Nuer gaming board

Nuer gaming board
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Accession Number:
1937.34.50 .1
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan]
Cultural Group:
Nuer
Date Made:
By 1936
Materials:
Clay , Straw Fibre Plant , Plant Fibre , Bamboo Plant
Process:
Handbuilt , Modelled , Dried , Plaited , Tied , Bound
Dimensions:
Total ht = 55; clay part L = 690, W = 210, Ht = 45, compartment diamm = =80 x 75, depth = 41.5; bamboo base L = 700, W = 215, diam bamboo pieces = 14 mm; cord W = 6 mm [RTS 23/9/2005].
Weight:
> 1000 g
Other Owners:
Collected by Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard during his last period of fieldwork amongst the Nuer between October and November 1936, where he worked amongst the Nuer Leek in the area west of the Nile [RTS 6/7/2004].
Field Collector:
Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard
PRM Source:
Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard
Acquired:
Donated 1937
Collected Date:
October to November 1936
Description:
Mancala board hand made out of a soft gray clay or mud with straw binding mixed in (Pantone 403C). It has not been fired and is very fragile. It has a roughly rectangular body, with 14 deep circular depressions modelled into the upper surface, arranged in 2 rows of 7 compartments each. Each depression has either a pinched or rounded rim, with almost upright walls sloping down to the flat base. The base has been laid over a framework made of 12 lengths of yellow bamboo with soft interior pith (Pantone 7509C), tied together at either end and about one quarter the way down its length with thick cords made of plaited yellow plant fibre (Pantone 7508C). Normally such boards are simply made in the ground; this one may have been deliberately given a firm base to allow it to be transported by the collector. The board is complete, although there are several cracks across the surface; one binding loop has come away from the framework at the corner. It has a weight in excess of 1000 grams and total height of 55 mm; the clay part is 690 mm long, 210 mm wide and 45 mm high, while a typical compartment has a diameter of 80 by 75 mm and a depth of 41.5 mm; the frame is 700 mm long and 215 mm wide, while the bamboo pieces have a diameter of 14 mm and the cord a width of 6 mm.

Mancala is a generic term for this game, not a specifically Nuer term. Similar games are found amongst other Nilotic groups, such as the Zande, where it is known as banga (see P.M. Larken, 1926, "An Account of the Zande", Sudan Notes and Records IX no. 1, p. 27).

For the pieces that go with this board, see 1937.34.50.3-.42, enclosed in cloth bag 1937.34.50.2.

Rachael Sparks 30/9/2005.

Primary Documentation:
Accession Book Entry [p. 38, pencil in left column] 34 [ink] E.E. EVANS-PRITCHARD , M.A., Exeter College. Specimens collected by himself in the EASTERN SUDAN, vis: [addition in different pen] (Coll. in 1936) [p. 42] - From the NUER tribe, A[NGLO]-E[GYPTIAN]. SUDAN, viz: [pencil] 50 [ink] - ‘Mancala’ board of clay plastered on a frame work of reeds; with 14 ‘pockets’ and clay playing balls. [Added in different ink] 675 x 225 mm.
Additional Accession Book Entry - 1937.34.50 number given SD. [in different hand] Configuration of board = 2 x 7. MdeA. 29/4/98.

Card Catalogue Entry [tribes] - Information as in the accession book entry, with additional data in red: A15.F36.3 [RTS 23/7/2004].

Old Pitt Rivers Museum label -
'Mancala' board of clay with 'pieces'. NUER. A.-E. SUDAN. Pres. by E. Evans-Pritchard 1937 [rectangular label, stuck to side of object]; Clay balls used as 'pieces' for 'mancala' game, with 14-pit game-board of clay. NUER, A.-E. SUDAN. d.d. E.Evans-Pritchard, 1937 [with 1937.34.50.2-42; RTS 19/7/2005].



 
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