Nuer pipe
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1937.34.66 .1 .2
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan]
Cultural Group:
Nuer
Date Made:
By 1936
Materials:
Gourd Plant , Wood Plant , Pottery , Animal Hide Skin , Animal Tail , Plant Fibre
Process:
Carved , Socketed , Handbuilt Modelled , Decorated Incised , Twisted , Tied
Dimensions:
Total L = 802 mm. [.1] L = 685 mm, shaft diam = 25 mm, hide band diam = 32 mm; cord diam = 4 mm; pipe rim = 28 by 27 mm; pipe bowl body = 58.8 mm; knob W = 24.3 mm; ceramic pipe stem diam = 28.5 mm; [.2] L = 177 mm, Mx Diam = 63 mm, min diam = 21.6 mm [R
Weight:
[.1] 301.7 g, [.2] 71.8 g.
Local Name:
tony
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:
Composite tobacco pipe consisting of a gourd mouthpiece [.2] on a wooden stem with ceramic bowl [.1] and carrying loop attached.
The mouthpiece is made from two parts fitted closely together.
The inner part consists of an ovoid gourd with smooth orange surface (Pantone 722C) that has a conical upper body, pierced with a circular hole at the top with blackened edges.
The shape of the lower part has been fitted into an outer casing made of hardened animal hide and is obscured, but would appear to have convex sides and must be pierced through the base for the mouthpiece to function.
This has been stuffed with a thick wad of plant fibre, just visible through the top opening; this is used to soak up the tobacco juice and may be chewed afterwards; it still carries a strong scent of tobacco (see 1917.28.2 for a Shilluk mouthpiece with this fibre exposed).
The hide casing is made from a single cylindrical length, perhaps a piece of tail, that has been fitted onto the lower part of the gourd when wet and shrunken to match its profile.
This narrows below to form a raised ridge, then a narrow cylindrical neck, cut flat at the base, that serves as a socket to fit over the end of the wooden pipe shaft.
The hide is a yellowish brown colour (Pantone 7508C), with traces of reddish animal hair present on the surface (Pantone 483C).
The mouthpiece has a weight of 71.8 grams, is 166 mm long, and has a maximum diameter of 63 mm, and a minimum diameter of 21.6 mm at the neck.
The body of the pipe is made from a short length of brown wood (Pantone 7519C), cut from a branch and with some of the surface bark still in place, except at the upper end where the mouthpiece has worn this surface away. A ceramic pipe bowl has been fitted over its lower part, and has been hand made from well levigated clay, slipped, burnished, and fired a mottled pink to brown colour on the surface (Pantone 4665C). This consists of a circular mouth with uneven narrow flat-topped rim with broad bevelled collar on its outer face, on a deep, baggy body with convex base and a spherical knob offset from one side as a pipe rest, and a cylindrical pipe stem running from the opposite side at right angles. The exterior is covered with incised decoration, consisting of a series of vertical lines running up the sides of the base knob; a band of crosshatching around the rim collar; a single line around the upper bowl body, with roughly square groups of crosshatching pendant from it, and a rectangular crosshatched motif running across the bottom of the bowl. The lower part of the ceramic stem is decorated with a thick crosshatched band around its circumference. The ceramic pipe bowl is complete, with some burning marks around the rim and exterior of the bowl. A series of linear tool marks can be seen running along its stem, where the clay has been shaved.
The junction of wooden stem and ceramic bowl is obscured by a short cylindrical length of animal hide, without break or seam, that has been pushed down the wood to fit over the join. This is covered with reddish brown hair (Pantone 477C). Underneath this, a length of worn grayish cream hide cord (Pantone 7506C), made from two pieces twisted together, has been tied around the shaft; this runs alongside the shaft to act as a carrying or hanging loop, with its upper end fastened further up, and covered by a second cylindrical hide strip. Both strips have been shrunken onto the shaft on top of the cord ends to hold them securely in place, although some adhesive agent may also have been used, as there are traces of a glossy material visible running along one edge under the lower hide band. There is also a narrow hide band fitted around the upper part of the wooden shaft; this does not appear to have a structural role and is probably decorative. Pipe shaft, bowl and strap have a weight of 301.7 grams. This part of the object is 685 mm long; the shaft has a diameter of 25 mm, and 32 mm where it is covered with the hide band, while the carrying cord has a diameter of 4 mm. The ceramic pipe bowl rim measures 28 by 27 mm, its body is 58.8 mm wide, the knob end has a diameter of 24.3 mm, while the pipe stem is 28.5 mm in diameter. The total length of both mouthpiece and rest of the pipe combined is 802 mm.
