Dinka Tuich shield
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1979.20.84
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan] Northern Bahr el Ghazal ?Dhangrial ?Wun Rog ?Mayen
Cultural Group:
Dinka Tuich
Date Made:
By 1979
Materials:
Animal Skin , Wood Plant , Textile , Plant Nut
Process:
Dried , Perforated , Carved , Stitched , Knotted Recycled , Repaired (local) ?
Dimensions:
L pole = 1240, diam pole = 30 x 31; suspension loop L = 410, W = 10; shield body L = 1010, W = 414, th = 5.7; dom nut L = 85 mm [RTS 3/8/2005].
Weight:
> 1000 g
Local Name:
kot
Other Owners:
Purchased by Patti Langton for £2.50 on 20th 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:
20 February 1979
Description:
Shield made from a large piece of dark brown hide (Pantone Warm Grey 11C), cut with a broad, curved top and a body that tapers to a point at the base, giving it a sub-triangular form.
The body has been pushed outwards near the centre to form a raised boss, with a row of hide stitching visible on its outer edge and a patch formed from an irregularly shaped piece of light coloured animal hide (Pantone 7401C) with buff coloured hair stitched over the top of this using a piece of yellow hide thong and large running stitches.
Several pairs of slits have been cut in a row down the central axis, allowing 22 loops to be pulled out from the underside to hold a wooden shaft in place, carved from a single piece of wood with a dark brown surface (Pantone 7532C).
This pole provides both support for the hide and a handle, with the grip area lying directly below the hollow boss so the hand would normally be able to close comfortably around the wood.
However, in this instance, the hollow has been filled with a hard, fibrous pale yellow dom nut (Pantone 7508C), making it impossible to hold the shield properly.
It may be that the buff coloured hide 'patch' sewn over the shield boss was added as a repair, and that the dom nut was placed beneath it at the time to allow the patch to be moulded to the correct shape - but that the maker then discovered that the nut was too tightly in place to be removed.
There is a further anomaly in the way the loops fit around the shaft; these would normally be fitted while the skin was wet, so that the loops would tighten securely in place as they dried.
In this instance, the wooden pole is smaller than the loops, and narrow pieces of hide have been slotted along either side of the shaft, presumably to tighten them, using a total of 8 strips in all.
This could also represent a local repair, perhaps including a replacement shaft for the original.
A strip of reused red cloth has been tied around the central part of the handle as a suspension loop (Pantone 1805C).
One further feature is a row of 8 holes that extends across the bottom corner of the shield, with remains of hide thong stitches partially threaded through them.
The shield is complete, but has some damage. The red suspension loop has torn, while the wooden pole has split very badly down its length, and has 2 wire drawn nails hammered into the crack at the top. A similar nail has also been hammered into one of the hide loops just above this, with several further nail holes visible over different parts of the body, not all of which completely pierce the hide. They have no obvious function and it is not clear why they were added. The shield has a weight in excess of 1000 grams, and a total length of 1240 mm. The pole has a diameter at its top of 30 by 31 mm; the suspension loop is 410 mm long with a compressed width of 10 mm; the shield body is 1010 mm long, 414 mm wide across the broad upper part, and 5.7 mm thick at its edge; the dom nut is around 85 mm long.
Purchased by Patti Langton on 20th February 1979 for £2.50, as part of the British Institute in East Africa's expedition to the southern Sudan. The place of collection was not specified, but would have been either Dhangrial, Wun Rog or Mayen, all of which like in 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 shield is called kot, a term that Nebel defines as: Kot, pl. koot, a ‘shield (of hide)’ (Nebel 1979, Dinka-English Dictionary, p. 185). It was used for fighting. In this example, the hide is probably buffalo. Koot are made by soaking the hide in water, then threading the pole through the centre and pegging the hide out to dry. As the hide shrinks, the pole becomes firmly attached. The edges could then be trimmed to shape. For photographs showing this process, see J. Ryle, 1982, Warriors of the White Nile, the Dinka, p. 49. According to Domville Fife, the Dinka used a range of materials for their shields, including crocodile, hippopotamus, elephant or buffalo hide (C.W. Domville Fife, 1927, Savage Life in the Black Sudan, p. 129). Langton also mentions the use of giraffe.
Rachael Sparks 25/9/2005.
The shield is complete, but has some damage. The red suspension loop has torn, while the wooden pole has split very badly down its length, and has 2 wire drawn nails hammered into the crack at the top. A similar nail has also been hammered into one of the hide loops just above this, with several further nail holes visible over different parts of the body, not all of which completely pierce the hide. They have no obvious function and it is not clear why they were added. The shield has a weight in excess of 1000 grams, and a total length of 1240 mm. The pole has a diameter at its top of 30 by 31 mm; the suspension loop is 410 mm long with a compressed width of 10 mm; the shield body is 1010 mm long, 414 mm wide across the broad upper part, and 5.7 mm thick at its edge; the dom nut is around 85 mm long.
Purchased by Patti Langton on 20th February 1979 for £2.50, as part of the British Institute in East Africa's expedition to the southern Sudan. The place of collection was not specified, but would have been either Dhangrial, Wun Rog or Mayen, all of which like in 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 shield is called kot, a term that Nebel defines as: Kot, pl. koot, a ‘shield (of hide)’ (Nebel 1979, Dinka-English Dictionary, p. 185). It was used for fighting. In this example, the hide is probably buffalo. Koot are made by soaking the hide in water, then threading the pole through the centre and pegging the hide out to dry. As the hide shrinks, the pole becomes firmly attached. The edges could then be trimmed to shape. For photographs showing this process, see J. Ryle, 1982, Warriors of the White Nile, the Dinka, p. 49. According to Domville Fife, the Dinka used a range of materials for their shields, including crocodile, hippopotamus, elephant or buffalo hide (C.W. Domville Fife, 1927, Savage Life in the Black Sudan, p. 129). Langton also mentions the use of giraffe.
Rachael Sparks 25/9/2005.
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 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 [insert] (the collectors) [end insert] were offering money, the Dinka in surrounding compounds came daily, increasing prices as often as they could! [p.
197] 1979.20.84 Shield,
kot
, used for fighting.
Made by wetting the animal skin, then threading the pole through.
When the skin dries the pole is firmly attached, and the spaces make ideal grips.
Shields are made from buffalo, giraffe, hippo and crocodile - no information as to which this is.
L = 1.24 M.
Coll.
20.2.79; £2.50.
Coll.
no.
195.
Additional Accession Book Entry [below accession number in red biro] - A5-F34-10, 11.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 6/4/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - S. SUDAN. DINKA TUICH. Shield, kot . Pat Langton Coll., no. 195. 1979.20.84 [plastic label with metal eyelet, tied to object; 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-F34-10, 11.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 6/4/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - S. SUDAN. DINKA TUICH. Shield, kot . Pat Langton Coll., no. 195. 1979.20.84 [plastic label with metal eyelet, tied to object; 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].
