Northern Larim spoon
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1979.20.152
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan] Eastern Equatoria Tiringot
Cultural Group:
Northern Larim
Date Made:
By 1979
Materials:
Wood Plant
Process:
Carved , Polished , ?Stained , Perforated
Dimensions:
L = 358 mm, W handle top = 19.2 mm, Th handle top = 13.7 mm, W handle centre = 13 mm, Th handle centre = 10.6 mm, diam hole = 6 mm; L bowl = 82 mm, W bowl = 66 mm, Ht bowl = 29 mm, depth bowl = 16 mm [RTS 21/6/2004].
Weight:
67.6 g
Local Name:
?lowolol
Other Owners:
Collected by Patti Langton on 23rd March 1979 at Tiringot for the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition to the Southern Sudan [RTS 12/5/2004].
Field Collector:
Patti Langton
PRM Source:
Patti Langton
Acquired:
Purchased 1979
Collected Date:
23 March 1979
Description:
Spoon carved from a single piece of wood with a dark reddish brown coloured surface, possibly stained (Pantone 504C).
The top of the handle is pointed, with four flat sides sloping down to the outside edges; the handle itself is long and has slightly uneven sides, cut flat to provide a rectangular section.
A circular hole has been pierced through the side of the handle, near the top, probably to allow the spoon to be hung up.
At the other end, the handle joins onto a shallow bowl with narrow, flat topped rim, concave interior hollow and convex underside.
The bowl is lentoid in plan view, with a slight point at the ends.
On its underside, the handle runs along the base of the bowl as a tapering, raised rib that extends to the end of the object, presumably to strengthen the junction of these two elements.
The upper face of the handle has been carved to form a serrated surface with two peaks, just above where it joins the bowl.
The spoon is complete and intact, with an old v-shaped cut near the top of the handle, and two small splits extending from the hole on the other side.
It weighs 67.6 grams and is 358 mm long in total, while the handle measures 19.2 by 13.7 mm across the top, and 13 by 10.6 mm across its centre; the hole has a diameter of 6 mm, and the spoon bowl is 82 mm long, 66 mm wide, 29 mm high and has a depth of 16 mm.
Collected by Patti Langton on 23rd March 1979 at Tiringot for the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition to the Southern Sudan. This is part of the Koyok clan area.
This spoon is of similar type to 1979.20.151, which is said to have been made by specialist men, and used for eating food such as porridge and ground nut; the local name for it is lowolol. However there are some differences in the colour of the wood, and the shape of the handle section.
Rachael Sparks 20/08/2005.
Collected by Patti Langton on 23rd March 1979 at Tiringot for the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition to the Southern Sudan. This is part of the Koyok clan area.
This spoon is of similar type to 1979.20.151, which is said to have been made by specialist men, and used for eating food such as porridge and ground nut; the local name for it is lowolol. However there are some differences in the colour of the wood, and the shape of the handle section.
Rachael Sparks 20/08/2005.
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 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 "∆".
1979.20.149 - 154 NORTH LARIM/BOYA; KOYOK CLAN AREA, TIRINGOT VILLAGE; 23-3-79.
[p.
208] 1979.20.152 Dark colored [sic] wooden spoon similar to 1979.20.151 [used for eating porridge, ground-nut, etc.,
lowolol
, also Northern Larim].
L = 35.6 cm.
Coll.
no.
PL 28.
Additional Accession Book Entry [below accession number in red biro] - A5-F35-13.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 25/5/2004].
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 item appears in Langton's list under the heading 'Purchased in Koyok clan area, Tiringot village', as ' & 28', and has been added to the end of the list as '[one of] 2 extra wooden spoons' annotated 'one is 28, North clan 2'. This object appears on a packing list, under 'Box 2. Longarim. [one of] 3 spoons'[RTS 12/1/2004].
Additional Accession Book Entry [below accession number in red biro] - A5-F35-13.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 25/5/2004].
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 item appears in Langton's list under the heading 'Purchased in Koyok clan area, Tiringot village', as ' & 28', and has been added to the end of the list as '[one of] 2 extra wooden spoons' annotated 'one is 28, North clan 2'. This object appears on a packing list, under 'Box 2. Longarim. [one of] 3 spoons'[RTS 12/1/2004].