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. The Nuer name for this object is tony.
A sketch of earlier styles of Nuer pipes is published in J. & K. Petherick, 1869, Travels in Central Africa and Explorations of the Western Nile Tributaries, Vol. I, p. 119. They described the pipe of a Nuer chief from the village of Aliab as follows: "He carried a pipe with a capacious bowl; the tube is hollowed, one and a half inches in diameter; it is crammed with thin fibres of bark, like coarse hemp, which, when thoroughly saturated with nicotine, is greedily chewed by the men and married women. As a mark of respect and friendship, the quid is passed from one to another…” (op.cit., p. 420). Domville Fife also discusses the manufacture and use of Nuer pipes, as he observed it at the village of Hillet-el-Nuer in the 1920's: "The bowl is fashioned of clay and is fitted with a reed stem about 30 inches long, which has an immense mouthpiece made of calabash. Although tobacco is largely grown locally the smoking mixture of the Nuer is composed of the almost black leaves of the swamp variety of this plant, combined with a plentiful supply of charcoal and cow dung ... Both men and women smoke these curious pipes, and are frequently seen walking along supporting them with one hand while they do their work with the other" (C.W. Domville Fife, 1927, Savage Life in the Black Sudan, pp 161-162).
For similar Nuer pipe bowls, see 1937.34.67-68.
Rachael Sparks 17/9/2005.
The body of the pipe is made from a short length of brown wood (Pantone 7519C), cut from a branch and with some of the surface bark still in place, except at the upper end where the mouthpiece has worn this surface away. A ceramic pipe bowl has been fitted over its lower part, and has been hand made from well levigated clay, slipped, burnished, and fired a mottled pink to brown colour on the surface (Pantone 4665C). This consists of a circular mouth with uneven narrow flat-topped rim with broad bevelled collar on its outer face, on a deep, baggy body with convex base and a spherical knob offset from one side as a pipe rest, and a cylindrical pipe stem running from the opposite side at right angles. The exterior is covered with incised decoration, consisting of a series of vertical lines running up the sides of the base knob; a band of crosshatching around the rim collar; a single line around the upper bowl body, with roughly square groups of crosshatching pendant from it, and a rectangular crosshatched motif running across the bottom of the bowl. The lower part of the ceramic stem is decorated with a thick crosshatched band around its circumference. The ceramic pipe bowl is complete, with some burning marks around the rim and exterior of the bowl. A series of linear tool marks can be seen running along its stem, where the clay has been shaved.
The junction of wooden stem and ceramic bowl is obscured by a short cylindrical length of animal hide, without break or seam, that has been pushed down the wood to fit over the join. This is covered with reddish brown hair (Pantone 477C). Underneath this, a length of worn grayish cream hide cord (Pantone 7506C), made from two pieces twisted together, has been tied around the shaft; this runs alongside the shaft to act as a carrying or hanging loop, with its upper end fastened further up, and covered by a second cylindrical hide strip. Both strips have been shrunken onto the shaft on top of the cord ends to hold them securely in place, although some adhesive agent may also have been used, as there are traces of a glossy material visible running along one edge under the lower hide band. There is also a narrow hide band fitted around the upper part of the wooden shaft; this does not appear to have a structural role and is probably decorative. Pipe shaft, bowl and strap have a weight of 301.7 grams. This part of the object is 685 mm long; the shaft has a diameter of 25 mm, and 32 mm where it is covered with the hide band, while the carrying cord has a diameter of 4 mm. The ceramic pipe bowl rim measures 28 by 27 mm, its body is 58.8 mm wide, the knob end has a diameter of 24.3 mm, while the pipe stem is 28.5 mm in diameter. The total length of both mouthpiece and rest of the pipe combined is 802 mm.
