Moru Misa beehive
Accession Number:
[1979.20.34]
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan] Western Equatoria ?Lui ?Lanyi
Cultural Group:
Moru Misa
Date Made:
By 1979
Materials:
Cane Plant
Process:
Split , Basketry
Dimensions:
L = 2060 mm Diam = 267 mm
Other Owners:
Purchased by Brian John Mack (known as John Mack) (then at the Museum of Mankind) for £3, between 27th January and 5th February 1979 as part of the British Institute in East Africa's expedition to the Southern Sudan, headed by Patti Langton [RTS 14/6/2004
Field Collector:
Brian John Mack (known as John Mack), Museum of Mankind
PRM Source:
Patti Langton
Acquired:
Purchased 1979
Collected Date:
Between 27 January and 5 February 1979
Description:
Beehive made from woven split cane, open at each end and in the centre.
Purchased by Brian John Mack for £3, sometime between 27th January and 5th February 1979 as part of the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition to the Southern Sudan. Although the place of collection was noted, the expedition was collecting Moru material during these dates at the settlements of Lui and Lanyi, in Western Equatoria. Langton does not record the Moru Misa name for this type of object. For a beehive cover that probably belongs with this item, see 1979.20.35.
Beekeeping is one of the businesses in Western Equatoria currently being supported by US AID programmes, in conjunction with the New Sudan Honey Producers Association (NSHPA) (http://www.apiconsult.com/south-sudan.htm). Other Nilotic groups have also made use of basketry beehives; see, for example, Schweinfurth's description of Bongo practices: "Generally these hives are long cylinders, which midway have an opening about six inches square. The yield of honey, wild or half-wild, is very large, and of fine quality: the bees belong to the European species" (G. Schweinfurth, 1873, In the Heart of Africa Vol. I, p. 291).
Rachael Sparks 6/9/2005.
Purchased by Brian John Mack for £3, sometime between 27th January and 5th February 1979 as part of the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition to the Southern Sudan. Although the place of collection was noted, the expedition was collecting Moru material during these dates at the settlements of Lui and Lanyi, in Western Equatoria. Langton does not record the Moru Misa name for this type of object. For a beehive cover that probably belongs with this item, see 1979.20.35.
Beekeeping is one of the businesses in Western Equatoria currently being supported by US AID programmes, in conjunction with the New Sudan Honey Producers Association (NSHPA) (http://www.apiconsult.com/south-sudan.htm). Other Nilotic groups have also made use of basketry beehives; see, for example, Schweinfurth's description of Bongo practices: "Generally these hives are long cylinders, which midway have an opening about six inches square. The yield of honey, wild or half-wild, is very large, and of fine quality: the bees belong to the European species" (G. Schweinfurth, 1873, In the Heart of Africa Vol. I, p. 291).
Rachael Sparks 6/9/2005.
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.
[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.
190] 1979.20.34 - Beehive, made of woven split cane; open at each end and in the center [sic].
L = 2 m.
6 cm.; Diam at center = 26.7 cm.
Coll.
by John Mack [Museum of Mankind], for £3; number 301.
Additional Accession Book Entry [in red biro under accession number] - A5-F32-33.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the tribes catalogue card [RTS 2/6/2004].
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. This object appears on Langton's list as a pencilled addition, with note 'collected by BJM' [= Brian John Mack; RTS 12/1/2004].
Additional Accession Book Entry [in red biro under accession number] - A5-F32-33.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the tribes catalogue card [RTS 2/6/2004].
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. This object appears on Langton's list as a pencilled addition, with note 'collected by BJM' [= Brian John Mack; RTS 12/1/2004].
