Lango fringe apron
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1940.12.599
Country:
?Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan] [Mongalla Province] Eastern Equatoria ?Jebel Imatong
Cultural Group:
[Nilotic] ?Lango
Date Made:
By 1940
Materials:
Goat Skin Animal , Iron Metal , Plant Fibre
Process:
Plaited , Knotted , Bound , Twisted , Hammered , Bent
Dimensions:
L = 732 mm, tail W = 13.3 mm, Th = 8.5 mm, binding strip W = 3 to 5 mm; belt body = 11.5 by 6.5 mm; L apron = 135 mm, Links W across = 7 mm, W = 3 mm, th = 1 mm [RTS 30/7/2004].
Weight:
363.2
Local Name:
ariko
Other Owners:
Charles Gabriel Seligman
Field Collector:
? Charles Gabriel Seligman & ?Brenda Zara Seligman
PRM Source:
Charles Gabriel Seligman or Brenda Zara Seligman
Acquired:
Donated 1940
Collected Date:
By 1940
Description:
Belt made from two strips of yellowish brown goat's hide with light buff hair in place (Pantone 7507C), plaited tightly together to create a herringbone pattern, and bent into a loop that would fit around the waist.
The surface shows traces of pinkish red ochre (Pantone 491C).
The long ends have been left unplaited, and gathered together into a bundle that extends for a further 300 mm beyond the body, forming a 'tail' that would stand stiffly out from the back.
This tail, which is slightly bent, is kept stiff with 4 thin strips of hide that have been knotted together and then bound tightly around the body.
They are secured at their base by being pushed through the plaited belt body and knotted on the other other side, and at the top by tucking the loose under underneath the binding.
An apron made of a fringe of hanging iron chains has been sewn onto the centre of the belt opposite the tail.
This is attached with a thin twisted plant fibre string (Pantone 462C) that has been pushed through the body and knotted at one side to secure it, wound several times around the belt and then secured with a similar knot at the other end.
One end of the string hangs loose beyond this knot.
Each time the string has been wound around the body, it also loops over the top link in a short length of iron chain - of which there are 25 in total.
Each chain is composed of from 21 to 28 oval links formed from short rectangular pieces of iron bent into loops with closed ends.
A single brass link has been introduced into one chain; it is not clear if this is original or a repair (but see 1925.14.7, where a single brass loop is also introduced into an iron chain apron).
The ends of these chains have been fastened together using a series of horizontal links running across the base of the fringe.
The object is complete and intact, although the loose end of the string is unravelling, and the iron links show traces of rust, although the metal is still predominantly a metallic gray colour (Pantone 877C).
The object has a weight of 363.2 grams and is 732 mm long.
The tail measures 13.3 by 8.5 mm across its bound area - this is somewhat variable along the length - while the binding strips range from 3 to 5 mm wide.
The belt body is 11.5 by 6.5 mm wide; the chain apron has a maximum length of 135 mm, and the links measure 7 mm across and are made from strips 3 mm wide and 1 mm thick.
Collected by Charles Gabriel Seligman and donated to the Museum in 1940. The date of collection has not been specified.
This type of apron was worn by women, and is associated with the Ugandan Lango. Driberg discusses this type of garment in his book on the Lango: 'From about the age of five girls wear over the pudenda a few strings or threads (called chip) made from the hibiscus, increasing in number with the age of the wearer. There are attached to a thin leather girdle ( del ) which is fastened behind and twisted into a stick-like leather continuation ( achudi) which projects backwards. If the father is prosperous, an unmarried girl wears an ariko , or apron of small metal chains in place of threads. It is given her by her father, and is increased in size according as he can get more chains made, an apron ten chains wide costing one goat. It is wearable until the woman has borne two children; but generally, when she marries, the husband takes it, and if he has a younger sister gives it to her; if not, he sells it" (J.H. Driberg 1923, The Lango, pp 64-65). The chip and achudi del are illustrated by a photograph opposite p. 64. According to Driberg, achudi is simply defined as a protuberance or projection. ' Achudi del ' is specifically the projecting ends of this type of girdle (J.H. Driberg, 1923, The Lango, p. 359, defined in his Lango-English dictionary at the back of the volume).
