Anuak hat

Other views of this artifact:

Accession Number:

1936.10.68

Country:

Sudan

Region:

[Southern Sudan]

Cultural Group:

Anywaa [Anuak]

Date Made:

By 1936

Materials:

Animal Hide Skin , Animal Leather Skin? , Plant Fibre

Process:

Basketry , Coiled , Woven , Bound , Perforated , Knotted

Dimensions:

Ht = 162, diam crown = 28, internal diam hole at crown = 10, W base = 185, L base to peak = 245, internal W base = 153, W chin strap = 10 mm [RTS 7/2/2005].

Weight:

462.5 g

Local Name:

kopi

Other Owners:

Presumably collected by Evans-Pritchard during his period of fieldwork amongst the Anuak between early March and May 1935 [RTS 18/6/2004].

Field Collector:

Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard

PRM Source:

Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard

Acquired:

Donated 1936

Collected Date:

March - May 1935

Description:

Basketry hat consisting of a conical body with a narrow circular opening at the top, overstitched with a narrow strip of hide or leather to form a neatly bound edge; this is a dark brown colour (Pantone Black 7C) and one end of this strip hangs down one side. This may have been used to mount some kind of plumes, which have not survived. The body itself has been made of a plant fibre coil, wound into a continuos spiral that gradually expands in width towards the base of the hat. This core has been covered with thick strips of an orangey brown fibre (Pantone 730C), that runs down the surface as a series of interwoven plaits, tightly linked to one another and creating a very thick, hard surface. The lower edge of the hat has been thickened by binding strips of hide or leather tightly around it; this has been stained red in places (Pantone 4695C). One side of this edge has been pulled out from the body and shaped to curve upwards, forming a peaked brim. A narrow strip of hide has been knotted, and then pushed through holes in either side of the base of the hat to create a chin or neck strap, with one end left loose for adjusting as required. There appears to be a second hole adjacent to the fixed end, perhaps representing slightly different placement of this strap at some time in the past. The object is complete and in good condition. It has a weight of 462.5 grams, and is 162 mm high. The diameter of the crown is 28 mm, with a hole diameter of 10 mm; the base measures 245 by 185 mm, with an internal width of 153 mm, while the chin strap is 10 mm wide.

Collected by E.E. Evans-Pritchard during his fieldwork amongst the Anuak, which took place between early March and May 1935 (E.E. Evans-Pritchard, 1940, The Political System of the Anuak of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, p. 3).

This type of hat is called kopi, and is worn by only a few of the Anuak. It is a style that has been borrowed from the Ojan people. The Ojän people have not yet been located; there is a town called Oghin in Ethiopia near the Sudanese border (Lat. 7.35.30 N, Long. 33.56.39E) that may possibly be connected to them.

Rachael Sparks 25/9/2005.

Primary Documentation:

Accession Book Entry [p. 410] - 1936 [insert] 10 [end insert] E. EVANS-PRITCHARD, M.A., Exeter College, Oxford. - Specimens collected by himself in the EASTERN SUDAN, while travelling with a Grant from the Rockefeller Leverhulme Trustees, viz: [p. 416] [insert] 68 [end insert] - Kopi , stout, helmet-like hat of coiled and imbricated basketry, rim upturned at one end. Type borrowed from the OJAN people. ANUAK (Only a few Anuaks wear these).
Additional Accession Book Entry [p. 415] - 1936.10.68 number given.

Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 30/1/2004].

Old Pitt Rivers Museum label - Kopi , hat of type borrowed from OJÄN people. ANUAK, E. SUDAN. (Only a few wear it). d.d. E. Evans-Pritchard, 1936 [rectangular metal-edged tag, tied to object; RTS 7/2/2005].