Bongo club
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1884.12.10
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan] [White Nile]
Cultural Group:
Bongo
Date Made:
?Before 1858
Materials:
Wood Plant
Process:
Carved , Stained , Polished
Dimensions:
L = 710; diam top = 34.8 x 33.6; L spiked area = 246, max diam = 76 x 63; handle flange W = 38.5, th = 37.5 mm [RTS 13/5/2005].
Weight:
788.0 g
Other Owners:
Collected by Petherick between 1856 and 1858, and shipped back to England in 1859. Illustrated by Wood in his 1868 book, at which time it is said to have already been in Pitt Rivers' collection; Pitt Rivers may have obtained the object via auction, as Pet
Field Collector:
John Petherick
PRM Source:
Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers founding collection
Acquired:
Donated 1884
Collected Date:
1856 - 1858
Description:
Club carved from a single piece of wood and consisting of a short cylindrical top with flat upper surface, with the head expanding below where it has been carved into a series of spikes, arranged in 10 rows of 7 spikes each around the circumference.
Each spike is flat sides and tapers to a point at its end.
The handle continues below, with its upper part carved into flanges made of 2 segments of biconical beading separated by deep grooves, and its lower part tapering to a pointed butt that has been pierced just above its tip.
The body is irregular in form and does not follow a straight line, presumably reflecting the irregularities of the parent branch.
The wood has been stained a dark reddish brown colour (Pantone black 4C) and then polished.
It is complete and intact, except for damage to the tips of some spikes and side of top; it looks as though several may have been smoothed off and re-stained after breaking.
There is also traces of an unknown substance inside the hole, which was presumably intended to secure a suspension loop or decorative tassel.
The club has a weight of 788 grams and is 710 mm long; the top end has a diameter of 34.8 by 33.6 mm; the spiked head is 246 mm long with a maximum diameter of 76 by 63 mm, while the flanged top of the handle is 38.5 mm wide and 37.5 mm thick.
John Petherick led three separate trading expeditions that passed through Bongo territory between 1856 and 1858, during which time he collected this object from the Bongo. See Petherick 1861, Egypt, The Sudan and Central Africa for more details. This material was shipped back to England in 1859. It was illustrated by Wood in his 1868 book (J.G. Wood, 1868, The Natural History of Man, 524), at which time it is said to have already been in Pitt Rivers' collection; Pitt Rivers probably obtained it at the auction of Petherick’s collection, conducted through Mr Bullock of High Holborn, London, on 27th June 1862 (see the Catalogue of the very interesting collection of arms and implements of war, husbandry, and the chase, and articles of costume and domestic use, procured during several expeditions up the White Nile, Bahr-il-Gazal, and among the various tribes of the country, to the cannibal Neam Nam territory on the Equator, by John Petherick, Esq., H.M. Consul, Khartoum, Soudan ). This auction included some 30 clubs, of which 7 were said to be Bongo. Pitt Rivers sent this object to Bethnal Green Museum for display, as part of the first batch of objects sent there, probably in 1874. It was later displayed in the South Kensington Museum, and transferred from there to become part of the founding collection of the Pitt Rivers Museum in 1884.
Illustrated as a line drawing in J. Petherick, 1861, 'On the arms of the Arab and Negro tribes of Central Africa, bordering on the White Nile', Journal of the Royal United Service Institution IV no 13, p. 176 no. 15, left; J. & K. Petherick, 1869, Travels in Central Africa, p. 227 (lower part of plate; text p. 226 implies they should be attributed to the 'Dor', e.g.: the Bongo), and on page 13 of Petherick's unpublished sketchbook, now in the Wellcome Library (also with page caption 'Dor'; see Wellcome MS 5789, 78233); J.G. Wood, 1868, The Natural History of Man, p. 525 (left, where his text implies the clubs were attributed to the Dinka).
Petherick describes Bongo clubs as follows: “Some resembled the mace of the middle ages [probably referring to this type], whilst others, made of hard wood, were like the mushroom. The edges were firm and sharp, and when employed against an enemy, would cleave the skull” (J. Petherick, 1861, Egypt, The Sudan and Central Africa, p. 400). “The favourite weapon of the Dor is the bow and arrow, with which they use three or four fearfully barbed spears, and clubs ... not required to ward off the lance, for which purpose the bow suffices, but [which] are used sometimes to cast, and invariably to inflict a blow wherewith to crush the skull of a fallen enemy” (J. Petherick, 1861, 'On the arms of the Arab and Negro tribes of Central Africa, bordering on the White Nile', Journal of the Royal United Service Institution IV no 13, p. 174 ff).
