Moru Misa roulette

Accession Number:

1979.20.27

Country:

Sudan

Region:

[Southern Sudan] Western Equatoria ?Lui ?Lanyi

Cultural Group:

Moru Misa

Date Made:

By 1979

Materials:

Wood Plant , Grass Fibre Plant

Process:

Twisted , Wound , Tied

Dimensions:

L = 183 mm, W = 8 mm, Th = 7.8 mm, stick = 1.5 by 1.5 mm, diam cord = 1 to 2 mm [RTS 28/5/2004].

Weight:

3.9 g

Other Owners:

Gift to Patti Langton between 27 January and 5 February 1979, while part of the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition to the Southern Sudan [RTS 1/6/2004]

Field Collector:

Patti Langton

PRM Source:

Patti Langton

Acquired:

Purchased 1979

Collected Date:

Between 27 January and 5 February 1979

Description:

Roulette for decorating pottery, made from four thin sticks, roughly cut at either end, and bound together to form a roughly square sectioned object by a long piece of twisted grass fibre cord, that has been wound in and around each stick, forming a rough patterned surface suitable for impressing a design into clay, before being coiled around each end and then tucked under the coils to secure it. Each end of the cord has a small knot tied in it to prevent the cord unwinding. The roulette is complete and in good condition, with the occasional fibre hanging loose; the wood is a pale yellowish brown colour (Pantone 7508C) and the cord a slightly lighter tone (Pantone 7501C). It has a length of 183 mm, a width of 8 mm and a thickness of 7.8 mm, while each stick is around 1.5 mm square, the cord has a diameter of 1 to 2 mm, and the object as a whole weighs 3.9 grams.

This object was given to Patti Langton as a gift, while working as part of the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition to the Southern Sudan. The place and date of collection are not noted for this item, but other records show that the expedition was collecting Moru material from Lui and Lanyi between 27th January and 5th February 1979. She does not record its Moru Misa name.

For a photograph showing a Moru potter using a roulette to apply decoration to a pottery vessel, see Barley, N., 1994, Smashing Pots, p. 36 top (photograph by John Mack). The collection contains a range of Sudanese grass roulettes, including plaited grass strips (1979.20.28, Moru Misa and 1979.20.149, Northern Larim), and twisted and plaited grass cord (1979.20.125-6, Dinka Tuich).

Rachael Sparks 29/8/2005.

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. 189] 1979.20.27 - Pottery roulette made of four sticks bound with grass string. L = 18.3 cm. This was a gift. Coll. no. 305 A.
Additional Accession Book Entry [in red biro under accession number] - A5-F32-18 [photographed with 1979.20.28].

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 [RTS 12/1/2004].