Moru Misa flask

1979.20.24

Sudan

[Southern Sudan] Western Equatoria ?Lui ?Lanyi

Moru Misa

By 1979

Gourd Plant , Grass Fibre Plant , Resin Plant ?

Hollowed , Dried , Decorated , Painted ?

L = 182, Diam rim = 18.3 x 18, diam base neck = 32.7, max body W = 115.3 mm [RTS 16/8/2005].

29.1 g

Collected by Patti Langton between 27th January and 5th February 1979 as part of the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition to the Southern Sudan [RTS 15/6/2004].

Patti Langton

Patti Langton

Purchased 1979

Between 27 January and 5 February 1979

Small gourd with narrow, jagged mouth on a tall conical neck that has a small hole burnt in one side, and then tapers out to its base, where it meets a globular body with convex base with a circular hole cut into its centre, now plugged up with a dark resinous material (Pantone Black 7C). The surface is a glossy orangey brown colour (Pantone 7517C), and has been decorated with a reddish coloured paint or stain (Pantone 4695C) that makes up 2 parallel lines encircling the base of the neck, then a series of triangles pendant around the shoulder. The body below this has been stained a darker reddish brown (Pantone 4695C), perhaps through contact with the vessel's original contents. The mouth has been stopped up with a wad of yellow coloured grass or leaves (Pantone 7507C). The vessel is nearly complete, but there is a section of the lower wall missing on one side, showing also how the interior walls of the vessel have deteriorated. It is not clear if the vessel rim is complete, and just crudely cut, or whether this edge was also broken. The flask has a weight of 29.1 grams, and is 182 mm high, with a diameter at the top of the neck of 18.3 by 18 mm, at the base of the neck of 32.7 mm, and a maximum body width of 115.3 mm.

Collected by Patti Langton as part of the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition to the Southern Sudan. Langton assigns the object to the Moru Misa, but does not mention the place or date of collection in her records. The gourd was probably obtained at Lui or Lanyi in Western Equatoria, between 27th January and 5th February 1979, as the expedition acquired all its Moru Misa material there during this period. Langton does not give the local name for the object.

Gourd bottles of similar size are also used by the Anuak as containers for castor oil and cosmetics, see 1936.10.75-76.

Rachael Sparks 17/8/2005.

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. 189] 1979.20.24 - Dark brown gourd, broken but with grass stopper still in place. L = ca. 17.4 cm.; Langton Coll. no. 3.
Additional Accession Book Entry [in red biro under accession number] - A5-F32-6.

Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the tribes catalogue card [RTS 2/6/2004].

Pitt Rivers Museum label - AFRICA, Sudan. Moru Misa tribe. Gourd flask with stoppered mouth. Purch. P. Langton, No. 3? 1979.20.24 [plastic coated label, tied to object; RTS 16/8/2005].

Written on object - S. SUDAN. MORU MISA. Pat Langton, ?3. 1979.20.24 [RTS 16/8/2005].

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 item appears on Langton's list as a later pencil addition, headed 'extra MORU not on Pat's list but on packing. 3. Dark brown gourd, brown, grass stopper still in place, .24. L = ca. 17.4 cm' [RTS 12/1/2004].