Southern Larim shield
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1979.20.180
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan] Eastern Equatoria Loryok
Cultural Group:
Southern Larim
Date Made:
By March 1979
Materials:
Giraffe Skin Animal , Wood Plant , Plant Fibre
Process:
Carved , Incised , Plaited Tied , Bound , Stitched Twisted , Repaired (local)
Dimensions:
Strut L = 595, W = 18.8, th = 5; body L = 500, W = 220, th = 6.6 at edges; guard plate W = 70; side handle L = 130, W = 18, th = 5; thong stitching W = 6 mm [RTS 16/9/2005].
Weight:
>1000 g
Local Name:
kilip chidoro?
Other Owners:
Purchased by Jill Goudie for £2 from the base camp at Loryok for the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition to the Southern Sudan, headed by Patti Langton, between 20th and 25th March 1979 [RTS 12/5/2004].
Field Collector:
Jill Goudie
PRM Source:
Patti Langton
Acquired:
Purchased 1979
Collected Date:
20 - 25 March 1979
Description:
Small shield formed from a thick rectangular piece of reddish brown giraffe skin (Pantone 732C), with long, straight sides and a slightly concave upper and lower edge that flares out to form projecting horns at each corner
,
with a short triangular tab of hide bent inwards from the centre of the base.
A deep line has been cut just inside the edges, as a decorative frame.
The front of the shield is irregularly concave across its width, and convex along its length.
It has a raised, rounded rib running down the centre, where the hide has been pushed up from its underside.
This is flanked by large stitches on either side, made from narrow hide thongs, doubled up, and arranged as single pairs of stitches at top and bottom, with 2 double pairs at the centre.
The lowest pair of stitches has been made from a twisted yellow grass cord, rather than hide, and is probably a repair (Pantone 7508C).
These hold a wooden strut running down the back of the shield in place.
This has been carved from a single piece of yellowish brown wood (Pantone 7508C), and has a lentoid-shaped section for most of its length, becoming more oval at its base.
It extends just above the top of the shield body, and further beyond its base.
Towards the centre, it has been bent outwards to form a hand grip, with a thick, lentoid-shaped piece of dark brown hide fitted beneath this section to protect the knuckles (Pantone Black 7C).
It rests on two short pieces of similar hide, and has a narrow strap extending out from one side.
Originally both ends of this would have fitted beneath the lentoid piece, but one looks to have been broken in the past, then mended by piercing the broken end and tying it to a thong that passed around the strut.
The grip protector and hide handle are otherwise held in place by the same hide thongs that are visible as stitches on the front of the shield.
The wooden strut has been bound round with narrow hide strips, in addition to the thongs that hold it in place; these have been plaited together to form a raised ridge that runs along the wood in 3 separate sections; this binding does not cover the actual handle area or those parts of the wood that extend beyond the shield body.
There is a small loop at the ends of two of the plaited ridges, perhaps intended to fasten some kind of suspension loop, now missing.
The shield is nearly complete, but damaged.
There are some cut marks on the front of the body, and a tear in the lower corner; the hide has become stressed and the surface is beginning to flake in some areas.
The handle has cracked across its centre, and some of the hide binding strips are missing just below.
It has a weight in excess of 1000 grams.
The body is 500 mm long, 220 mm wide and 6.6 mm thick; the wooden strut is 595 mm long, 18.8 mm wide and 5 mm thick; the handle guard plate is 70 mm wide, and the side handle is 130 mm long, 18 mm wide and 5 mm thick.
The thong stitching has a width of 6 mm.
Purchased by Jill Goudie at Loryok for £2, sometime between 20th and 25th March 1979, as part of the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition to the Southern Sudan, directed by Patti Langton.
This shield was used for fighting or dancing; attaching a ball of feathers such as ostrich would turn it into the latter. For a similar Southern Larim shield collected in the same period, and costing £1.50, see 1979.20.146; that example is made of buffalo skin and was used for fighting; it is called kilip chidoro in Larim . This style of rectangular hide shield is also found amongst other cultural groups in southern Sudan and northern Uganda, including the Toposa (1939.7.120), Turkana, Suk, Didinga, Lango and Acholi (1952.5.10); see M. Trowell & K.P. Wachsmann, 1953, Tribal Crafts of Uganda, pp 229-230 and pl. 58.A1-2 and B1-2, and J.H. Driberg, 1923, The Lango, pp 81-82, both of whom describe how these shields were made. Amongst both the Acholi and the Lango, both authors suggest that balls of feathers would be added to the base of the shield prior to battle. Driberg tells us that Lango men usually made their own shields (op.cit., 82). The Acholi and Lango versions tend to be larger than those used by the Toposa, Didinga, Turkana and Larim, who tend to use them as parry shields in close combat (C. Spring, 1993, African Arms and Armour, p. 121; J. Mack, 1982, "Material Culture and Ethnic Identity in Southeastern Sudan, in J. Mack & P. Robertshaw (eds), Culture History in the Southern Sudan, p. 116 and fig. 2).
