Bongo cemetery with carvings

103 x 75 mm | Negative film nitrate

There are records relating to alternative images that we do not have scans for in the database:
1998.343.16.2 - Print gelatin silver , (103 x 75 mm)

Date of Print:

Unknown

Previous PRM Number:

EP.B.16

Accession Number:

1998.343.16.1

Description:

Two carvings, one with horn-shaped elongations, tallying the numbers of large animals killed by the person buried beneath, or sometimes the kills of a relative. Graves were commonly grouped together near a settlement (visible in the background). These carvings were understood as a means of honouring the dead but did not have any particular ritual meaning.

Photographer:

Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard

Date of Photo:

1929 March

Region:

[Southern Sudan] Warab Tonj

Group:

Bongo

PRM Source:

Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard

Acquired:

Donated 1966

Other Owners:

E. E. Evans-Pritchard Collection

Class:

Death , Carving

Keyword:

Grave , Grave Marker , Memorial

Primary Documentation:

PRM Accession Records - Accession Book Entry [p. 98] 1966.27 [1 - 24] G[ift] PROFESSOR E. E. EVANS-PRITCHARD; INST. OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY, 51 BANBURY RD. OXFORD - 1966.27.19 - S. SUDAN, DARFUNG. VARIOUS TRIBES. Box of negatives in envelopes, [1 - 242] & 1966.27.20 - Box of prints of these negatives [refers to object 1966.27.19] [1 - 242], in envelopes.

Other Information:

In "The Bongo" (Sudan Notes and Records Vol.XII Part I 1929 page 37) E. E. Evans-Pritchard notes that 'the Bongo graves are surrounded by carved wooden figures of men and carved posts tallying the number of the larger animals killed by the deceased during his lifetime. The different animals killed may be counted by adding up the different kinds of notches and by the shape of the forked head of the posts.' On page 38 he adds that 'Bongo graves are often collected together in a bunch, like small cemeteries. This is probably far less so than in the old days when homesteads were much larger; but today one may see half-a-dozen graves grouped together, the whole being surmounted from six to twelve posts.' [Chris Morton 15/1/2004]

Recorder:

Christopher Morton 15/1/2004 [Southern Sudan Project]