Moru Misa basket

Moru Misa basket
Other views of this artifact:


Accession Number:
1979.20.5
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan] Western Equatoria ?Lui
Cultural Group:
Moru Misa
Maker:
Naomi Tudringwa
Date Made:
By 1979
Materials:
Plant Stem , Grass Fibre Plant , Textile
Process:
Basketry , Chequer Woven , Bound , Tied , Recycled , Decorated Dyed
Dimensions:
Ht = 242, rim diam = 330 x 315, rim th = 5.7; base L = 190, bases W = 174; L suspension loop = 100; fibre strip W = 5 mm [RTS 20/9/2005].
Weight:
245.7 g
Local Name:
kole chacharo
Other Owners:
Made by Naomi Tudringwa, a woman who also made pottery and whose compound lay directly opposite the expedition camp at Lui; purchased from her for 30 piastres by Patti Langton on 27th January as part of the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition
Field Collector:
Patti Langton
PRM Source:
Patti Langton
Acquired:
Purchased 1979
Collected Date:
27 January 1979
Description:
Basket consisting of a nearly circular, everted mouth on a deep body with concave sides flaring in to a square base with slightly convex underside. This has been made from narrow strips of yellow sorghum grass, woven predominantly into a simple checkweave of over-2, under-2 design. At the rim, the warp strips are folded over and obliquely back against the body, where they are fixed by 3 rows of oblique binding that pass over the weft, using darker brown fibre strips (Pantone 463C), that form a neat finish around the mouth. A small suspension loop has been added to the edge of the base, made from a scrap of recycled olive coloured checker woven material with its ends tied in a knot (Pantone 7503C). T he exterior is predominantly a glossy yellow (Pantone 7403C), and the interior a deeper orange colour (Pantone 7509C) flecked with some reddish brown. The basket has been decorated with a pattern woven into these base colours using matt cream coloured strips (Pantone 726C), dyed or painted on their outer face a glossy reddish brown colour (Pantone 477C). The pattern consists of four vertical bands that extend down from each side of the rim and meet at the centre of the base - with each band made of 3 coloured strips woven in and out of the yellow body. These are bisected by two horizontal bands around the circumference, one third and two thirds the way down the body, made from 4 individual strips. The junction of vertical and horizontal red bands is decorated with ^-shaped chevrons - with a column of 3 such chevrons on opposite sides of the body, and only a single chevron on one other side. The body weave changes where it intersects these coloured bands, from an over-2 under-2 design to over or under-3 or -4 pattern. The basket is complete, but has some surface discolouration and traces of dirt, suggesting that it has been used. It has a weight of 245.7 grams, and is 242 mm high, with a rim diameter of 330 by 315 mm, base that measures 190 by 174 mm, and a rim thickness of 5.7 mm; the suspension loop is 100 mm in length; the fibre strips have a width of 5 mm.

This basket was made by Naomi Tudringwa from
the stalk of the sorghum plant ( cheche) . She is also known as a potter; her compound lay directly opposite the expedition camp at Lui. This basket was purchased from her for 30 piastres by Patti Langton on 27th January as part of the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition to the Southern Sudan. The place of purchase is not specified, but was probably Lui.

This type of basket is called
kole chacharo and is used for carrying sorghum. The same type of material is used in the construction of Moru Misa baskets 1979.20.8-9, which are smaller versions of the same type, 1979.20.6, a larger version, and winnowing tray 1979.20.26.

Rachael Sparks 20/9/2005.

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. [pp 185 - 186] 1979.20.1 - 42 SOUTHERN SUDAN the MORU MISA The Moru Misa live about 100 miles west of Juba, the capital of the Southern Sudan. Part of the collection was made in Lui, a small town which has had extensive church and missionary activity over the past 50 years (excluding the period of civil war) and which now boasts a church, a hospital and a number of schools. The rest of the Moru Misa collection was made at Lanyi, 15 miles away, where the paramount chief of the area, Chief Elinama, arranged for people to bring artifacts for us to buy. Although money is known to the Moru, its use is limited and the concept of selling belongings is foreign to them. Hence the low prices and the relatively small number of artefacts. The Moru Misa are a geographical section of the Moru people. The Moru practice agriculture for subsistence; they do not keep cattle any longer. [p. 187] 1979.20.5 - Basket, kole chacharo , used for carrying sorghum. Made from the stalk of the sorghum plant, cheche . This basket was made by Naomi Tudringwa. Maximum rim dia. = 33.8 cm.; H = ca. 23.5 cm. Coll 27.1.79; 30 pt; Langton Coll. no. 9.
Additional Accession Book Entry [in red biro under accession number] - A5-F32-28.

Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the tribes catalogue card [RTS 2/6/2004].

Pitt Rivers Museum label - SOUTHERN SUDAN, Moru Misa tribal area. Basket. Pat Langton coll., no. 9. 1979.20.5 [plastic coated label, tied to object; RTS 20/9/2005].

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]. The entry for this object in Langton's list is annotated 'everted rims, wide mouths' [referring to this and Langton 14; RTS 6/1/2004].



 
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