Dinka parrying shield
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1979.20.75
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan] Northern Bahr el Ghazal ?Dhangrial ?Wun Rog ?Mayen
Cultural Group:
Dinka Tuich
Date Made:
By 1979
Materials:
Wood Plant , Animal Hide Skin
Process:
Carved , Hollowed , Stained , Covered
Dimensions:
L = 1440; central grip W = 94.5, th = 85, handle W = 28.7 mm [RTS 1/8/2005].
Weight:
>1000 g
Local Name:
maguang
Other Owners:
Purchased by Brian John Mack (known as John Mack) (then at the Museum of Mankind) for £2 on 19th February 1979 as part of the British Institute in East Africa's expedition to the Southern Sudan, headed by Patti Langton [RTS 14/6/2004].
Field Collector:
Brian John Mack (known as John Mack), Museum of Mankind
PRM Source:
Patti Langton
Acquired:
Purchased 1979
Collected Date:
19 February 1979
Description:
Wooden parrying shield, carved from a single piece of heavy wood,stained a dark brownish-black colour (Pantone Black 7C).
This consists of a narrow body with swollen centre, tapering to a rounded point at either end.
This swollen area represents the handle grip, and has convex sides and back.
It has been hollowed out from its inside face to leave a narrow rectangular handle running across the top of the opening.
The inside face of the handle has slightly convex sides that slope in towards one another to meet at an angle, while the inside wall of the grip opposite is concave to allow room for the knuckles.
This has been covered with a rectangular sheath of dark brown hide with traces of reddish brown hair on the surface (Pantone 476C), with 2 rectangular openings cut into one side, corresponding with the shape of the carved grip.
There are no seams visible, and the sheath must have been cut as a single piece and fitted onto the shield centre when wet, so that it shrunk into place as it dried.
The shield body is round to oval in section, and lacks the groove running along the inside edge seen on many examples of the type.
The object is nearly complete; there has been insect damage at either end and down the surface of the body, and some of the hide handle covering has been lost.
The shield has a weight in excess of 1000 grams, and is 1440 mm long.
The central grip area is 94.5 mm wide and 85 mm thick, while the handle is 28.7 mm wide.
Purchased by Brian John Mack (known as John Mack) in the northern Bahr el Ghazal province, at Dhangrial, Wun Rog or Mayen for £2 on 19th February 1979 as part of the British Institute in East Africa's expedition to the Southern Sudan, headed by Patti Langton. At the time this object was collected, the Bahr el Ghazal province was bordered by the Upper Nile Province to the east and Western Equatoria to the south; this area is now divided into the districts of Western Bahr el Ghazal, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, and parts of Warab and El Buheyrat. Dhangrial, Wun Rog and Mayen lie within 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.
The Dinka Tuich term for this object is said to be maguang, which Nebel defines as ‘wooden shield’ (Nebel 1979, Dinka-English Dictionary, p. 55). It is said to be an old type, formerly used when fighting with sticks.
This object is similar in style to 1936.10.11 (Ngok Dinka), 1931.66.10 and 1934.8.9, 1944.10.20 and 1944.10.21 (Dinka), although the latter has been carved from a much lighter wood. Schweinfurth gives the Dinka name for this type of shield as kuerr / Kwerr (G. Schweinfurth, 1875, Artes Africanae, pl. I figs 13-15, giving the wood species as diospyrus mespiliformis; G. Schweinfurth The Heat of Africa, 1873, vol. 1, p. 156, in anglicised spelling as quayre) . Note that Petherick also illustrated the type, which he associated with the Mundu, a group located between the Dinka and the Zande (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, fig. 16). Although absent in this instance, many shields of this type have a groove carved along the inside face of the shield, probably designed to allow a spear to slot in place, enabling both to be carried together more easily and freeing up the other hand (D. Plasche & M.A. Zirngibl, 1992, African Shields, p. 75).
In the early 1930's, Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton filmed footage of a staged fight between a Dinka and Jur, each armed with a club and heavy parrying shield (Mrs Powell Cotton, "Village Handicrafts in the Sudan", Man 34 (112), pp 90-91). A copy of this film is held in the archives of the Powell-Cotton Museum at Quex Park in Kent.
Rachael Sparks 1/8/2005.
Purchased by Brian John Mack (known as John Mack) in the northern Bahr el Ghazal province, at Dhangrial, Wun Rog or Mayen for £2 on 19th February 1979 as part of the British Institute in East Africa's expedition to the Southern Sudan, headed by Patti Langton. At the time this object was collected, the Bahr el Ghazal province was bordered by the Upper Nile Province to the east and Western Equatoria to the south; this area is now divided into the districts of Western Bahr el Ghazal, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, and parts of Warab and El Buheyrat. Dhangrial, Wun Rog and Mayen lie within 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.
The Dinka Tuich term for this object is said to be maguang, which Nebel defines as ‘wooden shield’ (Nebel 1979, Dinka-English Dictionary, p. 55). It is said to be an old type, formerly used when fighting with sticks.
This object is similar in style to 1936.10.11 (Ngok Dinka), 1931.66.10 and 1934.8.9, 1944.10.20 and 1944.10.21 (Dinka), although the latter has been carved from a much lighter wood. Schweinfurth gives the Dinka name for this type of shield as kuerr / Kwerr (G. Schweinfurth, 1875, Artes Africanae, pl. I figs 13-15, giving the wood species as diospyrus mespiliformis; G. Schweinfurth The Heat of Africa, 1873, vol. 1, p. 156, in anglicised spelling as quayre) . Note that Petherick also illustrated the type, which he associated with the Mundu, a group located between the Dinka and the Zande (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, fig. 16). Although absent in this instance, many shields of this type have a groove carved along the inside face of the shield, probably designed to allow a spear to slot in place, enabling both to be carried together more easily and freeing up the other hand (D. Plasche & M.A. Zirngibl, 1992, African Shields, p. 75).
In the early 1930's, Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton filmed footage of a staged fight between a Dinka and Jur, each armed with a club and heavy parrying shield (Mrs Powell Cotton, "Village Handicrafts in the Sudan", Man 34 (112), pp 90-91). A copy of this film is held in the archives of the Powell-Cotton Museum at Quex Park in Kent.
Rachael Sparks 1/8/2005.
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.
196] 1979.20.75 Shield,
maguang
, to be used when fighting with sticks.
This is an old type no longer used.
L = 1.44 M.
Coll.
by John Mack, 19.2.79; £2.
Coll.
no.
176.
Additional Accession Book Entry [below accession number in red biro] - A5-F34-2.
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, maguang. Pat Langton Coll., no. 176. 1979.20.75 [plastic tag with metal eyelet, tied to object; RTS 1/8/2005].
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-F34-2.
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, maguang. Pat Langton Coll., no. 176. 1979.20.75 [plastic tag with metal eyelet, tied to object; RTS 1/8/2005].
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].
