Lau Nuer fly whisk
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1928.67.2
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan] [Upper Nile Province]
Cultural Group:
Lau Nuer
Date Made:
By 1928
Materials:
Ostrich Feather Bird , Animal Hide Skin
Process:
Bound
Dimensions:
Max L = 506 mm Max L [handle] = 168 mm Max W [handle] = 43.5 mm Max th [handle] = 42 mm Max W [feathered end] = 160 mm [RTS 12/11/2004].
Weight:
210.4 g
Other Owners:
Captured from prophet Car Koryom (a.k.a. Char Koryom or Char Koriom) of the Lau Nuer between 11th and 19th February 1928 by Percy Coriat (possibly at a place called Pading); lent to the PRM by Charles Armine Willis in November 1928 [RTS 20/7/2004].
Field Collector:
Charles Armine Willis
PRM Source:
Charles Armine Willis
Acquired:
Loaned November 1928
Collected Date:
Probably between 11th and 19th February 1928 [RTS 28/10/2004].
Description:
Fly whisk made from a group of light yellow to dark grayish brown ostrich feathers of varying size gathered together into a bundle, with the longer feathers arranged on the outside face and the shorter feathers in rows on the inside face, all curving inwards at their tips (Pantone 7508C and Warm Gray 11C).
The lower part of each feather consists of a pale yellow shaft (Pantone 7401C); at their base, these are secured with at least two cut lengths of cylindrical animal tail, one inside the other, fitted over these stems and shrunken in place, forming a stout handle that swells slightly at its centre.
The top section is visible over three quarters of the handle length, while the hide sheath below this is visible only towards the handle end; this tapers in slightly, and has an open, puckered mouth at the end through which the quill ends can be seen.
Both pieces of hide are a dark brown colour (Pantone black 4C) with traces of reddish brown hair over the surface (Pantone 470C).
The fan is essentially complete, although several feathers are damaged, particularly at their tips.
It has a weight of 210.4 grams, and is 506 mm long; the handle section is 168 mm long, 43.5 mm wide and 42 mm thick, while the maximum width of the feathered end is 160 mm.
Captured from the Lau Nuer prophet Car Koryom sometime between 11th and 19th February 1928 by Percy Coriat, possibly at a place called Pading located in Jonglei district, just north east of Mogogh . It was subsequently lent to the Pitt Rivers Museum by Charles Armine Willis in November 1928.
Johnson provides further information on the career of Char Koryom and his eventual capture by the British authorities (see D.H. Johnson, 1994, Nuer Prophets, pp 167-169). He was known as the prophet of Deng, a divinity which was not in favour of warfare. After 1917, Car Koryom dealt directly with the administrators of Mongalla province, and according to Johnson, was 'considered harmless' by the government prior to 1928. From that time, he was seen as a supporter of Guek Ngundeng, another Lau prophet who had come into conflict with the government and whom they were trying to suppress. Car Koryom surrendered to mounted troops that had been sent to his camp on 11th February 1928, and he presented himself to Percy Coriat carrying an ostrich plume fan; Johnson illustrates a photograph of Car under arrest, holding what appears to be this fly whisk, in his figure 7. He escaped from custody at a place called Fadding (probably Pading) around midnight on the 19th February, but the fly whisk appears to have been left behind, along with some other objects, including a headdress, and a staff known as a dang (see 1928.67.1 and 3). Car Koryom remained active until the middle of 1930, when he yielded to family pressure to give himself up to the authorities; he was imprisoned briefly in Malakal, then released, to return to his home where he lived until his death in 1948 (Johnson 1994; P. Coriat, 1993, Governing the Nuer, pp 119-120. See also the papers of Percy Coriot, who was involved in this brief capture, in Rhodes House, Oxford (MSS Afr.s.1684).
Reproduced in black and white on page 8 of The Friends of the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, Newsletter , no. 51 (January 2005), where it illustrates a short piece by R. Sparks, “The Actual Advantages of Virtual Collections: Bringing the Southern Sudan Online”.
Currently on display in the Lower Gallery, case 31A.
Rachael Sparks 26/9/2005.
Captured from the Lau Nuer prophet Car Koryom sometime between 11th and 19th February 1928 by Percy Coriat, possibly at a place called Pading located in Jonglei district, just north east of Mogogh . It was subsequently lent to the Pitt Rivers Museum by Charles Armine Willis in November 1928.
