Acholi wall ornament
Accession Number:
1998.9.17
Country:
Uganda , [Sudan]
Region:
Masindi District Kibanda County Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement [Southern Sudan]
Cultural Group:
Acholi?
Maker:
Becky Aya, Equatoria Civic Fund Women's Group
Date Made:
1997
Materials:
Gourd Plant , Bead , Plastic Synthetic , Metal
Process:
Strung , Nailed
Dimensions:
L (max.) = 143 mm W (max.) = 113 mm
Local Name:
awal
Other Owners:
Made by Becky Aya of the Equatoria Civic Fund Women's Group and given to Tania Kaiser in 1997; purchased by the PRM on 19th January 1998
Field Collector:
Tania Kaiser
PRM Source:
Tania Kaiser
Acquired:
Purchased 19 January 1998
Collected Date:
1997
Description:
Decorated half calabash, used as a wall ornament.
The decoration consists of a string of small yellow and larger white beads, pinned in three places near the rim, and a green and yellow string, which is pinned in four places, near the crown.
There is a green and yellow beaded loop for hanging.
Made by Becky Aya of the Equatoria Civic Fund Women's Group and given to Tania Kaiser in 1997; sold to Pitt Rivers Museum on 19th January 1998. For details of Kaiser's work, see: T. Kaiser, 1999, Living in Limbo: Insecurity and the Settlement of Sudanese Refugees in Northern Uganda (Unpublished PhD); T. Kaiser, "Making Do and Making Beautiful: Recycling in an African Refugee Settlement", in: J. Coote, C. Morton and J. Nicholson (eds), Transformations,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, 44-47; T. Kaiser, 2000, UNHCR's Withdrawal from Kiryandongo: Anatomy of a Handover , New Issues in Refugee Research Working Paper No. 32, 1, 3.
The Acholi name for this object is awal.
Rachael Sparks 12/9/2005.
Made by Becky Aya of the Equatoria Civic Fund Women's Group and given to Tania Kaiser in 1997; sold to Pitt Rivers Museum on 19th January 1998. For details of Kaiser's work, see: T. Kaiser, 1999, Living in Limbo: Insecurity and the Settlement of Sudanese Refugees in Northern Uganda (Unpublished PhD); T. Kaiser, "Making Do and Making Beautiful: Recycling in an African Refugee Settlement", in: J. Coote, C. Morton and J. Nicholson (eds), Transformations,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, 44-47; T. Kaiser, 2000, UNHCR's Withdrawal from Kiryandongo: Anatomy of a Handover , New Issues in Refugee Research Working Paper No. 32, 1, 3.
The Acholi name for this object is awal.
Rachael Sparks 12/9/2005.
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.
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 18: "Decorated half calabash (awal). Made and given by Becky Aya, Equatoria Civic Fund Women's Group. Decorated with small plastic beads in yellow and green. For hanging on the wall"; the museum purchased the item for £3. 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. Handcrafts tend to be produced individually by woman to use or as gifts, or by women's groups associated with churches or small local development projects, who sell them to members of the community; access to the necessary materials can be a problem [RTS 15/12/2003].
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 18: "Decorated half calabash (awal). Made and given by Becky Aya, Equatoria Civic Fund Women's Group. Decorated with small plastic beads in yellow and green. For hanging on the wall"; the museum purchased the item for £3. 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. Handcrafts tend to be produced individually by woman to use or as gifts, or by women's groups associated with churches or small local development projects, who sell them to members of the community; access to the necessary materials can be a problem [RTS 15/12/2003].