A similar form is illustrated by Boccassino and attributed to the Bor (Museum für Völkerkunde, Vienna, accession no. 45410; R. Boccassino 1906, 'Contributo allo studio dell'ergologia delle popolazioni nilotiche e Nilo-camitiche', Annali lateranensi XXIV, fig. 65). See also 1884.12.9.
Rachael Sparks 30/9/2005.
John Petherick led three separate trading expeditions that passed through Bongo territory between 1856 and 1858, during which time he collected this object from the Bongo. See Petherick 1861, Egypt, The Sudan and Central Africa for more details. This material was shipped back to England in 1859. It was illustrated by Wood in his 1868 book (J.G. Wood, 1868, The Natural History of Man, 524), at which time it is said to have already been in Pitt Rivers' collection; Pitt Rivers probably obtained it at the auction of Petherick’s collection, conducted through Mr Bullock of High Holborn, London, on 27th June 1862 (see the Catalogue of the very interesting collection of arms and implements of war, husbandry, and the chase, and articles of costume and domestic use, procured during several expeditions up the White Nile, Bahr-il-Gazal, and among the various tribes of the country, to the cannibal Neam Nam territory on the Equator, by John Petherick, Esq., H.M. Consul, Khartoum, Soudan ). This auction included some 30 clubs, of which 7 were said to be Bongo. Pitt Rivers sent this object to Bethnal Green Museum for display, as part of the first batch of objects sent there, probably in 1874. It was later displayed in the South Kensington Museum, and transferred from there to become part of the founding collection of the Pitt Rivers Museum in 1884.
Illustrated as a line drawing in J. Petherick, 1861, 'On the arms of the Arab and Negro tribes of Central Africa, bordering on the White Nile', Journal of the Royal United Service Institution IV no 13, p. 176 no. 15, left; J. & K. Petherick, 1869, Travels in Central Africa, p. 227 (lower part of plate; text p. 226 implies they should be attributed to the 'Dor', e.g.: the Bongo), and on page 13 of Petherick's unpublished sketchbook, now in the Wellcome Library (also with page caption 'Dor'; see Wellcome MS 5789, 78233); J.G. Wood, 1868, The Natural History of Man, p. 525 (left, where his text implies the clubs were attributed to the Dinka).
Petherick describes Bongo clubs as follows: “Some resembled the mace of the middle ages [probably referring to this type], whilst others, made of hard wood, were like the mushroom. The edges were firm and sharp, and when employed against an enemy, would cleave the skull” (J. Petherick, 1861, Egypt, The Sudan and Central Africa, p. 400). “The favourite weapon of the Dor is the bow and arrow, with which they use three or four fearfully barbed spears, and clubs ... not required to ward off the lance, for which purpose the bow suffices, but [which] are used sometimes to cast, and invariably to inflict a blow wherewith to crush the skull of a fallen enemy” (J. Petherick, 1861, 'On the arms of the Arab and Negro tribes of Central Africa, bordering on the White Nile', Journal of the Royal United Service Institution IV no 13, p. 174 ff).
A similar form is illustrated by Boccassino and attributed to the Bor (Museum für Völkerkunde, Vienna, accession no. 45410; R. Boccassino 1906, 'Contributo allo studio dell'ergologia delle popolazioni nilotiche e Nilo-camitiche', Annali lateranensi XXIV, fig. 65). See also 1884.12.9.
Rachael Sparks 30/9/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Accession Book IV entry
[p.
15]
-
[insert] 3-figure numbers are P.R.
printed catalogue of weapons numbers [end insert] [insert] 1884.12 [end insert]
WEAPONS CLUBS
[insert] 10 [end insert] - 407 - Similar club to 1884.12.9, with longer rows of shorter spikes & no funnel end.
DOR.
Petherick coll.
Additional Accession Book IV Entry [page opposite 15] - 1884.12.10 Number given - LW, l[ength] = 72 cm.
Collectors Miscellaneous XI Accession Book entry [p. 193] - PETHERICK, Consul [p. 195] [insert] 1884.12.10 [end insert] - Similar club [to 1884.12.9, with funnel-shaped end] with shorter spikes; no funnel end. DOR ibid [C[ENTRAL]. AFRICA]. (PR 407). [p. 197] [insert] BONGO is tribe's name for itself. They are called DOR by neighbours [end insert, by BB].
