Zande magic whistle
104 x 78 mm | Print gelatin silver
Condition:
Slight sulphide staining [EE 1989]
Date of Print:
Unknown
Previous PRM Number:
EP.A.282
Previous Other Number:
6 (148) [frame 10]
Accession Number:
1998.341.282.2
Description:
A man (identified as Kamanga, one of Evans-Pritchard's servants) posed blowing a magic whistle (kura).
Such whistles are mostly worn about the body and are used for a variety of purposes, such as to ward off witchcraft.
They are made from plants and horns with magical associations, such as zerengbondo, a type of creeper.
Photographer:
Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard
Date of Photo:
1927 - 1930
Region:
[Southern Sudan] Western Equatoria Yambio
Group:
Zande
NamedPerson:
Kamanga
Publication History:
Contemporary Publication - Reproduced as Plate XIII (facing page 150) in E.
E.
Evans-Pritchard's
Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande
(OUP 1937), with the caption "Kamanga blowing a magic whistle (posed)" [CM 11/8/2005]
PRM Source:
Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard
Acquired:
Donated 1966
Other Owners:
E. E. Evans-Pritchard Collection
Class:
Religion , Music
Keyword:
Musical Instrument Wind
Documentation:
Original catalogue lists in Manuscript Collections. Additional material in related documents files. [CM 27/9/2005]
Primary Documentation:
PRM Accession Records - [1966.27.21] G PROFESSOR E.
E.
EVANS-PRITCHARD; INST.
OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY, 51 BANBURY RD.
OXFORD - S.
SUDAN, AZANDE TRIBE.
Box of negatives in envelopes.
Nos.
1 - 400
Added Accession Book Entry - [In pencil in column] Catalogue room.
[1966.27.23] G PROFESSOR E. E. EVANS-PRITCHARD; INST. OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY, 51 BANBURY RD. OXFORD - S. SUDAN, AZANDE TRIBE. Box of prints in envelopes, nos. 1 - 400 (prints of negatives in 1966.27.21)
Manual Catalogues [typewritten, entitled "Zande Photographs (E-P)"] - 282. Kamanga blowing magic whistle. 6 (148)
Added Accession Book Entry - [In pencil in column] Catalogue room.
[1966.27.23] G PROFESSOR E. E. EVANS-PRITCHARD; INST. OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY, 51 BANBURY RD. OXFORD - S. SUDAN, AZANDE TRIBE. Box of prints in envelopes, nos. 1 - 400 (prints of negatives in 1966.27.21)
Manual Catalogues [typewritten, entitled "Zande Photographs (E-P)"] - 282. Kamanga blowing magic whistle. 6 (148)
Other Information:
Ethnographic context - In Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande (OUP 1937, page 408) E.
E.
Evans-Pritchard gives a set of drawings of different types of whistles and their uses.
On page 447 he states that 'The wood of certain trees is fashioned in the shape of a whistle.
Though the cavity hollowed out at one end is shallow it emits a shrill blast when blown.
Magical whistles are used for many purposes....
Before making a whistle a man ought to observe taboos.
Early in the morning he leaves his homestead without washing his face or rinsing his mouth and cuts the wood and fashions it.
He utters spells when cutting the wood and when boring the cavity at one end.
Whistles are worn around the neck, over the shoulder, at the waist, or on the wrist.
Very powerful whistles are hidden away from the owner's hut, often in the fowl-house or in a hole in a tree.' [CM 11/8/2005]
Recorder:
Christopher Morton 29/10/2003 [Southern Sudan Project]
