Acholi funnel

Acholi funnel
Other views of this artifact:


Accession Number:
1998.9.10
Country:
Uganda , [Sudan]
Region:
Masindi District Kibanda County Bweyale [Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement] [Southern Sudan]
Cultural Group:
Acholi?
Date Made:
By 1997
Materials:
Aluminium Metal ? , Tin Metal?
Process:
Recycled , Bent , Soldered
Dimensions:
Ht = 86, mouth diam = 79, base diam = 11 x 9.8, handle L = 29, handle W = 8.3 mm [RTS 16/8/2005].
Weight:
22.0 g
Local Name:
Lapik
Other Owners:
Purchased by Tania Kaiser in Bweyale market in 1997 for 100 Ugandan Shillings; sold to PRM on 19th January 1998
Field Collector:
Tania Kaiser
PRM Source:
Tania Kaiser
Acquired:
Purchased 19 January 1998
Collected Date:
1997
Description:
Funnel made from recycled white metal, probably aluminium or tin (Pantone 420C). This consists of a sheet of metal cut from an oil container, marked on the inside face with 3 parallel red bands and the words "[VEGETABL]E OIL" in the same colour (Pantone 200C). This has been rolled into a conical shape to form the upper part of the funnel, leaving a seam down one side where the edges have been joined, and a circular opening at the base, into which a smaller piece has been rolled into a cylinder, to form the funnel base. The joins where the metal edges overlap have been soldered, with the grey solder clearly visible on the exterior (Pantone ). A narrow strip of metal has been attached to the outer edge of the rim and bent into a vertical loop handle; the lower of this has been squashed into the funnel body, and there is a big patch of solder at its base. The funnel is complete, but the surface of the metal is wearing away and there is some surface rust. It has a weight of 22 grams and is 86 mm high, with a mouth diameter of 79 mm, a base diameter of 11 by 9.8 mm, a handle length of 29 mm and width of 8.3 mm.

Purchased by Tania Kaiser in Bweyale market in 1997 for 100 Ugandan Shillings; sold to Pitt Rivers Museum on 19th January 1998. For details of Kaiser's work, see: T. Kaiser, 1999,
Living in Limbo: Insecurity and the Settlement of Sudanese Refugees in Northern Uganda (Unpublished PhD); T. Kaiser, "Making Do and Making Beautiful: Recycling in an African Refugee Settlement", in: J. Coote, C. Morton and J. Nicholson (eds), Transformations, the Art of Recyclying, 44-47; T. Kaiser, 2000, UNHCR's Withdrawal from Kiryandongo: Anatomy of a Handover , New Issues in Refugee Research Working Paper No. 32, 1, 3.

This funnel is called
lapik by the Acholi, a name which literally means "something for pouring".

Displayed in the exhibition 'Transformations - The Art of Recycling', Pitt Rivers Museum, 25th March 2000 to Easter 2002.

Rachael Sparks 29/8/2005.

Primary Documentation:
Day book entry - 20/1[/98]. D[onation]. MdA. [donor] TANIA KAISER. 1998.9. AFRICA, UGANDA, MASINIDI DISTRICT, KIRYANDONGO REFUGEE SETTLEMENT. Collection of objects collected by donor.

Accession entry - This object was bought for 100 USh in Bweyale market. The local name, lapik, literally means "something for pouring" [CW 9/3/98].

Pitt Rivers Museum label - AFRICA, UGANDA, MASINDI DISTRICT; SUDANESE ACHOLI? Funnel made from recycled metal. Coll. Tania Kaiser, 1997. 1998.9.10 [plastic label with metal eyelet, tied to object; RTS 16/8/2005].

Related Documents File - RDF 1998.9: Acquisition Record, dated 19/1/1998, for 'collection of material from Uganda'. Memo dated 21/1/1998 from Jeremy Coote to Julia Cousins, dated 23/1/1998 regarding enclosed invoice for £150 from Tania Kaiser for 'collection of artefacts from Northern Uganda'. This object appears on an attached list as item 11: "Funnel. Made from recycled metal (Lapik, lit. something for pouring). Bought for 100 U[gandan]S[hillings] in Bweyale market, Kibanda County". This was bought by the PRM for £0.50. There is also a typed document on file, titled "Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement, Masindi District, Uganda. Background to objects collected from a predominantly Sudanese Acholi community in 1997 by Tania Kaiser". The refugee settlement is described as being 14 kms from Kiryandongo town, near Bweyale and Nyakadot. The population is predominantly Acholi, but other groups represented there include Latuko, Madi, Bari and some Zande. There is a small market within the settlement itself, but many people go to the market at nearby Bweyale. A mixture of home produced and manufactured goods are used in the household; plastic jerrycans and basins are ubiquitous, and aluminium saucepans more common than pottery cooking ware. There is a blacksmith's workshop in the settlement, used for making new items when materials are available, otherwise for repairs and modifications [RTS 15/12/2003].

Display History:
Displayed in the exhibition 'Transformations - The Art of Recycling', Pitt Rivers Museum, 25th March 2000 to Easter 2002 [LP 7/6/2000].


 
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