Moru Misa arrow

Other views of this artifact:

Accession Number:

1979.20.21

Country:

Sudan

Region:

[Southern Sudan] Western Equatoria ?Lui ?Lanyi

Cultural Group:

Moru Misa

Date Made:

By 1979

Materials:

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

Process:

Forged (Metal) , Hammered , Carved , Socketed , Notched , Bound

Dimensions:

Total L = 765; arrowhead L = 155, blade L = 40, W = 18, max th = 3, tang W = 6, th = 6; shaft L = 610, diam = 10, nock L = 13, upper binding L = 54, lower binding L = 27 mm [RTS 3/6/2005].

Weight:

59.9 g

Other Owners:

Purchased by Patti Langton on 5th February 1979 with 5 other arrows for a total of £1, as part of the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition to the Southern Sudan [RTS 14/5/2004].

Field Collector:

Patti Langton

PRM Source:

Patti Langton

Acquired:

Purchased 1979

Collected Date:

5 February 1979

Description:

Arrow consisting of an iron arrowhead with short triangular blade with barbed shoulders on a long square sectioned tang that narrows slightly to its base. This has been fitted into the socketed top of a long shaft, carved from a soft, lightweight yellow coloured wood with circular section (Pantone 7508C), and a slightly irregular surface that has been stripped of its bark. The junction of tang and shaft has been bound round with strips of plant fibre, with additional binding just above the butt, which has been nocked with 2 rectangular notches cut into opposite sides. In both areas, the binding appears to have been smeared with a reddish material, possibly some kind of fixative (Pantone 4705C). The inside edges of the nock have been burnt, perhaps indicating that the cut was made using a heated tool. The arrow is nearly complete, but has lost one of the barbs on the arrowhead blade. It has a weight of 59.9 grams and a total length of 765 mm. The visible area of the arrowhead has a length of 155 mm in total, including a blade length of 40 mm, width of 18 and maximum thickness of 3 mm, with the tang being 6 by 6 mm wide; the wooden shaft is 610 mm long, with a diameter of 10 mm and a nock length of 13 mm; the binding is 54 mm long around the upper part, and 27 mm long around the lower end.

Purchased by Patti Langton on 5th February 1979 with 5 other arrows for a total of £1, as part of the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition to the Southern Sudan; for the other arrows, see 1979.20.16-21. The exact collection place was not specified, but must have been at either Lui or Lanyi.

Langton does not record the Moru name for this type of object.

Rachael Sparks 29/8/2005.

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 alottment of the collection do not appear on her list and have been added here. See Related Documents file as well. [pp 185 - 186] 1979.20.1 - 42 SOUTHERN SUDAN the MORU MISA The Moru Misa live about 100 miles west of Juba, the capital of the Southern Sudan. Part of the collection was made in Lui, a small town which has had extensive church and missionary activity over the past 50 years (excluding the period of civil war) and which now boasts a church, a hospital and a number of schools. The rest of the Moru Misa collection was made at Lanyi, 15 miles away, where the paramount chief of the area, Chief Elinama, arranged for people to bring artifacts for us to buy. Although money is known to the Moru, its use is limited and the concept of selling belongings is foreign to them. Hence the low prices and the relatively small number of artefacts. The Moru Misa are a geographical section of the Moru people. The Moru practice agriculture for subsistence; they do not keep cattle any longer. [p. 188] 1979.20.16 - 21 Six arrows. Coll. 5.2.79; £1; Coll. no. 64. [1979.20] .21 Tanged iron point, no barbs. Thick foreshaft. No feathers. Total L = 76.5 cm.
Additional Accession Book Entry [in red biro over accession number, for 1979.20.16-21] - A5-F32-22.

Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the tribes catalogue card [RTS 2/6/2004].

Pitt Rivers Museum label - SOUTHERN SUDAN. MORU MISA tribal area. Arrow. Pat Langton Coll., no. 64. 1979.20.21 [plastic label with metal eyelet, tied to object; RTS 3/6/2005].

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 [RTS 12/1/2004].