Southern Larim arrow

1979.20.185

Sudan

[Southern Sudan] Eastern Equatoria Loryok

Southern Larim

By March 1979

Iron Metal , Wood Plant , Plant Fibre , Pigment , Resin Plant?

Forged (Metal) , Hammered , Socketed , Carved , Notched , Decorated Incised Inlaid Bound

Total L = 1060; arrowhead L = 207, blade L = 54, blade W = 18.8, blade th = 3, socket diam = 9; shaft (visible) L = 853, diam = 8.6, nock L = 2, binding L = 10 mm [RTS 6/6/2005]

76.2 g

Purchased at Loryok with a bow and 3 other arrows for £1, sometime between 20th and 25th March 1979 by Jill Goudie, an archaeologist who was part of the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition to the Southern Sudan, headed by Patti Langton [RTS 1

Jill Goudie

Patti Langton

Purchased 1979

20 - 25 March 1979

Iron arrowhead with short, leaf-shaped blade with angular midrib running down the centre of each side and gently rounded shoulders, on a long solid tang, roughly circular in section and ending in a socketed base with a seam running up one side. This has been fitted onto the top of a shaft carved from a lightweight yellow wood (Pantone 7509C) with a concave notch cut across the end to create a shallow nocked butt. There is a narrow strip of plant fibre binding just above the nock, with traces of reddish brown staining that may be the remains of a fixative (Pantone 4625C). The lower part of the shaft has been decorated with what may be an owner's marking, consisting of 4 regularly spaced bands of incised cross-hatching, inlaid with black pigment, possibly soot or charcoal. Very fine lines mark the ends of each band, but have not been coloured in. The arrow is complete and intact, but has traces of gray paint over the surface. It has a weight of 76.2 grams and a total length of 1060 mm. The arrowhead is 207 mm long, with the blade portion being 54 mm long, 18.8 mm wide and 3 mm thick at the centre, while the socket has a diameter of 9 mm. The visible portion of the shaft is 853 mm long, with a body diameter of 8.6 mm and a nock length of 2 mm; the fibre binding is 10 mm long.

Purchased at Loryok with a bow and 3 other arrows for £1, sometime between 20th and 25th March 1979 by Jill Goudie, an archaeologist who was part of the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition to the Southern Sudan, headed by Patti Langton.

For the other objects purchased in this group, see 1979.20.184, 186-187 (arrows) and 1979.20.183 (bow).

Rachael Sparks 29/8/2005.

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. 213] 1979.20.184 - 187 [1 of] Four reed arrows with leaf-shaped iron points. Geometric designs incised near nocks. Coll. no. ∆36; added later. [1979.20] .185 L = 1.06 M.
Additional Accession Book Entry [below accession numbers 1979.20.184-187 in red biro] - A5-F36-17.

Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the tribes catalogue card [RTS 26/5/2004].

Pitt Rivers Museum label - S. SUDAN. SOUTHERN LARIM. Arrow. P. Langton coll. 36 [in triangle]. 1979.20.185 [plastic label with metal eyelet, tied to object; RTS 6/6/2005].

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 appears to be part of an entry added to the end of Langton's list, as '36. Bow and 4 arrows. £1', which is annotated 'S. Larim'. Item ∆36 has been inserted earlier in the list, under the heading 'Southern Larim. These were all collected between 20.3.79 and 25.3.79' [RTS 12/1/2004].