Bongo club
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1884.12.9
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan] [White Nile]
Cultural Group:
Bongo
Date Made:
?Before 1858
Materials:
Wood Plant
Process:
Carved , Stained , Polished
Dimensions:
L = 692; head top diam = 63.5 x 62; spiked area L = 123.7, max diam = 81.3 x 79.5; handle top diam = 37.5 x 36.5 mm [RTS 13/5/2005].
Weight:
533.3 g
Other Owners:
Collected by Petherick between 1856 and 1858, and shipped back to England in 1859. Illustrated by Wood in his 1868 book, at which time it is said to have already been in Pitt Rivers' collection; Pitt Rivers may have obtained the object via auction, as Pet
Field Collector:
John Petherick
PRM Source:
Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers founding collection
Acquired:
Donated 1884
Collected Date:
1856 - 1858
Description:
Club carved from a single piece of wood and consisting of a conical top with slightly convex upper surface and sides tapering in to the main area of the head, which has been elaborately carved into a series of spikes, arranged in 5 rows of 7 spikes each around the circumference.
Each spike is flat sided and tapers to a point at the end.
There is a broad flat collar carved around the handle below, which is then slightly recessed and tapers to a blunt end.
The wood appears to be a light orangey brown colour (Pantone 729C), the outer surface of which has been stained orangey to dark reddish brown (Pantone 476C, 4635C and black 4C depending on intensity of colour).
The club is nearly complete, but has areas of damage around the head.
The tips of individual spikes are lost from 2 faces, while a third face has more severe damage that includes the almost complete loss of 3 spikes and the tips of 2 others.
There is also a chip missing from the top of the head.
This chip and 1 broken spike are fresh breaks that show the colour of the wood beneath, while the other damage is older and the broken surfaces have been re-stained.
The club has a weight of 533.3 grams and is 692 mm long; the conical top has a diameter of 63.5 by 62 mm; the spiked area is 123.7 mm long, with a maximum diameter of 81.3 by 79.5 mm; the collared top of the handle is 37.5 mm wide and 36.5 mm thick.
John Petherick led three separate trading expeditions that passed through Bongo territory between 1856 and 1858, during which time he collected this object from the Bongo. See Petherick 1861, Egypt, The Sudan and Central Africa for more details. This material was shipped back to England in 1859. It was illustrated by Wood in his 1868 book (J.G. Wood, 1868, The Natural History of Man, 524) , at which time it is said to have already been in Pitt Rivers' collection; Pitt Rivers probably obtained it at the auction of Petherick’s collection, conducted through Mr Bullock of High Holborn, London, on 27th June 1862 (see the Catalogue of the very interesting collection of arms and implements of war, husbandry, and the chase, and articles of costume and domestic use, procured during several expeditions up the White Nile, Bahr-il-Gazal, and among the various tribes of the country, to the cannibal Neam Nam territory on the Equator, by John Petherick, Esq., H.M. Consul, Khartoum, Soudan ). This auction included some 30 clubs, of which 7 were said to be Bongo. Pitt Rivers sent this object to Bethnal Green Museum for display, as part of the first batch of objects sent there, probably in 1874. It was later displayed in the South Kensington Museum, and transferred from there to become part of the founding collection of the Pitt Rivers Museum in 1884.
Although Wood implies in his text that this is a Dinka club, this contradicts the evidence from Petherick’s own publications. It is illustrated as a line drawing in J. Petherick, 1861, 'On the arms of the Arab and Negro tribes of Central Africa, bordering on the White Nile', Journal of the Royal United Service Institution IV no 13, p. 176 no. 15, right; J. & K. Petherick, 1869, Travels in Central Africa, p. 227 (top part of plate; text p. 226 implies they should be attributed to the 'Dor', e.g.: the Bongo), and on page 13 of Petherick's unpublished sketchbook, now in the Wellcome Library (also with page caption 'Dor'; see Wellcome MS 5789, 78233). The club also appears in Pitt Rivers’ 1874 catalogue, pl. IV no. 39.
Petherick describes Bongo clubs as follows: “The favourite weapon of the Dor is the bow and arrow, with which they use three or four fearfully barbed spears, and clubs ... not required to ward off the lance, for which purpose the bow suffices, but [which] are used sometimes to cast, and invariably to inflict a blow wherewith to crush the skull of a fallen enemy” (J. Petherick, 1861, 'On the arms of the Arab and Negro tribes of Central Africa, bordering on the White Nile', Journal of the Royal United Service Institution IV no 13, p. 174 ff).