A similar object (but lacking the tail) is shown worn by a Bari sculpture, acquired on or before 1861 (E. Castelli, 1987, "Bari Statuary. The Influence exerted by European Traders on the Traditional Production of Figured Objects", RES 14, fig. 1-2).
Rachael Sparks 30/9/2005.
Collected by Charles Gabriel Seligman and donated to the Museum in 1940. The date of collection has not been specified.
This type of apron was worn by women, and is associated with the Ugandan Lango. Driberg discusses this type of garment in his book on the Lango: 'From about the age of five girls wear over the pudenda a few strings or threads (called chip) made from the hibiscus, increasing in number with the age of the wearer. There are attached to a thin leather girdle ( del ) which is fastened behind and twisted into a stick-like leather continuation ( achudi) which projects backwards. If the father is prosperous, an unmarried girl wears an ariko , or apron of small metal chains in place of threads. It is given her by her father, and is increased in size according as he can get more chains made, an apron ten chains wide costing one goat. It is wearable until the woman has borne two children; but generally, when she marries, the husband takes it, and if he has a younger sister gives it to her; if not, he sells it" (J.H. Driberg 1923, The Lango, pp 64-65). The chip and achudi del are illustrated by a photograph opposite p. 64. According to Driberg, achudi is simply defined as a protuberance or projection. ' Achudi del ' is specifically the projecting ends of this type of girdle (J.H. Driberg, 1923, The Lango, p. 359, defined in his Lango-English dictionary at the back of the volume).
A similar object (but lacking the tail) is shown worn by a Bari sculpture, acquired on or before 1861 (E. Castelli, 1987, "Bari Statuary. The Influence exerted by European Traders on the Traditional Production of Figured Objects", RES 14, fig. 1-2).
Rachael Sparks 30/9/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Accession Book Entry
[p.
468]
The late Professor C.G.
SELIGMAN, M.D., F.R.S.
Miscellaneous collection presented in part by himself, June, 1940, and in part, after his death, by Mrs B.Z.
Seligman, October, 1940.
[p.
500] 1940.12.599 - Woman’s
hip band
girdle with tail of plaited goat-skin with iron chain apron suspended in front.
NILOTIC TRIBES.
(Very similar to one in the S.P.
Powell collection: 1940.7.081a, said to be from the LANGU tribe, E.
UPPER NILE.
Doubtful whether the [insert] SHILLUK-speaking [end insert] LANGO north of LAKE CHIOGA in UGANDA or the [insert] LOTUKO-speaking [end insert] LANGO inhabiting the north-eastern slopes of the IMATONG massif, in MONGALLA PROV., A.E.
SUDAN).
Card Catalogue Entry - The tribal catalogue card repeats the accession book entry, but gives the provenance as 'EGYPT. NILOTIC TRIBES' [RTS 24/5/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - Woman's hip-band and "tail" of plaited goat-skin with iron chain apron suspended in front. NILOTIC TRIBES (probably from the LANGO, NORTHERN PROVINCE, UGANDA PROTECTORATE). d.d Dr. C.G. Seligman 1940.12.599 [L.Ph 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 3/5/2005]
Card Catalogue Entry - The tribal catalogue card repeats the accession book entry, but gives the provenance as 'EGYPT. NILOTIC TRIBES' [RTS 24/5/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - Woman's hip-band and "tail" of plaited goat-skin with iron chain apron suspended in front. NILOTIC TRIBES (probably from the LANGO, NORTHERN PROVINCE, UGANDA PROTECTORATE). d.d Dr. C.G. Seligman 1940.12.599 [L.Ph 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 3/5/2005]
