Anuak headrest
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1936.10.55
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan]
Cultural Group:
Anywaa [Anuak]
Date Made:
By 1936
Materials:
Wood Plant
Process:
Carved , Stained
Dimensions:
Ht = 170; seat L = 333, W = 32, th = 22; leg diam = 20 to 22.7 mm [RTS 2/6/2005].
Weight:
308.5 g
Local Name:
köm
Other Owners:
Presumably collected by Evans-Pritchard during his period of fieldwork amongst the Anuak between early March and May 1935 [RTS 18/6/2004].
Field Collector:
Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard
PRM Source:
Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard
Acquired:
Donated 1936
Collected Date:
March - May 1935
Description:
Headrest carved from a single piece of yellowish brown wood, stained a greasy, darker reddish brown over most of its surface (Pantone 4625C).
This is an example of 'found form', with a naturally grown branch specifically chosen because its shape, with subsidiary branches coming off the main stem to form the three feet, was suitable for making a headrest.
It consists of a narrow horizontal seat across the top, tapering to either end and flattened at the front.
This has been cut flat across the top, but has an angular ridge on the underside at the ends, and a convex underside in the area between.
Three narrower branches extend from the underside to form the legs.
The front and back legs are in alignment, while the central leg splays out in the opposite direction.
The legs themselves are relatively straight, and have worn patches at the base of their feet.
The headrest is complete, except for two damaged surface areas on the legs; there is a crack running along the length of the seat, and shorter cracks running down the legs.
It has a weight of 308.5 grams and is 170 mm high, with a seat that is 333 mm long, 32 mm wide and 22 mm thick; each leg has a diameter of from 20 to 22.7 mm.
Presumably collected by Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard during his period of fieldwork amongst the Anuak between early March and May 1935 (see E.E. Evans-Pritchard, 1940, The Political System of the Anuak of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, p. 3).
Evans-Pritchard states that the local name for this type of headrest is köm, a term which elsewhere he also applies to Nuer headrests such as 1937.34.49. This type of lightweight headrest, made from a tree branch, is produced by a number of Nilotic groups; for another Anuak example, see 1936.10.56; for Nuer examples, see 1917.25.40, 1931.66.17-18, 1932.30.1, 1936.10.56, 1937.34.49 and 1948.2.128, and for Dinka examples, see 1934.8.17.
Objects like these were used by men to protect their elaborate hairstyles. Willis described the Nuer practice of covering their hair with a paste made of clay, cow dung and urine, and then shaping it into the desired style, such as a cock's comb, or a peak at front or back. This treatment gradually wears off, staining the hair a reddish colour, and then the hair needs to be redone. Domville-Fife describes a similar process for the Shilluk in some detail, although amongst that group hair is dressed by a specialist barber, and is a costly process (C.W. Domville Fife, 1927, Savage Life in the Black Sudan, pp 71-76).
Rachael Sparks 22/08/2005.
Presumably collected by Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard during his period of fieldwork amongst the Anuak between early March and May 1935 (see E.E. Evans-Pritchard, 1940, The Political System of the Anuak of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, p. 3).
Evans-Pritchard states that the local name for this type of headrest is köm, a term which elsewhere he also applies to Nuer headrests such as 1937.34.49. This type of lightweight headrest, made from a tree branch, is produced by a number of Nilotic groups; for another Anuak example, see 1936.10.56; for Nuer examples, see 1917.25.40, 1931.66.17-18, 1932.30.1, 1936.10.56, 1937.34.49 and 1948.2.128, and for Dinka examples, see 1934.8.17.
Objects like these were used by men to protect their elaborate hairstyles. Willis described the Nuer practice of covering their hair with a paste made of clay, cow dung and urine, and then shaping it into the desired style, such as a cock's comb, or a peak at front or back. This treatment gradually wears off, staining the hair a reddish colour, and then the hair needs to be redone. Domville-Fife describes a similar process for the Shilluk in some detail, although amongst that group hair is dressed by a specialist barber, and is a costly process (C.W. Domville Fife, 1927, Savage Life in the Black Sudan, pp 71-76).
Rachael Sparks 22/08/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Accession Book Entry
[p.
410] - 1936 [insert] 10 [end insert] E.
EVANS-PRITCHARD, M.A., Exeter College, Oxford.
- Specimens collected by himself in the EASTERN SUDAN, while travelling with a Grant from the
Rockefeller
Leverhulme Trustees, viz: [p.
414] [insert] 55-56 [end insert] - [One of] 2 Neck-rests,
köm
, three-legged, cut from natural branches, ANUAK.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 30/1/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - AFRICA, Sudan. Anuak tribe. Wooden headrest, local name köm . Coll. E.E. Evans-Pritchard, donated 1936. 1936.10.55 [plastic coated label, tied to object; RTS 31/5/2005].
Written on object - köm , neck-rest. ANUAK, E. SUDAN. d.d. E. Evans-Pritchard, 1936 [RTS 31/5/2005].
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 30/1/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - AFRICA, Sudan. Anuak tribe. Wooden headrest, local name köm . Coll. E.E. Evans-Pritchard, donated 1936. 1936.10.55 [plastic coated label, tied to object; RTS 31/5/2005].
Written on object - köm , neck-rest. ANUAK, E. SUDAN. d.d. E. Evans-Pritchard, 1936 [RTS 31/5/2005].