Black book entry [p. 16] - 361-2. Clubs, mace headed with rows of wooden spikes; same form as 358 to -60 [1884.12.47 - 49]. Dor tribe, C. Africa. Obtd by Consul Petherick. [insert] 1884.12.9 & 10 [end insert].
Delivery Catalogue I entry [p. 121] - Maces and clubs from various countries [p. 122] [insert] 1884.12.10 [end insert] Mace headed club - White Nile 407. Screen 13, 178 & 179.
Pitt Rivers Catalogue Entry (1874) [p. 66] - Clubs with rows of spikes down the sides of the thick ends are used in Australia, Nos 408, 409, 410 [1884.12.47-9] Fig. 48 and correspond very closely to those from the White Nile obtained by Mr Petherick, Nos 406 [1884.12.9] and 407 [1884.12.10] Fig. 49. [p. 76] SCREEN 13 [...] 406, 407. Mace headed CLUBS with rows of wooden spikes along the sides of the head. Dor Tribe, White Nile. Obtained by Consul Petherick. Fig. 49 [= 1884.12.9].
Card Catalogue Entry - The tribes and clubs cards repeats the accession book entry, but gives the collection date as 1858. As this is not in the original book entries, it may not be accurate [RTS 7/4/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - Mace club ? (deriv[...] from root-headed weapon). DOR, C. AFRICA. Petherick coll. P.R. coll ......(407); HB cat. C.XXX. 1884.12.10 [rectangular metal-edged tag, tied to object; RTS 6/4/2005].
Additional Accession Book IV Entry [page opposite 15] - 1884.12.10 Number given - LW, l[ength] = 72 cm.
Collectors Miscellaneous XI Accession Book entry [p. 193] - PETHERICK, Consul [p. 195] [insert] 1884.12.10 [end insert] - Similar club [to 1884.12.9, with funnel-shaped end] with shorter spikes; no funnel end. DOR ibid [C[ENTRAL]. AFRICA]. (PR 407). [p. 197] [insert] BONGO is tribe's name for itself. They are called DOR by neighbours [end insert, by BB].
Black book entry [p. 16] - 361-2. Clubs, mace headed with rows of wooden spikes; same form as 358 to -60 [1884.12.47 - 49]. Dor tribe, C. Africa. Obtd by Consul Petherick. [insert] 1884.12.9 & 10 [end insert].
Delivery Catalogue I entry [p. 121] - Maces and clubs from various countries [p. 122] [insert] 1884.12.10 [end insert] Mace headed club - White Nile 407. Screen 13, 178 & 179.
Pitt Rivers Catalogue Entry (1874) [p. 66] - Clubs with rows of spikes down the sides of the thick ends are used in Australia, Nos 408, 409, 410 [1884.12.47-9] Fig. 48 and correspond very closely to those from the White Nile obtained by Mr Petherick, Nos 406 [1884.12.9] and 407 [1884.12.10] Fig. 49. [p. 76] SCREEN 13 [...] 406, 407. Mace headed CLUBS with rows of wooden spikes along the sides of the head. Dor Tribe, White Nile. Obtained by Consul Petherick. Fig. 49 [= 1884.12.9].
Card Catalogue Entry - The tribes and clubs cards repeats the accession book entry, but gives the collection date as 1858. As this is not in the original book entries, it may not be accurate [RTS 7/4/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - Mace club ? (deriv[...] from root-headed weapon). DOR, C. AFRICA. Petherick coll. P.R. coll ......(407); HB cat. C.XXX. 1884.12.10 [rectangular metal-edged tag, tied to object; RTS 6/4/2005].
Display History:
Displayed in Bethnal Green and South Kensington Museum (V&A).
[AP]
Publication History:
Illustrated as a line drawing in J.
Petherick, 1861, 'On the arms of the Arab and Negro tribes of Central Africa, bordering on the White Nile', Journal of the Royal United Service Institution IV no 13, p.
176 no.
15, left; J.
& K.
Petherick, 1869, Travels in Central Africa, p.
227 (lower part of plate; text p.
226 implies they should be attributed to the 'Dor', e.g.: the Bongo), and on page 13 of Petherick's unpublished sketchbook, now in the Wellcome Library (also with page caption 'Dor'; see Wellcome MS 5789, 78233); J.G.
Wood, 1868, The Natural History of Man, p.
525 (left, where his text implies the clubs were attributed to the Dinka) [RTS 13/5/2005].
