Dinka Tuich beer jar
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1979.20.113
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan] Northern Bahr el Ghazal ?Dhangrial ?Wun Rog ?Mayen
Cultural Group:
Dinka Tuich
Date Made:
By 1979
Materials:
Pottery , ?Cattle Dung Animal , Animal Dung
Process:
Handbuilt , Fire-Hardened , Decorated , Impressed
Dimensions:
Ht = 325, rim diam = 112, maximum body W = 350, rim th = 4 mm [RTS 3/8/2005].
Weight:
> 1000 g
Local Name:
acoop [acop?]
Other Owners:
Purchased by Patti Langton for £1 on 25th February 1979 as part of the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition to the Southern Sudan [RTS 14/5/2004].
Field Collector:
Patti Langton
PRM Source:
Patti Langton
Acquired:
Purchased 1979
Collected Date:
25 February 1979
Description:
Pottery vessel used for drinking beer, and hand made from a moderately well levigated clay, fired an orangey red at the surface (Pantone 7525C) with some black patches.
This is circular in plan view, and consists of a narrow, upright flat topped rim on a short narrow neck that flares out slightly to its base, where it joins onto a deep, globular body with convex base.
The surface has been covered with a layer of greenish brown fibrous dung (Pantone 7531C), partially obscuring the decoration, which has been applied with a roulette.
This consists of oblique impressed lines around the upper part of the neck, then 3 rows of an impressed rope pattern around the base of the neck and shoulder, enclosing 2 broader bands that have been divided into a series of squares by groups of vertical impressed lines.
These squares alternate in the upper and lower band, creating a checkerboard pattern.
The rest of the surface below has been covered with closely spaced impressed lines, giving the area a textured, mat-like appearance.
The vessel is complete, and has a weight in excess of 1000 grams, a height of 325 mm, rim diameter of 112 mm, and maximum width across the body of 350 mm; the rim is 4 mm thick.
Purchased by Patti Langton at Dhangrial, Wun Rog or Mayen for £1 on 25th February 1979 as part of the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition to the Southern Sudan. At the time this object was collected, the Bahr el Ghazal province was bordered by the Upper Nile Province to the east and Western Equatoria to the south; this area is now divided into the districts of Western Bahr el Ghazal, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, and parts of Warab and El Buheyrat. Dhangrial, Wun Rog and Mayen lie within 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.
Langton gave the local term for this vessel as acoop, but this is probably an error for acop, which Nebel defines as a ‘pot with a narrow opening’ (Nebel 1979, Dinka-English Dictionary, p. 4). Coating the exterior with dung may have helped keep the vessel watertight and the contents cool. The small mouth and lip are not suitable for drinking directly from, but this vessel could have been used in conjunction with drinking straws as a communal jar.
Jeremy Coote and Rachael Sparks 3/8/2005.
Purchased by Patti Langton at Dhangrial, Wun Rog or Mayen for £1 on 25th February 1979 as part of the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition to the Southern Sudan. At the time this object was collected, the Bahr el Ghazal province was bordered by the Upper Nile Province to the east and Western Equatoria to the south; this area is now divided into the districts of Western Bahr el Ghazal, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, and parts of Warab and El Buheyrat. Dhangrial, Wun Rog and Mayen lie within 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.
Langton gave the local term for this vessel as acoop, but this is probably an error for acop, which Nebel defines as a ‘pot with a narrow opening’ (Nebel 1979, Dinka-English Dictionary, p. 4). Coating the exterior with dung may have helped keep the vessel watertight and the contents cool. The small mouth and lip are not suitable for drinking directly from, but this vessel could have been used in conjunction with drinking straws as a communal jar.
Jeremy Coote and Rachael Sparks 3/8/2005.
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.
[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! [p.
201] 1979.20.113 Pot,
acoop
, for drinking beer.
Red ware; roulette decoration.
Covered with dung.
H = ca.
31 cm.; Diam.
mouth = 11 cm.
Coll.
25.2.79; £1.
Coll.
no.
289.
Additional Accession Book Entry [below accession number in red biro] - A5-F34-14.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 5/4/2004].
Written on object - 289 [white chalk, inside vessel]; S. SUDAN DINKA P. Langton coll., 289. 1979.20.113 [black ink, inside rim; RTS 3/8/2005].
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].
Additional Accession Book Entry [below accession number in red biro] - A5-F34-14.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 5/4/2004].
Written on object - 289 [white chalk, inside vessel]; S. SUDAN DINKA P. Langton coll., 289. 1979.20.113 [black ink, inside rim; RTS 3/8/2005].
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].