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. The Nuer name for this object is tony.
A sketch of earlier styles of Nuer pipes is published in J. & K. Petherick, 1869, Travels in Central Africa and Explorations of the Western Nile Tributaries, Vol. I, p. 119. They described the pipe of a Nuer chief from the village of Aliab as follows: "He carried a pipe with a capacious bowl; the tube is hollowed, one and a half inches in diameter; it is crammed with thin fibres of bark, like coarse hemp, which, when thoroughly saturated with nicotine, is greedily chewed by the men and married women. As a mark of respect and friendship, the quid is passed from one to another…” (op.cit., p. 420). Domville Fife also discusses the manufacture and use of Nuer pipes, as he observed it at the village of Hillet-el-Nuer in the 1920's: "The bowl is fashioned of clay and is fitted with a reed stem about 30 inches long, which has an immense mouthpiece made of calabash. Although tobacco is largely grown locally the smoking mixture of the Nuer is composed of the almost black leaves of the swamp variety of this plant, combined with a plentiful supply of charcoal and cow dung ... Both men and women smoke these curious pipes, and are frequently seen walking along supporting them with one hand while they do their work with the other" (C.W. Domville Fife, 1927, Savage Life in the Black Sudan, pp 161-162).
For similar Nuer pipe bowls, see 1937.34.67-68.
Rachael Sparks 17/9/2005.
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.
41, pencil] 66 [ink]
- 1 complete long-pipe with pottery bowl & gourd mouth-piece.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the tribes catalogue card [RTS 23/7/2004].
Detailed Pipes [Unsorted] Card Catalogue entry - Description: Long tobacco pipe with large shaped pottery bowl. The bowl is bulbous with comparatively small orifice, small segmented knob in front, ornamental band round rim, bowl and stem piece with incised check pattern designs, colour red brown blackened in places. Long wood stem ending in a large mouthpiece made of a gourd held to the stem by a length of hide (?section of a tail skin) shrunk on. At each end of the stem is a band of hide covered with hair and connecting them a length of stout string. Colour of stem, brown, of gourd, bright yellow. Between upper hide band and mouthpiece is a single narrow hide band. Total length 80 cm length of bowl and stempiece c 15 cm of hide and gourd mouthpiece c 16 cm. Bowl height c 6.4 cm, outer width of rim c. 3 cm. People: Nuer tribe Locality: A-E Sudan. Native name: Tony. Collected by: E. Evans-Pritchard. How Acquired: dd E. Evans-Pritchard 1937 [Drawing].
Written on object - Pipe, tony , NUER, A.-E. SUDAN, d.d. E.Evans-Pritchard 1937 [RTS 1/10/2004].
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the tribes catalogue card [RTS 23/7/2004].
Detailed Pipes [Unsorted] Card Catalogue entry - Description: Long tobacco pipe with large shaped pottery bowl. The bowl is bulbous with comparatively small orifice, small segmented knob in front, ornamental band round rim, bowl and stem piece with incised check pattern designs, colour red brown blackened in places. Long wood stem ending in a large mouthpiece made of a gourd held to the stem by a length of hide (?section of a tail skin) shrunk on. At each end of the stem is a band of hide covered with hair and connecting them a length of stout string. Colour of stem, brown, of gourd, bright yellow. Between upper hide band and mouthpiece is a single narrow hide band. Total length 80 cm length of bowl and stempiece c 15 cm of hide and gourd mouthpiece c 16 cm. Bowl height c 6.4 cm, outer width of rim c. 3 cm. People: Nuer tribe Locality: A-E Sudan. Native name: Tony. Collected by: E. Evans-Pritchard. How Acquired: dd E. Evans-Pritchard 1937 [Drawing].
Written on object - Pipe, tony , NUER, A.-E. SUDAN, d.d. E.Evans-Pritchard 1937 [RTS 1/10/2004].
