Northern Larim necklet

Other views of this artifact:

Accession Number:

1979.20.153

Country:

Sudan

Region:

[Southern Sudan] Eastern Equatoria Tiringot Kapoeta

Cultural Group:

Northern Larim

Date Made:

By 1979

Materials:

Plant Fibre , ?Rubber Plant , Glass

Process:

Strung , Twisted , Tied

Dimensions:

L = 463 mm, W = 30.2 mm, L spacer = 30.2 mm, W spacer = 2 mm, Th spacer = 2 mm, Diam bead = 2 mm, Th bead = 1.5 mm [RTS 25/5/2004].

Weight:

46.2

Local Name:

nakoribey giberit

Other Owners:

Purchased by Patti Langton at Tiringot for £4 on 23rd March 1979 as part of the British Institute in East Africa's expedition to the southern Sudan [RTS 15/6/2004].

Field Collector:

Patti Langton

PRM Source:

Patti Langton

Acquired:

Purchased 1979

Collected Date:

23 March 1979

Description:

Necklet made up of twelve strands of twisted plant fibre, strung with numerous small glass ring beads with convex sides, with the strands sewn together at 24 regular intervals along its length. The arrangement of the beads is very consistent, with each strand matching the colour patterns and numbers of the beads in the strand next to it, forming a symmetrical design that repeats a series of colour combinations along the length of the necklace. This is made up of repeating series of 2 red (Pantone 187C), 2 black (Pantone black 3C), 4 white, 2 black, 2 red, 4 yellow (Pantone 101C) and 2 red beads. In addition to the threads that tie the loose strands together at intervals, there are a series of six rectangular spacer beads that run across the full width of the necklace, through which each of the twelve strands passes. These are made of a soft, light greenish gray material, possibly rubber (Pantone 7494C). These spacers help define the design of the beadwork, breaking the necklace into five main sections. The central section, which would have been visible at the front of the neck, contains the multicoloured pattern described above, repeated four times. This is flanked on either side by shorter coloured bead sections, each of which is composed of two rows of green beads (Pantone 367C) flanked by single black, red, white, red, white and red beads on either side. The remaining ends of the necklace have the original multicoloured pattern repeated six times each. There is finally a short section of yellow, black and red beads, with a string tying this part off across the width, then a blue and black bead on a loose strand ending in a knot. At the centre of this end 'fringe', two red beads replace the blue beads. The necklace is largely complete, but both end spacer beads have broken and some of the fringe beads are missing, while the fibre thread which makes up the framework of the necklace trails loose. The cross threads have also broken at two places along the length of the necklace, and parts of two bead strands have been lost; there are also two breaks in the horizontal threads. The necklace is 463 mm long, and 30.2 mm wide. The spacer beads are 30.2 mm long, 2 mm wide and 2 mm thick; the beads are approximately 2 mm in diameter and 1.5 mm thick. It currently weighs 46.2 grams.

Purchased by Patti Langton at Tiringot in the Koyok Clan area for £4 on 23rd March 1979, as part of the British Institute in East Africa's expedition to the southern Sudan.

This necklace was worn by women; it has the generic name of giberit, while the decoration is called nakoribey. The beads used in it are purchased in Kapoeta, some 50 miles away, and are said to be very expensive, costing £1 per 'string'. This is one of the few occasions when the Larim make use of actual money. The beads are threaded by women from the villages.

Similar beads, in white, green, red and black glass also appear on 1979.20.157, which is a Northern Larim ornament for the upper arm, while the red and white beads appear on some Lango ornaments (see 1925.14.11 and 1934.8.95).

Rachael Sparks 8/9/2005.

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 alootment of the collection do not appear on her list and have been added here. See Related Documents file as well. [p. 204] 1979.20.136 - 193 SOUTHERN SUDAN the LARIM The Larim live about 50 miles west of Kapoeta in the eastern corner of S. Sudan. They are a non-Nilotic pastoral people, living in permanent mountain villages. They are part of the Didinga-Longarim-Murle language group. They live in the Boya Hills - Boya is the Topasa (neighbouring group) name for the Larim, which is also used by the Administration. Longarim is the Didinga's name for them but they call themselves the Larim, and that is used here. [p. 205] The LARIM The collection was made in two parts. The "PL" labelled material was collected during Pat Langton's stay in a village in the Northern Larim area. The "∆" labelled material was collected by Jill Goudie, one of the archaeologists on the Expedition, from the base camp LARYOK, among the Southern Larim. Money is known among the Larim but it is used only for buying beads for women from Kapoeta, or for the few members of the group who would go to Juba. The women especially were more interested in exchange gifts of salt, cloth & soap. The Larim material is documented in three parts: a) General Larim pieces - no information as to which section of the Larim it comes from b) the "PL" Collection from the Northern Larim, from three of the eight Northern Larim clans c) the Southern Larim material collected by Jill Goudie, numbered "∆". 1979.20.149 - 154 NORTH LARIM/BOYA; KOYOK CLAN AREA, TIRINGOT VILLAGE; 23-3-79. [p. 208] 1979.20.153 Women's beaded necklace, nakoribey . This name describes the decoration; the generic name for the necklace is giberit . The beads are bought from Kapoeta, 50 miles away, and are very expensive - £1 for a "string" they are threaded by women from the villages. Now broken; L = 46.5 cm. Coll. no. PL 29. Cost £4.
Additional Accession Book Entry [below accession number in red biro] - A5-F35-14.

Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 24/5/2004].

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, 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. This item appears in Langton's list under the heading 'Purchased in Koyok clan area, Tiringot village'. It also appears on a packing list, under 'Box 2. Longarim. [one of] 3 bead ornaments' [RTS 12/1/2004].

Pitt Rivers Museum label - AFRICA, Sudan, Tiringot KOYOK CLAN AREA NORTHERN LARIM Bead necklace, worn by women Purch. P. LANGTON (PL 29) [El.B 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 11/7/2005]