Dinka-English Dictionary, p. 39); but has no obvious term matching ‘ dor ’. It was used to store beer or milk, and to carry clothing in the wet season. Gourd vessels were decorated by women; the pattern was first marked out in charcoal, then using a type of needle called a with , before scoring over the marks using a heated spear or knife blade; for another example of this technique, see 1979.20.91. The museum collection also includes an iron with, 1979.20.59.
Rachael Sparks 17/8/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Accession Book Entry
[p.
185] - 1979.20 (.1 - 206) P[urchase] MISS PATTI LANGTON, DEPT.
of ETHNOLOGY & PREHISTORY, OXFORD.
Collection made by Patti Langton during the British Institute in East Africa's expedition to the Southern Sudan; Jan.
- April 1979.
The collection was made in three culture areas during the dry season.
The amount paid for each object is listed if the information is known.
In Jan.
1979 £1 is equivalent to 95 piastres (pt.) Sudanese.
This documentation is based largely upon Patti's own list of objects and her notes on these.
Sometimes objects included in the Pitt Rivers alottment of the collection do not appear on her list and have been added here.
See Related Documents file as well.
[p.
191] 1979.20.43-135 SOUTHERN SUDAN the DINKA TUICH.
The Dinka Tuich, a pastoral people, live to the north of Wau, in Bahr el Ghazal province.
This collection was made mostly at Dhangrial, the archaeological site at which we camped.
Other artifacts were collected either at Wun Rog, a small town about a mile south of Dhangrial, or at Mayen, the new administrative centre 12 miles north.
This was a remote area, difficult of access and rarely visited by outsiders.
The Dinka are very aware of the potential of money, which is used either to help family members acquire education or entry into commerce and administration in Juba or Khartoum.
Once it was known we (the collectors) were offering money, the Dinka in surrounding compounds came daily, increasing prices as often as they could! [p.
198] 1979.20.89 [.1 - 2] Decorated gourd with lid,
kech dor
.
Used to store beer or milk and could also be used to carry clothing in the wet season.
Total H = 29.4 cm.
Coll.
20.2.79; £1.25.
Coll.
no.
206.
Additional Accession Book Entry [below accession number in red biro] - A5-F33-13.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 03/03/2004].
Related Documents File - 1979.20 contains a typed packing list, which has been annotated; a typed list of objects arranged by Langton collection numbers and with pencil and biro annotations, and a handwritten list of objects by museum number, essentially repeating this information and annotated with PRM photo numbers in red. This handwritten list seems to be the direct source for the accession book entry [RTS 12/1/2004].
Written on object - The gourd body is marked: S. SUDAN DINKA P. Langton coll. 206 1979.20.89.1 [ink] 206 [pencil]; the lid is marked: 1979.20.89.2 [ink] 206 [pencil] [RTS 3/12/2004].
Additional Accession Book Entry [below accession number in red biro] - A5-F33-13.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 03/03/2004].
Related Documents File - 1979.20 contains a typed packing list, which has been annotated; a typed list of objects arranged by Langton collection numbers and with pencil and biro annotations, and a handwritten list of objects by museum number, essentially repeating this information and annotated with PRM photo numbers in red. This handwritten list seems to be the direct source for the accession book entry [RTS 12/1/2004].
Written on object - The gourd body is marked: S. SUDAN DINKA P. Langton coll. 206 1979.20.89.1 [ink] 206 [pencil]; the lid is marked: 1979.20.89.2 [ink] 206 [pencil] [RTS 3/12/2004].
Display History:
Current display label - SOUTHERN SUDAN, DINKA.
Decorated gourd with lid, used to store beer or milk.
Collected and purchased by [sic] P.
Langton.
1979.20.89 [in case U.26.A; RTS 13/12/2004].
