Dinka Tuich anklet
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1979.20.68
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan] Northern Bahr el Ghazal ?Dhangrial ?Wun Rog ?Mayen
Cultural Group:
Dinka Tuich
Date Made:
By 1979
Materials:
Aluminium Metal
Process:
Recycled , Cast , Hammered , Incised
Dimensions:
L = 109.5 mm, W = 91 mm, Th = 13 mm [RTS 25/3/2004].
Weight:
93.6 g
Local Name:
baau chok [bau côk]
Other Owners:
Purchased by Patti Langton for £1.75 on 19th February 1979 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:
19 February 1979
Description:
Penannular anklet cast from recycled aluminium.
This consists of an oval loop with wide open ends, 35 mm apart, formed from a rod with flat upper and lower surfaces and convex sides.
The ends are flat with an irregular surface and concave depressions in their centres.
The anklet is decorated with incised designs near either end, mirroring each other; these designs run around the top, side and base areas, but only partially cover the inside surface.
They consist of three chevrons, running around the circumference, then a band of crosshatching; this has almost completely worn away on the flat upper and lower surfaces.
The metal has probably been polished, but tool marks remain on the curved sides, particularly on the inner face of the object.
There are also some toothed impressions at each end on this surface, possibly as a result of holding the soft metal with pliers during the shaping process.
The anklet is complete and intact, with the metal currently a light grey colour (Pantone 421C).
It measures 109.5 by 91 mm across the outer edges, and 83.4 mm across the inside edges, while the bar from which the object has been shaped is 13 mm wide and 13 mm thick, with a weight of 93.6 grams.
The design and size is very similar to 1979.20.69, and the two anklets may have been intended to be worn together.
Purchased by Patti Langton on 19th February 1979 for £1.75, as part of the British Institute in East Africa's expedition to the southern Sudan. The place of collection was not specified, but would have been either Dhangrial, Wun Rog or Mayen, all of which like in the modern administrative district of Northern Bahr el Ghazal. For a map showing the distribution of Dinka Tuich groups, see J. Ryle, 1982, Warriors of the White Nile: The Dinka , p. 25.
These type of anklets are made by Dinka blacksmiths from recycled metal containers. They are worn by young girls and sometimes by women; the collector was not aware of any particular significance to the different patterns that are used to decorate them. They are called baau chok, and smaller versions worn as bracelets are called bau chin. Nebel defines the term Bau as ‘aluminium’ and Côk as 'foot'; (Nebel 1979, Dinka-English Dictionary, p. 15, 20); chin is probably the same term as Nebel's ciin, pl. cin, meaning hand or finger (op. cit., p. 19).
Currently on display in the Upper Gallery, Case 26A.
Rachael Sparks 25/9/2005.
Purchased by Patti Langton on 19th February 1979 for £1.75, as part of the British Institute in East Africa's expedition to the southern Sudan. The place of collection was not specified, but would have been either Dhangrial, Wun Rog or Mayen, all of which like in the modern administrative district of Northern Bahr el Ghazal. For a map showing the distribution of Dinka Tuich groups, see J. Ryle, 1982, Warriors of the White Nile: The Dinka , p. 25.
These type of anklets are made by Dinka blacksmiths from recycled metal containers. They are worn by young girls and sometimes by women; the collector was not aware of any particular significance to the different patterns that are used to decorate them. They are called baau chok, and smaller versions worn as bracelets are called bau chin. Nebel defines the term Bau as ‘aluminium’ and Côk as 'foot'; (Nebel 1979, Dinka-English Dictionary, p. 15, 20); chin is probably the same term as Nebel's ciin, pl. cin, meaning hand or finger (op. cit., p. 19).
Currently on display in the Upper Gallery, Case 26A.
Rachael Sparks 25/9/2005.
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 alottment of the collection do not appear on her list and have been added here.
See Related Documents file as well.
[p.
191] 1979.20.43-135 SOUTHERN SUDAN the DINKA TUICH.
The Dinka Tuich, a pastoral people, live to the north of Wau, in Bahr el Ghazal province.
This collection was made mostly at Dhangrial, the archaeological site at which we camped.
Other artifacts were collected either at Wun Rog, a small town about a mile south of Dhangrial, or at Mayen, the new administrative centre 12 miles north.
This was a remote area, difficult of access and rarely visited by outsiders.
The Dinka are very aware of the potential of money, which is used either to help family members acquire education or entry into commerce and administration in Juba or Khartoum.
Once it was known we (the collectors) were offering money, the Dinka in surrounding compounds came daily, increasing prices as often as they could! "1979.20.67-69 Three aluminium anklets,
baau chok
.
Made by a Dinka blacksmith from recycled metal containers.
These are worn by young girls and sometimes by women.
Different patterns on anklets seem to have no significance.
Smaller ones can be worn as bracelets (
bau chin
).
Coll.
19-2-79; £1.75 each.
Coll.
no.
148.
[1979.20].68 L= 10.9 cm.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [MdeA 30/3/1998].
RDF 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. A note in Langton's list for number 148 indicates that bau is the Dinka word for ring [RTS 12/1/2004].
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [MdeA 30/3/1998].
RDF 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. A note in Langton's list for number 148 indicates that bau is the Dinka word for ring [RTS 12/1/2004].
Display History:
Displayed in the exhibition 'Transformations - The Art of Recycling', Pitt Rivers Museum, 25th March 2000 to Easter 2002 [LP 7/6/2000].
