Dinka Tuich tobacco box

1979.20.82

Sudan

[Southern Sudan] Northern Bahr el Ghazal ?Dhangrial ?Wun Rog ?Mayen

Dinka Tuich

Made by a 'specialist man'.

By 1979

Wood Plant , Pewter Metal , Animal Leather Skin

Carved , Decorated , Pyroengraved Pokerwork , Recycled

L = 130, W = 49.2, Ht = 76 mm [RTS 20/10/2004].

81.5 g

tiem tap

Purchased by Patti Langton for £1.50 on 21st 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

21 February 1979

Zoomorphic tobacco container, carved from a single piece of yellow wood (Pantone 7509C), in the shape of a humpbacked bull. This consists of a small triangular head, with two deep notches cut in from above dividing the top of the head into three parts, with the two outer sections presumably representing ears or possibly horns. The eyes appear to be inlaid with circular discs of grey metal, thought to be pewter and presumably recycled metal. Below, two depressions mark the nostrils, with a deeper cut marking the mouth. The head turns into a long, but similarly proportioned neck, carved with an angular ridge running along the centre of top and bottom, giving the neck a lentoid shaped section. Immediately behind this is a small raised hump between the shoulder blades; this has a similarly angular line running up the front and down the back of the hump. The body itself is oversized in proportion to these features, and is barrel-shaped in form, with a slight carination running along the line of the top of the back, a flattened front and slightly flattened underside and rear end. A narrow tail hangs down the back in relief, and four short and square cut feet extend from the corners of the body underside. There is also a small raised lug between the back pair of feet, and another raised detail just in front of these, that looks like a bull's pizzle - hence the identification of this figure with a bull, despite the lack of obvious horns, rather than a cow. A circular hole has been cut into the chest of the animal, and the interior presumably hollowed out behind. This is currently blocked with a circular stopper, made of a dark black material (Pantone black 6C) that feels warm and slightly greasy to the touch and seems to be leather that has been treated with a waxy surface coating (probably as a conservation measure, after collection). This has a curving raised band across the surface, which suggests that it has been recut from another object. The box has also been decorated using pyroengraving, that is, designs have been burnt into the surface using a heated tool. These consist of pairs of triangles running down either side of the neck - hatched on one side, crosshatched on the other - and parallel lines below with a running zigzag between. A solid black band runs obliquely up either side of the hump, while the torso of the animal has been divided by a large cross on either flank, with triangular segments and the front and back ends filled in black (Pantone 7C), contrasting with the yellow colour of the wood which has been left as a large reserve lozenge on the back, and triangles on the lower sides and belly. Finally, the long sides of the stomach area have been delineated with burnt lines, with burning around the base of the pizzle. The object is complete and intact, and has a weight of 81.5 grams. It is 130 mm long, 49.2 mm wide and 76 mm high.

Purchased by Patti Langton on 21st February 1979 for £1.50, as part of the British Institute in East Africa's expedition to the southern Sudan. The place of collection was not specified, but would have been either Dhangrial, Wun Rog or Mayen, all of which like in the modern administrative district of Northern Bahr el Ghazal. For a map showing the distribution of Dinka Tuich groups, see J. Ryle, 1982, Warriors of the White Nile: The Dinka , p. 25.

This container was made by a specialist male craftsmen, and is called tiem tap. Tap, or tab, is both a Dinka and Nuer word meaning ‘tobacco’ (Nebel 1979, Dinka-English Dictionary, p. 81). For other types of Dinka tobacco container, see 1979.20.101, 1979.20.90 and 104 (matup tap) , 1934.8.19, and 1934.8.20 (guntab).

Currently on display in the Upper Gallery, Case 26A.

Rachael Sparks 25/9/2005.

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. [p. 191] 1979.20.43-135 SOUTHERN SUDAN the DINKA TUICH. The Dinka Tuich, a pastoral people, live to the north of Wau, in Bahr el Ghazal province. This collection was made mostly at Dhangrial, the archaeological site at which we camped. Other artifacts were collected either at Wun Rog, a small town about a mile south of Dhangrial, or at Mayen, the new administrative centre 12 miles north. This was a remote area, difficult of access and rarely visited by outsiders. The Dinka are very aware of the potential of money, which is used either to help family members acquire education or entry into commerce and administration in Juba or Khartoum. Once it was known we [insert] (the collectors) [end insert] were offering money, the Dinka in surrounding compounds came daily, increasing prices as often as they could! [p. 197] 1979.20.82 Wooden tobacco container in the form of a humped cow, tiem tap . Made by a specialist man. l. body = 10 cm. Coll. 21.2.79; £1.50. Coll. no. 190.
Additional Accession Book Entry [below accession number in red biro] - A5-F34-35.

Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 5/4/2004].

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. [RTS 12/1/2004].

Written on object - S. SUDAN, DINKA, P. Langton coll. 190 [RTS 20/10/2004].

Illustrated in black and white on page 3 of the Newsletter of the Friends of the Pitt Rivers Museum, no. 44 (April 2003). It illustrates an unsigned item entitled 'And Some More Unusual Items', which reads 'This charming little carved wooden cow is in fact a tobacco box, to be found in the Dinka case in the Upper Gallery. Just as the Inuits [sic] are reputed to have a hundred different words for snow, so the partoralists Dinkas [sic] have equally numerous words for cattle - the most important beings [sic] in their universe.' This was apparently included in this issue of the Newsletter in relation to the Friends' Kenneth Kirkwood study day on 'Pastoralists'. [JC 9/5/2003].