Bongo hoe
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1884.9.6
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan]
Cultural Group:
Bongo
Date Made:
?Before 1858
Materials:
Iron Metal
Process:
Forged (Metal) , Hammered , Socketed
Dimensions:
Total L = 175; blade L = 82, W = 126, th = 1.7 (near edge); socket top diam = 13.8 x 10.5, diam at base = 28 x 22.7 mm [RTS 27/6/2005].
Weight:
210.8 g
Local Name:
loggoh?
Other Owners:
Collected by John Petherick in 1858 and shipped back to England in 1859. Subsequently acquired by Pitt Rivers, perhaps via auction, as Petherick is known to have auctioned some of his collection through Mr Bullock of High Holborn, London, on 27th June 186
Field Collector:
John Petherick
PRM Source:
Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers founding collection
Acquired:
Donated 1884
Collected Date:
1858
Description:
Iron hoe blade consisting of a flat blade with convex working edge and rounded shoulders, giving it a somewhat oval shape in plan view.
This has a raised rib running down the centre of the blade on one side only, that thickens to the base of the blade where it meets a long socket.
Both rib and socket are probably part of a separate piece of metal that was joined onto the blade section.
This socket has an oval plan view and gradually expands to its base, with a wide open seam running down the front.
The back of the socket has been flattened, probably while working the front.
The hoe is complete, but with signs of damage and possibly wear around the edges; it is currently a metallic gray colour (Pantone 877C).
It has a weight of 210.8 grams and is 175 mm long; the blade is 82 mm long, 126 mm wide and 1.7 mm thick (not including the rib), while the socket has a diameter at its top of 13.8 by 10.5 mm and at its base of 28 by 22.7 mm.
This object is said to have been collected in 1858; in that year Petherick led a trading expedition through Bongo territory, an account of which is given in his 1861 volume, Egypt, The Sudan and Central Africa; he refers to this group as the Dor. The expedition entered Bongo territory on January 25, 1858, visiting villages called Djau, Kurkur, Maeha, Mura, Umbura, Modocunga, Miha, Nearhe, Gutu, Mungela, Ombelambe and Lungo. Later in February they passed back through the Bongo villages of Djamaga and Lungo again. T his material was shipped back to England in 1859. A similar object, with handle, was drawn in Petherick's unpublished sketchbook (Wellcome Library MS 5789, p. 4 and p. 13) and later published by him (Petherick, J. & K., 1869, Travels in Central Africa and Explorations of the Western Nile Tributaries, p. 249). It was subsequently acquired by Pitt Rivers, perhaps via auction, as Petherick is known to have auctioned some of his collection 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 ); two Bongo hoe blades are included in this auction as parts of lots 40 and 67. It was possibly sent by Pitt Rivers to the Bethnal Green and South Kensington Museums for display sometime between 1874 and 1884.
Schweinfurth published similar 'spades' from the Bongo; one had a more circular body, was called loggoh, and was said to be used for trade (G. Schweinfurth, 1875, Artes Africanae, pl. IV figure 14), the other has an oval blade and is called a hoe for weeding tare and sowing corn, also known locally as loggoh. Schweinfurth illustrates this with a wooden haft (op.cit., pl. VI.5). The use of the same local name in both cases may imply the type had dual functions, or alternatively that Schweinfurth's use of the term 'spade' was incorrect. Evans-Pritchard commented that amongst the Bongo, both men and women take part in hoeing (E.E. Evans-Pritchard, 1929, "The Bongo", Sudan Notes and Records XII no. I, p. 55.
Rachael Sparks 30/9/2005.
