Mandari youths cleansing with ash
56 x 56 mm | Negative film nitrate
Date of Print:
Unknown
Previous PRM Number:
JB.14.1
Accession Number:
1998.97.440
Description:
A youth with a plume in his hair leans on a break in the fence surrounding a cattle camp hearth, with two youths in the foreground sitting in the ash pile, one rubbing the other's hair with ash.
Dung ash was routinely rubbed over the whole body, a practice which cleansed the body, kept pests away, helped to heal wounds, and provided the opportunity for body art display by smearing designs.
For younger youths, smearing ash on the body indicated to other children their status as cattle-herders who worked with the men.
Photographer:
Jean Carlile Buxton
Date of Photo:
1950 - 1952
Region:
[Southern Sudan] Bahr el Jebel
Group:
Mandari
PRM Source:
Ronald Carlile Buxton via Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology
Acquired:
Donated 1988
Other Owners:
Jean Buxton Collection
Class:
Toilet , Body Art , Shelter
Keyword:
Body Art Skin , Hair , Fence
Activity:
[Bathing]
Documentation:
See Related Documents File. Buxton field notebooks in Tylor Library.
Recorder:
Christopher Morton 4/5/2005 [Southern Sudan Project]
