Dinka tobacco flask
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1934.8.20 .1 .2
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan] ?Warab Fanamweir
Cultural Group:
Dinka
Date Made:
By 1933
Materials:
Gourd Plant , ?Cotton Textile Plant , String
Process:
Carved , Hollowed , Dried , Perforated , Twisted , Knotted
Dimensions:
[.1] Ht = 77, rim L = 38.9 mm, rim W = 28.5 mm; [.2] diam = 30.5, th = 8 mm; cord diam = 0.5 mm [RTS 22/9/2004].
Weight:
12.2 g
Local Name:
guntab
Other Owners:
Collected by Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton and his wife on 3rd May 1933 during a shooting expedition
Field Collector:
Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton & Hannah Powell-Cotton (nee Brayton)
PRM Source:
Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton
Acquired:
Donated 1934
Collected Date:
3rd May 1933
Description:
Small container for tobacco [.1], made from the narrow, bulbous upper part of a gourd.
This has been cut flat across the top, forming a narrow rim that is circular in plan view.
The body is narrow and cylindrical, with the sides flaring concavely in then swelling out again just above the rounded base; this has a knot in the centre where the gourd would have been attached to its parent stem.
The interior shows the natural fibrous interior of the gourd, with vertical fibres running down the sides; this is a pale yellow colour (Pantone 7506C).
The exterior surface is mottled orange (Pantone 723C) and reddish brown (Pantone 469C).
The container is accompanied by a small circular disc-shaped lid [.2], roughly chipped around the edges and made from a thick piece of gourd.
This is attached to the vessel with a length of light cream coloured (Pantone 7401C) twisted fibre cord, possibly cotton and possibly European.
This has been passed through two small holes, bored in the upper body of the vessel, with the loose ends then brought together, passed through a hole in the centre of the lid and secured with a knot on the other side.
There is a small amount of residue inside the container, which includes soil particles; the interior of the container has a strong scent, but not necessarily of tobacco.
Both parts are complete and intact.
The vessel and its lid combined weigh 12.2 grams.
The vessel rim measures 38.9 by 38.5 mm, while the body is 77 mm high and has walls that are 3 mm thick.
The lid has a diameter of 30.5 mm, and is 8 mm thick.
The string has a diameter of 0.5 mm.
Collected by Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton and his wife Hannah at Fanamweir on 3rd May 1933, during a shooting expedition. It is known in Dinka as guntab. This is probably related to the Dinka term tap, which Nebel defines as ‘tobacco’ (Nebel 1979, Dinka-English Dictionary, p. 81), and which also seems to be used by the Nuer. For other types of Dinka tobacco container, see 1979.20.101, 1979.20.90 and 104 (matup tap) , 1934.8.19, and 1979.20.82 ( tiem tap).
Rachael Sparks 24/9/2005.
Collected by Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton and his wife Hannah at Fanamweir on 3rd May 1933, during a shooting expedition. It is known in Dinka as guntab. This is probably related to the Dinka term tap, which Nebel defines as ‘tobacco’ (Nebel 1979, Dinka-English Dictionary, p. 81), and which also seems to be used by the Nuer. For other types of Dinka tobacco container, see 1979.20.101, 1979.20.90 and 104 (matup tap) , 1934.8.19, and 1979.20.82 ( tiem tap).
Rachael Sparks 24/9/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Accession Book Entry
[p.
248] 1934 [insert] 8 [end insert] -
MAJOR P.
H.
G.
POWELL-COTTON
, Quex Park, Birchington, E.
Kent.
Specimens collected by himself & Mrs Cotton, during hunting trips, 1933, viz: - From the
DINKA
tribe, FANAMWEIR & KORNUK, WHITE NILE [...] [p.
250] [insert] 20 [end insert] -
Guntab
, tobacco-box made from the narrow end of a gourd, ib[idem] [FANAMWEIR] (2296).
Card Catalogue Entry - SUDAN, WHITE NILE, FANAMWEIR, DINKA TRIBE. 2296. Guntab , tobacco-box made from the narrow end of a large gourd. Coll. by donor and his wife during hunting trips, 1933. d.d. Major P.H.G. Powell-Cotton, 1934 [RTS 5/4/2004].
Detailed Pipes [Unsorted] Card Catalogue entry - Number: 2296 Description: Guntab, tobacco box. Made from one end of a sausage-shaped gourd, the open end is closed by a circular piece cut from a gourd and secured to the box by string. The string passing through a single perforation in the centre of the lid and two holes in the side of the box just below the rim. Colour a yellow brown. Length c 8 cm, diameter of upper end 3.85 cm. People: Dinka. Locality: Fanam Weir White Nile. Collected by: Major Powell-Cotton (2296). How Acquired: dd Major Powell-Cotton 1934 [Drawing].
Related Documents File - Typewritten List of "Curios Presented to Dr. Balfour by Major & Mrs. Powell-Cotton. Dinka Tribe". This object appears as item 2296: "Gourd tobacco box, native name Guntab , 3/5/33 Fanamweir, 8.55 N, 28.42 E". Also contains details of a cine film 'some tribes of the Southern Sudan', taken by Powell-Cotton during this 1933 expedition, copies of which are now in the National Film and Television Archive and the Powell-Cotton Museum in Kent [RTS 14/3/2005].
Written on object - Guntab. Tobacco-box DINKA FANAMWEIR, WHITE NILE. d.d. Major Powell-Cotton, 1934 (2296) [RTS 22/9/2004].
Card Catalogue Entry - SUDAN, WHITE NILE, FANAMWEIR, DINKA TRIBE. 2296. Guntab , tobacco-box made from the narrow end of a large gourd. Coll. by donor and his wife during hunting trips, 1933. d.d. Major P.H.G. Powell-Cotton, 1934 [RTS 5/4/2004].
Detailed Pipes [Unsorted] Card Catalogue entry - Number: 2296 Description: Guntab, tobacco box. Made from one end of a sausage-shaped gourd, the open end is closed by a circular piece cut from a gourd and secured to the box by string. The string passing through a single perforation in the centre of the lid and two holes in the side of the box just below the rim. Colour a yellow brown. Length c 8 cm, diameter of upper end 3.85 cm. People: Dinka. Locality: Fanam Weir White Nile. Collected by: Major Powell-Cotton (2296). How Acquired: dd Major Powell-Cotton 1934 [Drawing].
Related Documents File - Typewritten List of "Curios Presented to Dr. Balfour by Major & Mrs. Powell-Cotton. Dinka Tribe". This object appears as item 2296: "Gourd tobacco box, native name Guntab , 3/5/33 Fanamweir, 8.55 N, 28.42 E". Also contains details of a cine film 'some tribes of the Southern Sudan', taken by Powell-Cotton during this 1933 expedition, copies of which are now in the National Film and Television Archive and the Powell-Cotton Museum in Kent [RTS 14/3/2005].
Written on object - Guntab. Tobacco-box DINKA FANAMWEIR, WHITE NILE. d.d. Major Powell-Cotton, 1934 (2296) [RTS 22/9/2004].