This object is said to have been collected in 1858; in that year Petherick led a trading expedition through Bongo territory, an account of which is given in his 1861 volume, Egypt, The Sudan and Central Africa; he refers to this group as the Dor. The expedition entered Bongo territory on January 25, 1858, visiting villages called Djau, Kurkur, Maeha, Mura, Umbura, Modocunga, Miha, Nearhe, Gutu, Mungela, Ombelambe and Lungo. Later in February they passed back through the Bongo villages of Djamaga and Lungo again. T his material was shipped back to England in 1859. A similar object, with handle, was drawn in Petherick's unpublished sketchbook (Wellcome Library MS 5789, p. 4 and p. 13) and later published by him (Petherick, J. & K., 1869, Travels in Central Africa and Explorations of the Western Nile Tributaries, p. 249). It was subsequently acquired by Pitt Rivers, perhaps via auction, as Petherick is known to have auctioned some of his collection 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 ); two Bongo hoe blades are included in this auction as parts of lots 40 and 67. It was possibly sent by Pitt Rivers to the Bethnal Green and South Kensington Museums for display sometime between 1874 and 1884.
Schweinfurth published similar 'spades' from the Bongo; one had a more circular body, was called loggoh, and was said to be used for trade (G. Schweinfurth, 1875, Artes Africanae, pl. IV figure 14), the other has an oval blade and is called a hoe for weeding tare and sowing corn, also known locally as loggoh. Schweinfurth illustrates this with a wooden haft (op.cit., pl. VI.5). The use of the same local name in both cases may imply the type had dual functions, or alternatively that Schweinfurth's use of the term 'spade' was incorrect. Evans-Pritchard commented that amongst the Bongo, both men and women take part in hoeing (E.E. Evans-Pritchard, 1929, "The Bongo", Sudan Notes and Records XII no. I, p. 55.
Rachael Sparks 30/9/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Accession Book IV entry
[p.
11]
-
1884.9.
AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS
...
Native-made socketed spade-blade (heart-shaped).
Dor, C.
Africa.
Petherick coll 1858.
[Drawing]
? Black book entry [p. 24] Sticks & Staves [p. 26] 728. Hoe, iron, shaped like an arrow head. E coast of Africa. Used as a medium of exchange. Obtd by Petherick. [insert] Can't ma[...] [end insert; last two letters unclear; no accession number inserted, possibly should be read as 'can't match'? RTS 4/12/2003].
Card Catalogue Entry - C. AFRICA, DOR (BONGO). P.R. no. no . Petherick coll. 1858. Native-made socketed spade-blade, heart-shaped. Original Pitt Rivers Coll. [insert] Probably a hoe blade [end insert] [RTS 7/4/2004].
Old Pitt Rivers Museum label - Blade of native-made iron 'spade' socketted for hafting. Dor tribe, C. Africa. Petherick coll. PR. coll. [DCF Court Team 9/2/2004; label not with object as of 24/6/2005]; AFRICA, SUDAN, BONGO tribe. Socketed iron hoe blade, coll. John Petherick 1858, Pitt Rivers Founding Coll., 1884.9.6 [plastic coated label, tied to object; RTS 27/6/2005].
Written on object - Socketed hoe. Dor Tribe, C. Africa. Petherick coll. PR Coll. [DCF Court Team 9/2/2004]
? Black book entry [p. 24] Sticks & Staves [p. 26] 728. Hoe, iron, shaped like an arrow head. E coast of Africa. Used as a medium of exchange. Obtd by Petherick. [insert] Can't ma[...] [end insert; last two letters unclear; no accession number inserted, possibly should be read as 'can't match'? RTS 4/12/2003].
Card Catalogue Entry - C. AFRICA, DOR (BONGO). P.R. no. no . Petherick coll. 1858. Native-made socketed spade-blade, heart-shaped. Original Pitt Rivers Coll. [insert] Probably a hoe blade [end insert] [RTS 7/4/2004].
Old Pitt Rivers Museum label - Blade of native-made iron 'spade' socketted for hafting. Dor tribe, C. Africa. Petherick coll. PR. coll. [DCF Court Team 9/2/2004; label not with object as of 24/6/2005]; AFRICA, SUDAN, BONGO tribe. Socketed iron hoe blade, coll. John Petherick 1858, Pitt Rivers Founding Coll., 1884.9.6 [plastic coated label, tied to object; RTS 27/6/2005].
Written on object - Socketed hoe. Dor Tribe, C. Africa. Petherick coll. PR Coll. [DCF Court Team 9/2/2004]
Display History:
Possibly displayed in Bethnal Green and South Kensington Museums (V&A).
[AP]
