Bari headdress
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1934.8.48
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan] Bahr el Jebel Ngangala
Cultural Group:
Bari
Date Made:
By 1933
Materials:
Human Hair , Animal Hair , Animal Hide Skin , Cowrie Shell , Giraffe Hair Animal , ?Cotton Yarn Plant , Sinew Plant Fibre Textile
Process:
Twisted , Plaited , Stitched , Tied , Knotted
Dimensions:
Max L = 155 mm Max W [across base side flaps] = 100 mm Max Th [body] = 21.5 mm Max Diam [giraffe hair mount] = 5 mm Max Diam [coiled knobs] = 7 to 17 mm Max L [cowries] = 20 Max W [cowries] = 14 mm Max W [plaited edging] = 10 mm Max Diam [cloth co
Weight:
215.8 g
Local Name:
nikirrim
Other Owners:
Collected by Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton and his wife on 21st April 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:
21st April 1933
Description:
Headdress consisting of a narrow body that tapers to form two flaps that would extend down on either side of the head, with a third flap tapering to a blunt point at the front, making a cap in the form of a Y-shape, curved to fit the shape of the head.
The body of the cap is made from matted human hair that looks rather like felt; it is not clear how this has been shaped or held together although some accounts speak of human hair that is shaped while growing then shaved off as a single piece.
It is currently a dark brown colour (Pantone black 7C).
The side frame of the headdress is shaped by a stiff length of plaited animal hide that runs around the entire edge, except for one short section where it is missing; this is also dark brown (Pantone black 4C).
The outer surface of the cap has been covered with a series of knobs, made from lengths of twisted dark brown plant fibre string (Pantone black 7C) coiled into small spheres and presumably sewn to the hair body.
These gradually increase in diameter from the tapering side flaps to the centre of the headdress.
The centre of each knob has been left open and each could have been used as a seat for plumes, although nothing of this kind has survived.
The projecting third flap at the front has in place of the coiled knobs a series of 23 white cowrie shells with their backs removed, sewn onto the hair backing using lengths of twisted cord, possibly made from sinew as it appears greasy in texture. This is done using large stitches that pass across the ends of adjacent shells and into the cap body. The shells run in rows down the length of the flap, following its shape, with an additional row at right angles where the flap joins the rest of the cap. Two cowrie shells are missing on one side with a probable further two shells missing from this base row. There is a small cylindrical mount made from black wiry hair, probably giraffe, coiled into a small cylinder and then bound at right angles to secure the ends. This has been attached to the outer surface of the cap, near one edge where the cowrie covered flap joins the cap body, and may have originally held a feather plume or some other attachment.
A piece of twisted cotton cord has been pushed through the ends of the side flaps, and knotted at the centre, probably serving to tie the headdress in place. This is an orangey brown colour (Pantone 7510C). A much thicker cord made of twisted textile strips has been similarly pushed through the top end of the peak of the cap, with the loose ends knotted together; this forms a loop that may have been used for suspension. This cord is a light brown colour (Pantone 7508C).
The headdress is nearly complete, with some cowrie shells missing, some of the sinew stitching being broken, and part of the plaited hide edging being lost. It has a length, from peaked top to the back of the cap of 155 mm, and from the base of one side flap to the other of 100 mm; the peak flap has a width across its base of 80 mm and is 21.5 mm thick. The coiled knobs vary from 7 to 17 mm in diameter. A typical cowrie shell attachment has a length of 20 mm and width of 14 mm, and the giraffe hair mount has a diameter of 5 mm. The plaited hide edging has a width of 10 mm; the cloth cord is 5.3 mm wide and the twisted cotton cord has a diameter of 1.7 mm. The object weighs 215.8 grams in total.
Collected by Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton and his wife Hannah at Ngangala on 21st April 1933, during a shooting expedition. This type of object is known in Bari as nikirrim.
A headdress of similar shape, covered with cowrie shells and adorned with several ostrich feathers is now in Rome. This was attributed to the Acholi, who called it akul (R. Boccassino, 1964, "Contributo allo studio dell'ergologia delle popolazioni nilotiche e nilo-camitiche", Annali Lateranensi XXVIII, p. 117 and fig. 22; Rome 90061). Boccassino also publishes a conical cap worn by Acholi men; while the form differs, this has been covered with beads coiled into rosettes similar in style to those seen here (op.cit., fig. 18a-b). Schweinfurth published a slightly different style of headdress from the Dinka; this had a conical body, with ostrich plumes from the apex, but was similarly made of twisted human hair and decorated with cowrie shells (G. Schweinfurth, 1875, Artes Africanae, pl. I, fig. 2).
Rachael Sparks 24/9/2005.
