Shilluk club
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1903.16.114
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan] [Upper Nile]
Cultural Group:
Shilluk
Date Made:
By 1903
Materials:
Wood Plant
Process:
Carved , Polished
Dimensions:
L = 499; head L = 89.5, W = 81, Ht = 76; handle max W = 32.7, max th = 30 mm [RTS 12/5/2005].
Weight:
415.4 g
Other Owners:
Collected by Donald Gunn in the Southern Sudan and presented to the Pitt Rivers Museum in 1903. Museum records do not give a specific provenance for this item, but Gunn appears to have collected Shilluk material from the ‘White Nile’, ‘Upper Nile’, Kodok
Field Collector:
Donald Gunn
PRM Source:
Donald Gunn
Acquired:
Donated 1903
Collected Date:
By 1903
Description:
Club carved from a single piece of wood and consisting of a spherical, ovoid head set onto a short tapering handle with ovoid section and pointed end.
A shallow groove has been carved around the head underside to encircle its junction with the handle shaft.
The object is complete, except for a small chipped area at the handle butt and discoloured patch around its upper part, possibly through burning.
The surface currently a light yellowish brown colour (Pantone 7510C) and has been polished.
The club has a weight of 415.4 grams and is 499 mm long; the head measures 89.5 by 81 mm across and is 76 mm high, while the handle has a maximum diameter of 32.7 by 30 mm.
Collected by Donald Gunn in the Southern Sudan and presented to the Pitt Rivers Museum in 1903. Museum records give only the generic provenance of ‘Upper Nile’ for this item; Gunn appears to have collected Shilluk material from the ‘White Nile’, ‘Upper Nile’, Kodok and Bor, Nuer material from around Lake No, Dinka material from the ‘White Nile’ and Arab material from Omdurman.
This was used as a throwing club. For similar Shilluk examples, see 1903.16.115, 1965.12.119 and 1927.84.1, and also R. Boccassino, 1960, "Contributo allo studio della ergologia delle popolazioni nilotiche e nilo-camitiche”, Annali Lateranensi XXIV, figs 45-46, 60-61 and 69. Clubs of this form often had a socketed iron spike fixed to the butt, which could be used as a weapon in its own right or pushed in the ground to let the club stand upright by itself (C. Spring 1993, African Arms and Armour, p. 119). Domville Fife describes this type of club as follows: "when at war with their neighbours the Dinkas [carry]… a special club, which is an ingenious affair, combining in one article, made of exceedingly hard wood, a spear, knobkerry and seat ... The point can be used for stabbing or for sticking in the ground" (C.W. Domville Fife, 1927, Savage Life in the Black Sudan, p. 69).
Rachael Sparks 18/9/2005.
Collected by Donald Gunn in the Southern Sudan and presented to the Pitt Rivers Museum in 1903. Museum records give only the generic provenance of ‘Upper Nile’ for this item; Gunn appears to have collected Shilluk material from the ‘White Nile’, ‘Upper Nile’, Kodok and Bor, Nuer material from around Lake No, Dinka material from the ‘White Nile’ and Arab material from Omdurman.
This was used as a throwing club. For similar Shilluk examples, see 1903.16.115, 1965.12.119 and 1927.84.1, and also R. Boccassino, 1960, "Contributo allo studio della ergologia delle popolazioni nilotiche e nilo-camitiche”, Annali Lateranensi XXIV, figs 45-46, 60-61 and 69. Clubs of this form often had a socketed iron spike fixed to the butt, which could be used as a weapon in its own right or pushed in the ground to let the club stand upright by itself (C. Spring 1993, African Arms and Armour, p. 119). Domville Fife describes this type of club as follows: "when at war with their neighbours the Dinkas [carry]… a special club, which is an ingenious affair, combining in one article, made of exceedingly hard wood, a spear, knobkerry and seat ... The point can be used for stabbing or for sticking in the ground" (C.W. Domville Fife, 1927, Savage Life in the Black Sudan, p. 69).
Rachael Sparks 18/9/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Accession Book Entry
[III, p.
110] - 1903 [pencil insert] 16 [end insert]
DR
D.
GUNN
Esq., M.B.
40 Dover Street, London, W.
June.
[...] [p.
113] - The following from the Shilluk tribe, Upper Nile.
viz: [pencil insert] 114-115 [end insert] - [One of] 2 ball-headed throwing-clubs of heavy wood.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the tribes or clubs catalogue cards [RTS 23/7/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - AFRICA, Sudan, Shilluk tribe. Wooden ball-headed club, collected by Donald Gunn. Donated in 1903. 1903.16.114 [plastic coated label, tied to object; RTS 12/5/2005].
Written on object - SHILLUK Pres .... Dr. .... [faint ink on burnt area of handle near head]; SHILLUK, UPPER NILE. Pres. by Dr. Gunn 1903 [ink, on handle; RTS 6/4/2005].
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the tribes or clubs catalogue cards [RTS 23/7/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - AFRICA, Sudan, Shilluk tribe. Wooden ball-headed club, collected by Donald Gunn. Donated in 1903. 1903.16.114 [plastic coated label, tied to object; RTS 12/5/2005].
Written on object - SHILLUK Pres .... Dr. .... [faint ink on burnt area of handle near head]; SHILLUK, UPPER NILE. Pres. by Dr. Gunn 1903 [ink, on handle; RTS 6/4/2005].
