Moru Misa arrow

1979.20.20

Sudan

[Southern Sudan] Western Equatoria ?Lui ?Lanyi

Moru Misa

By 1979

Iron Metal , Wood Plant , Plant Fibre , Resin Plant? , Pigment?

Forged (Metal) , Hammered , Carved , Socketed , Notched , Bound

Total L = 775; arrowhead L = 149, blade L = 50, shoulder W = 20.5, th = 3.2, tang W = 5, th = 4.8; shaft L = 626, diam = 9.3 x 9, nock L = 15, tang binding (total) = 18, upper shaft binding L = 37 and 5, lower binding L = 21 mm [RTS 6/6/2005].

49.8 g

Purchased by Patti Langton on 5th February 1979 with 5 other arrows for a total of £1, as part of the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition to the Southern Sudan [RTS 14/5/2004].

Patti Langton

Patti Langton

Purchased 1979

5 February 1979

Arrow consisting of an iron arrowhead with short triangular blade, thickened down the centre on both sides, and extending at the base of the shoulders to form 2 pointed barbs. This has a long, rectangular sectioned tang with 4 downward pointing barbs chiselled down the sides - as a pair near the top, then as alternating barbs. The tang has been bound round at its base with a 2 strips of plant fibre, before slotting into the socketed top of the shaft. The shaft been carved from a soft, lightweight yellow wood (Pantone 7508C) with slightly oval section. The upper part has been bound round with strips of plant fibre, obscuring junction of tang and shaft, arranged as one broad band and then a narrower band almost immediately below. There is a further section of binding just above a nocked butt with 2 rectangular notches cut into either side. All the bound areas appear to have been smeared with a reddish brown pigment that has partially stained some of the wood (Pantone 4705C), perhaps as a fixative. There is also some burning inside the nock, suggesting it may have been made using a heated knife. The arrow is complete and intact, with some rust on the iron arrowhead and a small hole in the wood that may be the result of insect activity. It has a weight of 19.8 grams and a total length of 775 mm. The section of the arrowhead above the shaft has a length of 149 mm, with the blade being 50 mm long, 20.5 mm wide across its shoulders and 3.2 mm thick at the centre, and the tang having a width of 5 mm and thickness of 4.8 mm. The shaft is 626 mm long, with a body diameter of 9.3 by 9 mm and a nock length of 15 mm; the bound area of the tang is 18 mm long in total, the upper shaft binding is 37 and then 5 mm long, and the lower binding is 21 mm long.

Purchased by Patti Langton on 5th February 1979 with 5 other arrows for a total of £1, as part of the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition to the Southern Sudan; for the other arrows, see 1979.20.16-21. The exact collection place was not specified, but must have been at either Lui or Lanyi.

Langton does not record the Moru name for this type of object. For a similar Moru arrow, collected by Evans-Pritchard, see 1930.86.19.5. The Moru arrows collected by both Langton and Evans-Pritchard share a number of features, including the use of iron heads, often with various types of barbing, the presence of fibre binding fixed with a red adhesive around areas that could split under impact (the junction of arrowhead and shaft, and above the nock); further binding at the base of the tang, probably to prevent impact forcing the arrowhead too deeply into the shaft socket; and finally use of similar types of wood.

Rachael Sparks 29/8/2005.

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. [pp 185 - 186] 1979.20.1 - 42 SOUTHERN SUDAN the MORU MISA The Moru Misa live about 100 miles west of Juba, the capital of the Southern Sudan. Part of the collection was made in Lui, a small town which has had extensive church and missionary activity over the past 50 years (excluding the period of civil war) and which now boasts a church, a hospital and a number of schools. The rest of the Moru Misa collection was made at Lanyi, 15 miles away, where the paramount chief of the area, Chief Elinama, arranged for people to bring artifacts for us to buy. Although money is known to the Moru, its use is limited and the concept of selling belongings is foreign to them. Hence the low prices and the relatively small number of artefacts. The Moru Misa are a geographical section of the Moru people. The Moru practice agriculture for subsistence; they do not keep cattle any longer. [p. 188] 1979.20.16 - 21 Six arrows. Coll. 5.2.79; £1; Coll. no. 64. [1979.20] .20 - Tanged iron point, four barbs. [No feathers.] Total L = 77.5 cm.
Additional Accession Book Entry [in red biro under accession number, for 1979.20.16-21] - A5-F32-22.

Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the tribes catalogue card [RTS 2/6/2004].

Pitt Rivers Museum label - SOUTHERN SUDAN. MORU MISA tribal area. Arrow. Pat Langton Coll., no. 64. 1979.20.20 [plastic label with metal eyelet, tied to object; RTS 3/6/2005].

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].