The projecting third flap at the front has in place of the coiled knobs a series of 23 white cowrie shells with their backs removed, sewn onto the hair backing using lengths of twisted cord, possibly made from sinew as it appears greasy in texture. This is done using large stitches that pass across the ends of adjacent shells and into the cap body. The shells run in rows down the length of the flap, following its shape, with an additional row at right angles where the flap joins the rest of the cap. Two cowrie shells are missing on one side with a probable further two shells missing from this base row. There is a small cylindrical mount made from black wiry hair, probably giraffe, coiled into a small cylinder and then bound at right angles to secure the ends. This has been attached to the outer surface of the cap, near one edge where the cowrie covered flap joins the cap body, and may have originally held a feather plume or some other attachment.
A piece of twisted cotton cord has been pushed through the ends of the side flaps, and knotted at the centre, probably serving to tie the headdress in place. This is an orangey brown colour (Pantone 7510C). A much thicker cord made of twisted textile strips has been similarly pushed through the top end of the peak of the cap, with the loose ends knotted together; this forms a loop that may have been used for suspension. This cord is a light brown colour (Pantone 7508C).
The headdress is nearly complete, with some cowrie shells missing, some of the sinew stitching being broken, and part of the plaited hide edging being lost. It has a length, from peaked top to the back of the cap of 155 mm, and from the base of one side flap to the other of 100 mm; the peak flap has a width across its base of 80 mm and is 21.5 mm thick. The coiled knobs vary from 7 to 17 mm in diameter. A typical cowrie shell attachment has a length of 20 mm and width of 14 mm, and the giraffe hair mount has a diameter of 5 mm. The plaited hide edging has a width of 10 mm; the cloth cord is 5.3 mm wide and the twisted cotton cord has a diameter of 1.7 mm. The object weighs 215.8 grams in total.
Collected by Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton and his wife Hannah at Ngangala on 21st April 1933, during a shooting expedition. This type of object is known in Bari as nikirrim.
A headdress of similar shape, covered with cowrie shells and adorned with several ostrich feathers is now in Rome. This was attributed to the Acholi, who called it akul (R. Boccassino, 1964, "Contributo allo studio dell'ergologia delle popolazioni nilotiche e nilo-camitiche", Annali Lateranensi XXVIII, p. 117 and fig. 22; Rome 90061). Boccassino also publishes a conical cap worn by Acholi men; while the form differs, this has been covered with beads coiled into rosettes similar in style to those seen here (op.cit., fig. 18a-b). Schweinfurth published a slightly different style of headdress from the Dinka; this had a conical body, with ostrich plumes from the apex, but was similarly made of twisted human hair and decorated with cowrie shells (G. Schweinfurth, 1875, Artes Africanae, pl. I, fig. 2).
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: [...] [p.
252] - From the
BARI
tribe, MONGALLA, PERIDI and NGANGALA.
[insert] 48 [end insert] - Peculiarly-shaped head-dress,
nikirrim
, of human hair & string-work, with cowries attached.
Ib[idem] [NGANGALA] (776).
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the tribes catalogue card [RTS 12/2/2004].
Related Documents File - Typewritten List of "Curios Presented to Dr. Balfour by Major & Mrs. Powell-Cotton. Barri Tribe". This object appears as item 776: "Head dress, ornamented cowries, native name Nikirrim , 21/4/33 Ngangala, 4.42 N 31.55 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].
?Pre-PRM label - D 776 [tag obverse] D [tag reverse; rectangular card, tied to object RTS 2/8/2004].
Old Pitt Rivers Museum label - (776) Nikirrim , head-dress of real & imitation human hair and cowries. BARI, NGANGALA, E. SUDAN. 4° 42' N., 31° 55' E. d.d. Major Powell-Cotton, 1934 [rectangular metal edged tag; tied to object, RTS 30/6/2004] [reverse:] 1934.8.48 [EC 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 10/10/2005]
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the tribes catalogue card [RTS 12/2/2004].
Related Documents File - Typewritten List of "Curios Presented to Dr. Balfour by Major & Mrs. Powell-Cotton. Barri Tribe". This object appears as item 776: "Head dress, ornamented cowries, native name Nikirrim , 21/4/33 Ngangala, 4.42 N 31.55 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].
?Pre-PRM label - D 776 [tag obverse] D [tag reverse; rectangular card, tied to object RTS 2/8/2004].
Old Pitt Rivers Museum label - (776) Nikirrim , head-dress of real & imitation human hair and cowries. BARI, NGANGALA, E. SUDAN. 4° 42' N., 31° 55' E. d.d. Major Powell-Cotton, 1934 [rectangular metal edged tag; tied to object, RTS 30/6/2004] [reverse:] 1934.8.48 [EC 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 10/10/2005]