Johnson provides further information on the career of Char Koryom and his eventual capture by the British authorities (see D.H. Johnson, 1994, Nuer Prophets, pp 167-169). He was known as the prophet of Deng, a divinity which was not in favour of warfare. After 1917, Car Koryom dealt directly with the administrators of Mongalla province, and according to Johnson, was 'considered harmless' by the government prior to 1928. From that time, he was seen as a supporter of Guek Ngundeng, another Lau prophet who had come into conflict with the government and whom they were trying to suppress. Car Koryom surrendered to mounted troops that had been sent to his camp on 11th February 1928, and he presented himself to Percy Coriat carrying an ostrich plume fan; Johnson illustrates a photograph of Car under arrest, holding what appears to be this fly whisk, in his figure 7. He escaped from custody at a place called Fadding (probably Pading) around midnight on the 19th February, but the fly whisk appears to have been left behind, along with some other objects, including a headdress, and a staff known as a dang (see 1928.67.1 and 3). Car Koryom remained active until the middle of 1930, when he yielded to family pressure to give himself up to the authorities; he was imprisoned briefly in Malakal, then released, to return to his home where he lived until his death in 1948 (Johnson 1994; P. Coriat, 1993, Governing the Nuer, pp 119-120. See also the papers of Percy Coriot, who was involved in this brief capture, in Rhodes House, Oxford (MSS Afr.s.1684).
Reproduced in black and white on page 8 of The Friends of the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, Newsletter , no. 51 (January 2005), where it illustrates a short piece by R. Sparks, “The Actual Advantages of Virtual Collections: Bringing the Southern Sudan Online”.
Currently on display in the Lower Gallery, case 31A.
Rachael Sparks 26/9/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Accession Book Entry
[Loans II, p.
279] - 1928 [insert] 67 [end insert]
C.
ARMINE WILLIS
Esq, Governor of the Upper Nile Province, Sudan.
Red Lodge, Cold Ash, Newbury, Berks.
Nov.
[insert] 2 [end insert] - Fly-whisk or fan of ostrich-feathers set in a handle of hide [...] [after entry 1928.67.3] The above [1928.67.1-3] were the insignia of a wizard of the LAU NUER tribe (called Char Koryom) & were captured from him about February, 1928.
UPPER NILE PROVINCE.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the tribes catalogue card [RTS 23/7/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum display label [in Related Documents File] - ANGLO-EGYPTIAN SUDAN, UPPER NILE PROVINCE, LAU-NUER TRIBE Fly-whisk or fan of Ostrich feathers ( Struthio camelus ). Property of a wizard-chief, Char koryom . Lent by C.A. Willis, 1928. [LM 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 15/9/2005]
Written on object - Lent C.A. Willis, 1928. ANGLO-EGYPTIAN SUDAN. Fan or flywhisk. LAU NUER tribe, Upper NILE prov. [RTS 12/11/2004].
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the tribes catalogue card [RTS 23/7/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum display label [in Related Documents File] - ANGLO-EGYPTIAN SUDAN, UPPER NILE PROVINCE, LAU-NUER TRIBE Fly-whisk or fan of Ostrich feathers ( Struthio camelus ). Property of a wizard-chief, Char koryom . Lent by C.A. Willis, 1928. [LM 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 15/9/2005]
Written on object - Lent C.A. Willis, 1928. ANGLO-EGYPTIAN SUDAN. Fan or flywhisk. LAU NUER tribe, Upper NILE prov. [RTS 12/11/2004].
Display History:
Current display label - ANGLO-EGYPTIAN SUDAN, UPPER NILE PROVINCE, LAU-NUER TRIBE.
Fly-whisk or fan of ostrich feathers (struthio camelus).
Property of a wizard-chief, Char Koryom.
Lent by C.A.
Willis, 1928 [in case L.31.A, RTS 20/9/2004]. This object was featured in the Museum's in-case text produced during the DCF-funded 'What's Upstairs?' project, 2004–2006.
[BR 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 2/11/2005]
Publication History:
Reproduced in black and white on page 8 of The Friends of the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, Newsletter, no.
51 (January 2005), where it illustrates ‘The Actual Advantages of Virtual Collections: Bringing the Southern Sudan Online’, by Rachael Sparks.
[JC 11/5/2005] This object was featured in the Museum's on-line fact sheet ‘Where do objects in the Pitt Rivers come from?’ produced during the DCF-funded 'What's Upstairs?' project, 2004–2006.
[BR 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 8/11/2005] This object was featured in the Museum’s ‘web gallery’ (‘Selected Objects from the Lower Gallery’) produced during the DCF-funded ‘What’s Upstairs?’ project, 2004–2006, with the following caption: ‘This ostrich-feather object was used for whisking away flies.
It belonged to a Nuer prophet called Car Koryom.
Neither fly whisks nor ostrich feathers were common amongst the Nuer, so the whisk may be seen as a high-status object reflecting the prophet’s importance in Nuer society.
Car was arrested by the British administration in 1928.
Although he made a daring escape, he was forced to leave behind his flywhisk, headdress, and ceremonial staff. ' [BR 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 9/11/2005]