A similar form is illustrated by Boccassino and attributed to the Bor (Museum für Völkerkunde, Vienna, accession no. 45410; R. Boccassino 1906, 'Contributo allo studio dell'ergologia delle popolazioni nilotiche e Nilo-camitiche', Annali lateranensi XXIV, fig. 65). See also 1884.12.10.
Rachael Sparks 30/9/2005.
John Petherick led three separate trading expeditions that passed through Bongo territory between 1856 and 1858, during which time he collected this object from the Bongo. See Petherick 1861, Egypt, The Sudan and Central Africa for more details. This material was shipped back to England in 1859. It was illustrated by Wood in his 1868 book (J.G. Wood, 1868, The Natural History of Man, 524) , at which time it is said to have already been in Pitt Rivers' collection; Pitt Rivers probably obtained it at the auction of Petherick’s collection, conducted through Mr Bullock of High Holborn, London, on 27th June 1862 (see the Catalogue of the very interesting collection of arms and implements of war, husbandry, and the chase, and articles of costume and domestic use, procured during several expeditions up the White Nile, Bahr-il-Gazal, and among the various tribes of the country, to the cannibal Neam Nam territory on the Equator, by John Petherick, Esq., H.M. Consul, Khartoum, Soudan ). This auction included some 30 clubs, of which 7 were said to be Bongo. Pitt Rivers sent this object to Bethnal Green Museum for display, as part of the first batch of objects sent there, probably in 1874. It was later displayed in the South Kensington Museum, and transferred from there to become part of the founding collection of the Pitt Rivers Museum in 1884.
Although Wood implies in his text that this is a Dinka club, this contradicts the evidence from Petherick’s own publications. It is illustrated as a line drawing in J. Petherick, 1861, 'On the arms of the Arab and Negro tribes of Central Africa, bordering on the White Nile', Journal of the Royal United Service Institution IV no 13, p. 176 no. 15, right; J. & K. Petherick, 1869, Travels in Central Africa, p. 227 (top part of plate; text p. 226 implies they should be attributed to the 'Dor', e.g.: the Bongo), and on page 13 of Petherick's unpublished sketchbook, now in the Wellcome Library (also with page caption 'Dor'; see Wellcome MS 5789, 78233). The club also appears in Pitt Rivers’ 1874 catalogue, pl. IV no. 39.
Petherick describes Bongo clubs as follows: “The favourite weapon of the Dor is the bow and arrow, with which they use three or four fearfully barbed spears, and clubs ... not required to ward off the lance, for which purpose the bow suffices, but [which] are used sometimes to cast, and invariably to inflict a blow wherewith to crush the skull of a fallen enemy” (J. Petherick, 1861, 'On the arms of the Arab and Negro tribes of Central Africa, bordering on the White Nile', Journal of the Royal United Service Institution IV no 13, p. 174 ff).
A similar form is illustrated by Boccassino and attributed to the Bor (Museum für Völkerkunde, Vienna, accession no. 45410; R. Boccassino 1906, 'Contributo allo studio dell'ergologia delle popolazioni nilotiche e Nilo-camitiche', Annali lateranensi XXIV, fig. 65). See also 1884.12.10.
Rachael Sparks 30/9/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Accession Book IV entry
[p.
15]
-
[insert] 3-figure numbers are P.R.
printed catalogue of weapons numbers [end insert] [insert] 1884.12 [end insert]
WEAPONS CLUBS
[insert] 9 [end insert] - 406 - Club [insert symbol] Wood unless otherwise stated [end insert] with expanded funnel-shaped
head
end, with seven rows of 5 carved spikes below it.
DOR, C.
AFRICA.
Petherick coll.
Collectors Miscellaneous XI Accession Book entry [p. 193] - PETHERICK, Consul [p. 195] [insert] 1884.12.9 [end insert] - [ditto marks] [Club with] funnel-shaped head with rows of long carved out spikes. DOR [ditto marks = C[ENTRAL]. AFRICA]. (PR 406). [p. 197] [insert] BONGO is tribe's name for itself. They are called DOR by neighbours [end insert, by BB].
