Southern Larim headrest

1979.20.172

Sudan

[Southern Sudan] Eastern Equatoria Loryok

Southern Larim

By March 1979

Wood Plant , Rubber Plant , Plant Fibre , String , Aluminium Metal ? , Tin Metal?

Carved , Perforated , Twisted , Knotted , Repaired (local) ? , Decorated ?

Ht = 166; seat L = 185, W = 65, max th = 18.7; pedestal max W = 63, th = 13, diam hole = 8; base L = 84.6, W = 83; metal mend W = 2 mm; carrying loop L = 85, W = 10.5, th = 2.5 mm [RTS 1/6/2005].

264.3 g

teget lopekadyo

Purchased by Jill Goudie for £1, from the base camp at Loryok for the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition to the Southern Sudan, headed by Patti Langton, between 20th and 25th March 1979 [RTS 12/5/2004].

Jill Goudie

Patti Langton

Purchased 1979

20 - 25 March 1979

Headrest carved from a single piece of reddish brown wood (Pantone 4625C), with an oiled surface that has darkened in places, particularly the seat. This consists of a narrow seat at the top with a bilobed plan view - strongly concave down the long sides, but swelling out to convex ends, each with a shallow concave section cut out of their centre. The seat is concave along the length, and slightly convex across its width. The underside has 2 angular ribs carved along its length, with a tall pedestal foot extending from the centre. This has a narrow body with rectangular section, with concave sides that make a convenient hand-sized grip, before turning sharply in again just above the base. The foot has a conical upper part that slopes down to a thick, bevelled edge, and has a hollow underside that could be used to store fat for greasing the surface of the wood. The pedestal has been pierced through the centre of its top and bottom, and a carrying loop fitted through the holes. The loop itself has been made from a narrow strip of black rubber (Pantone black 7C), secured by a knot at its base. The upper end may have originally been fixed in a similar way, but looks to have broken, with a length of twisted plant fibre cord tied around the end to form a small loop that now extends from the other side of the hole. Another possible repair may be found on the edge of the seat, which has split on the underside at one end. Two holes have been bored on either side of the crack, and a thin strip of white metal, possibly tin or aluminium, fitted through like a small staple. One end of this strip continues up to the upper surface of the seat, where it lies flush with the surface. The seat is complete, and otherwise intact. It has a weight of 264.3 grams, and is 166 mm high; the seat is 185 mm long, 65 mm wide and 18.7 mm thick; the pedestal has a maximum width of 63 mm and is 13 mm thick, with a hole diameter of 8 mm; the base is 84.6 mm long and 83 mm wide, the white metal mend is 2 mm wide, and the carrying loop is 85 mm long, 10.5 mm wide and 2.5 mm thick.

Purchased by Jill Goudie at Loryok for £1 sometime between 20th and 25th March 1979, as part of the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition to the Southern Sudan, headed by Patti Langton.

Headrests are known locally as teget, with this particular style going by the name lopekadyo. They are used by men for sitting and sleeping; sometimes the concave underside stores fat, which is used to oil the headrest before using it.

1979.20.173 is of identical form, but with a handle made of plaited hide strips, while 1979.20.174 shares the basic design but varies in minor details of form. All 3 Larim examples collected by Langton have a greasy surface that suggests they have indeed been oiled. A similar style of headrest is also used by the Toposa; see 1979.20.201.

John Mack discusses South Sudanese headrests, commenting that in recent times they are found amongst transhumant groups who use them to protect elaborate hairstyles, and that this particular type of headrest is used by the Toposa, Didinga and Larim in Sudan, and also across a wide area of northern Uganda, Kenya and in adjacent areas of Ethiopia. The variety with semicircular cut-outs of the seat edges, as seen here, is more restricted in distribution to the Toposa and Larim. Personal items such as knives and tobacco containers are sometimes attached to the central pedestal (J. Mack, 1982, "Material Culture and Ethnic Identity in Southeastern Sudan", p. 117).

Rachael Sparks 23/08/2005.

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 alootment of the collection do not appear on her list and have been added here. See Related Documents file as well. [p. 204] 1979.20.136 - 193 SOUTHERN SUDAN the LARIM The Larim live about 50 miles west of Kapoeta in the eastern corner of S. Sudan. They are a non-Nilotic pastoral people, living in permanent mountain villages. They are part of the Didinga-Longarim-Murle language group. They live in the Boya Hills - Boya is the Topasa (neighbouring group) name for the Larim, which is also used by the Administration. Longarim is the Didinga's name for them but they call themselves the Larim, and that is used here. [p. 205] The LARIM The collection was made in two parts. The "PL" labelled material was collected during Pat Langton's stay in a village in the Northern Larim area. The "∆" labelled material was collected by Jill Goudie, one of the archaeologists on the Expedition, from the base camp LARYOK, among the Southern Larim. Money is known among the Larim but it is used only for buying beads for women from Kapoeta, or for the few members of the group who would go to Juba. The women especially were more interested in exchange gifts of salt, cloth & soap. The Larim material is documented in three parts: a) General Larim pieces - no information as to which section of the Larim it comes from b) the "PL" Collection from the Northern Larim, from three of the eight Northern Larim clans c) the Southern Larim material collected by Jill Goudie, numbered "∆". [p. 210] 1979.20.163 - 193 SOUTHERN LARIM: Collected by Jill Goudie between 20.3 and 25.3.79 [p. 211] 1979.20.172 Wooden headrest, teget , for sitting or sleeping. This style, lope kadyo , is typical. Men use them, carrying them to their inlaws' house. Fat is sometimes kept in the base for oiling the head-rest when using it. L. top = 18.5 cm.; H. at center [sic] = 15.3 cm. Coll. no. ∆22; cost £1.
Additional Accession Book Entry [below accession number in red biro] - A5-F36-3.

Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 26/5/2004].

Pitt Rivers Museum label - S. SUDAN, SOUTHERN LARIM. Men's headrest. P. Langton coll., no 22 [in triangle], 1979.20.172 [plastic label with metal eyelet, tied to object; RTS 1/6/2005].

Written on object - 22 [white chalk, written inside a triangle; RTS 1/6/2005].

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 in Langton's list under the heading 'Southern Larim. These were all collected between 20.3.79 and 25.3.79'. The style is recorded as a single term, ' lopekadyo ' [not the two separate words recorded in the accessions book; RTS 12/1/2004].