Rachael Sparks 16/9/2005.
Purchased by Jill Goudie at Loryok for £2, sometime between 20th and 25th March 1979, as part of the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition to the Southern Sudan, directed by Patti Langton.
This shield was used for fighting or dancing; attaching a ball of feathers such as ostrich would turn it into the latter. For a similar Southern Larim shield collected in the same period, and costing £1.50, see 1979.20.146; that example is made of buffalo skin and was used for fighting; it is called kilip chidoro in Larim . This style of rectangular hide shield is also found amongst other cultural groups in southern Sudan and northern Uganda, including the Toposa (1939.7.120), Turkana, Suk, Didinga, Lango and Acholi (1952.5.10); see M. Trowell & K.P. Wachsmann, 1953, Tribal Crafts of Uganda, pp 229-230 and pl. 58.A1-2 and B1-2, and J.H. Driberg, 1923, The Lango, pp 81-82, both of whom describe how these shields were made. Amongst both the Acholi and the Lango, both authors suggest that balls of feathers would be added to the base of the shield prior to battle. Driberg tells us that Lango men usually made their own shields (op.cit., 82). The Acholi and Lango versions tend to be larger than those used by the Toposa, Didinga, Turkana and Larim, who tend to use them as parry shields in close combat (C. Spring, 1993, African Arms and Armour, p. 121; J. Mack, 1982, "Material Culture and Ethnic Identity in Southeastern Sudan, in J. Mack & P. Robertshaw (eds), Culture History in the Southern Sudan, p. 116 and fig. 2).
Rachael Sparks 16/9/2005.
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 alootment of the collection do not appear on her list and have been added here.
See Related Documents file as well.
[p.
204] 1979.20.136 - 193 SOUTHERN SUDAN the LARIM The Larim live about 50 miles west of Kapoeta in the eastern corner of S.
Sudan.
They are a non-Nilotic pastoral people, living in permanent mountain villages.
They are part of the Didinga-Longarim-Murle language group.
They live in the Boya Hills - Boya is the Topasa (neighbouring group) name for the Larim, which is also used by the Administration.
Longarim is the Didinga's name for them but they call themselves the Larim, and that is used here.
[p.
205] The LARIM The collection was made in two parts.
The "PL" labelled material was collected during Pat Langton's stay in a village in the Northern Larim area.
The "∆" labelled material was collected by Jill Goudie, one of the archaeologists on the Expedition, from the base camp LARYOK, among the Southern Larim.
Money is known among the Larim but it is used only for buying beads for women from Kapoeta, or for the few members of the group who would go to Juba.
The women especially were more interested in exchange gifts of salt, cloth & soap.
The Larim material is documented in three parts: a) General Larim pieces - no information as to which section of the Larim it comes from b) the "PL" Collection from the Northern Larim, from three of the eight Northern Larim clans c) the Southern Larim material collected by Jill Goudie, numbered "∆".
[p.
210] 1979.20.163 - 193 SOUTHERN LARIM: Collected by Jill Goudie between 20.3 and 25.3.79 [p.
212] 1979.20.180 Dance and fighting shield of giraffe skin.
The stick at the base is for attaching feathers, usually ostrich, making it a dance shield.
L = 59.5 cm.; Inside W.
= 23 cm.
Coll.
no.
∆32; cost £2.
Additional Accession Book Entry [below accession number in red biro] - A5-F36-10, 11.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the tribes catalogue card [RTS 26/5/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - SOUTHERN SUDAN, SOUTHERN LARIM. Dance and fighting shield. P. Langton coll., no. 32 [in triangle], 1979.20.180 [plastic label with metal eyelet, tied to object; RTS 16/9/2005].
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. This item appears in Langton's list under the heading 'Southern Larim. These were all collected between 20.3.79 and 25.3.79' [RTS 12/1/2004].
Additional Accession Book Entry [below accession number in red biro] - A5-F36-10, 11.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the tribes catalogue card [RTS 26/5/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - SOUTHERN SUDAN, SOUTHERN LARIM. Dance and fighting shield. P. Langton coll., no. 32 [in triangle], 1979.20.180 [plastic label with metal eyelet, tied to object; RTS 16/9/2005].
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. This item appears in Langton's list under the heading 'Southern Larim. These were all collected between 20.3.79 and 25.3.79' [RTS 12/1/2004].