Black book entry [p. 16] - 361-2. Clubs, mace headed with rows of wooden spikes; same form as 358 to -60 [1884.12.47 - 49]. Dor tribe, C. Africa. Obtd by Consul Petherick. [insert] 1884.12.9 & 10 [end insert].
Delivery Catalogue I entry [p. 121] - Maces and clubs from various countries [p. 122] [insert] 1884.12.9 [end insert] [ditto marks = Club, wood] spiked head. 406. Screen 13, 178 & 179.
Pitt Rivers Catalogue Entry (1874) [p. 66] - Clubs with rows of spikes down the sides of the thick ends are used in Australia, Nos 408, 409, 410 [1884.12.47-9] Fig. 48 and correspond very closely to those from the White Nile obtained by Mr Petherick, Nos 406 [1884.12.9] and 407 [1884.12.10] Fig. 49. [p. 76] SCREEN 13 [...] 406, 407. Mace headed CLUBS with rows of wooden spikes along the sides of the head. Dor Tribe, White Nile. Obtained by Consul Petherick. Fig. 49.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the tribes catalogue card; the clubs card adds the collection date of 1858 [RTS 7/4/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - AFRICA, Sudan. BONGO tribe. Wooden club with spiked head, coll. John Petherick. PITT RIVERS founding coll. 1884.12.9 [plastic coated label, tied to object; RTS 13/5/2005].
Written on object - DOR. C. AFRICA. Petherick coll. R.R. Coll... (406) [RTS 6/4/2005].
Collectors Miscellaneous XI Accession Book entry [p. 193] - PETHERICK, Consul [p. 195] [insert] 1884.12.9 [end insert] - [ditto marks] [Club with] funnel-shaped head with rows of long carved out spikes. DOR [ditto marks = C[ENTRAL]. AFRICA]. (PR 406). [p. 197] [insert] BONGO is tribe's name for itself. They are called DOR by neighbours [end insert, by BB].
Black book entry [p. 16] - 361-2. Clubs, mace headed with rows of wooden spikes; same form as 358 to -60 [1884.12.47 - 49]. Dor tribe, C. Africa. Obtd by Consul Petherick. [insert] 1884.12.9 & 10 [end insert].
Delivery Catalogue I entry [p. 121] - Maces and clubs from various countries [p. 122] [insert] 1884.12.9 [end insert] [ditto marks = Club, wood] spiked head. 406. Screen 13, 178 & 179.
Pitt Rivers Catalogue Entry (1874) [p. 66] - Clubs with rows of spikes down the sides of the thick ends are used in Australia, Nos 408, 409, 410 [1884.12.47-9] Fig. 48 and correspond very closely to those from the White Nile obtained by Mr Petherick, Nos 406 [1884.12.9] and 407 [1884.12.10] Fig. 49. [p. 76] SCREEN 13 [...] 406, 407. Mace headed CLUBS with rows of wooden spikes along the sides of the head. Dor Tribe, White Nile. Obtained by Consul Petherick. Fig. 49.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the tribes catalogue card; the clubs card adds the collection date of 1858 [RTS 7/4/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - AFRICA, Sudan. BONGO tribe. Wooden club with spiked head, coll. John Petherick. PITT RIVERS founding coll. 1884.12.9 [plastic coated label, tied to object; RTS 13/5/2005].
Written on object - DOR. C. AFRICA. Petherick coll. R.R. Coll... (406) [RTS 6/4/2005].
Display History:
Displayed in Bethnal Green and South Kensington Museum (V&A).
[AP]
Publication History:
Illustrated as a line drawing in J.
Petherick, 1861, 'On the arms of the Arab and Negro tribes of Central Africa, bordering on the White Nile', Journal of the Royal United Service Institution IV no 13, p.
176 no.
15, right; J.
& K.
Petherick, 1869, Travels in Central Africa, p.
227 (top part of plate; text p.
226 implies they should be attributed to the 'Dor', e.g.: the Bongo), and on page 13 of Petherick's unpublished sketchbook, now in the Wellcome Library (also with page caption 'Dor'; see Wellcome MS 5789, 78233); J.G.
Wood, 1868, The Natural History of Man, p.
525 (right, where his text implies the clubs were attributed to the Dinka); also Pitt Rivers 1874 catalogue, pl.
IV no.
39 [RTS 13/5/2005].
