Dinka Tuich tobacco box

1979.20.101 .1 .2

Sudan

[Southern Sudan] Northern Bahr el Ghazal ?Dhangrial ?Wun Rog ?Mayen

Dinka Tuich

By 1979

Wood Plant , Gourd Plant

Carved , Dried , Polished

[.1] Ht = 84.2 mm, Diam rim = 37 mm, diam mouth = 25 mm, diam body = 62.5 mm, diam base = 41 mm. [.2] L = 24.5 mm, W = 23.4 mm, th = 9.7 mm [RTS 24/9/2004].

[.1] 111.4 g; [.2] 0.8 g.

Purchased by Brian John Mack (known as John Mack) (then at the Museum of Mankind) for $1.50, between 17th and 26th February 1979, as part of the British Institute in East Africa's expedition to the Southern Sudan, headed by Patti Langton [RTS 24/9/2004].

Brian John Mack (known as John Mack), Museum of Mankind

Patti Langton

Purchased 1979

17 - 26 February 1979

Tobacco container [.1] with stopper [.2]. The container has been carved from a single piece of dark reddish brown wood (Pantone 4695C), and has a narrow, flat-topped rim and elongated biconical body with sharp carination midway down the sides; these then taper in towards a flat circular base. The interior has been well hollowed out to match the shape of the outer walls of the vessel, while the exterior has been polished to a glossy finish. It is accompanied by a small, circular, disc-shaped stopper with flat upper surface and sloping sides that taper in slightly to an irregularly flat base. This has been cut from a thick walled gourd, and has a yellow surface (Pantone 7402C and 7510C). Both stopper and container are complete, but the latter has cracks running across the base, and down from the rim. The stopper has a weight of 0.8 grams, is 24.5 mm long, 23.4 mm wide and 9.7 mm thick. The container is 84.2 mm high, has a rim diameter of 37 mm and a mouth diameter of 25 mm, a maximum diameter of 62.5 mm and a base diameter of 41 mm.

Purchased by Brian John Mack (known as John Mack) for $1.50, sometime between 17th and 26th February 1979, as part of the British Institute in East Africa's expedition to the Southern Sudan, directed by Patti Langton. The exact place of collection was not specified, but it probably came from Dhangrial, Wun Rog, or Mayen, all of which lie within the modern administrative district of Northern Bahr el Ghazal. For a map showing the distribution of Dinka Tuich groups, see J. Ryle, 1982, Warriors of the White Nile: The Dinka , p. 25.

This small container was used to store tobacco; the collectors did not record its Dinka Tuich name. For other types of Dinka tobacco container, see 1979.20.104 and 1979.20.90 (matup tap) , 1979.20.82 (tiem tap ), 1934.8.19, and 1934.8.20 (guntab). Tap or tab appears to be both the Dinka and the Nuer term for tobacco (see (Nebel 1979, Dinka-English Dictionary, p. 81).

Rachael Sparks 25/9/2005.

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. [p. 191] 1979.20.43-135 SOUTHERN SUDAN the DINKA TUICH. The Dinka Tuich, a pastoral people, live to the north of Wau, in Bahr el Ghazal province. This collection was made mostly at Dhangrial, the archaeological site at which we camped. Other artifacts were collected either at Wun Rog, a small town about a mile south of Dhangrial, or at Mayen, the new administrative centre 12 miles north. This was a remote area, difficult of access and rarely visited by outsiders. The Dinka are very aware of the potential of money, which is used either to help family members acquire education or entry into commerce and administration in Juba or Khartoum. Once it was known we (the collectors) were offering money, the Dinka in surrounding compounds came daily, increasing prices as often as they could! [pp 199-200] 1979.20.101 Wooden tobacco container in an abstract shape. H = 8.4 cm. This is not the object on the list; it could be coll. no. ?249 [this would appear to be confirmed by the collectors label found inside vessel, see below; RTS 24/9/2004].
Additional Accession Book Entry [below accession number in red biro] - A5-F34-21.

Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 5/4/2004].

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 (an annotation on the entry for no. 242 reads 'not this one, but an abstract shape ?249'), 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].

Pre-PRM label - 249. Dinka Tuich. Tobacco container BJM [=Brian John Mack] $1.50 [handwritten on scrap of torn paper in biro; found inside mouth of vessel and returned there; RTS 24/9/2004].