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1936.10.65

Wild cat skin, worn over left shoulder by men at dances [RTS 11/3/2005].

1936.10.65

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Collection type
Object
Description
Wild cat skin, worn over left shoulder by men at dances [RTS 11/3/2005].
Long description
Garment made from the skin of a wildcat, worn over the left shoulder by men at dances. This has been cut to retain the basic shape of the animal, including the neck, complete length of the tail, and all 4 legs including the paws with their claws intact. The inside surface has been scraped down and is quite soft and still flexible; this is currently a muddy brown colour with yellow visible in patches (Pantone 7509C). The outer surface is covered with soft cat fur, consisting of a light yellowish buff background (Pantone 7401C) with darker brown or black spots along the flanks (Pantone Black 6C), becoming more linear along the spine, and forming short banding around the legs and tail. The fur is lighter running along the edges of either flank. This patterning is typical of the genet. One of the front legs has a hole through the centre of the paw; it is not clear if this is natural or deliberate. The other front leg has been fitted with a short loop, made from 2 narrow strips of animal hide, pierced along their lengths and interwoven with one another to form a solid plaited length that is fastened to the skin body, leaving a herringbone design visible on the outer face, then opening out at the top end to form a loop of double hide thickness. One of the lower leg flaps appears to be unmodified, but the other has been fitted with a second hide strip, similarly plaited onto the skin body, and looped at the top to extend just beyond the edge of the catskin. Another strip has been threaded through this loop, with a knot just below to hold it in place; this has a long body, knotted partway along its length and again at the end, producing a strap that could be used in conjunction with the hole or loop on the other end of the object to fasten it in place over the shoulder. This strap is light brown, with some buff surface hairs on the outer face (Pantone 7506C). The skin is complete, with a few holes worn through the body. It has a weight of 86.7 grams, and is 500 mm long, 400 mm wide at the front legs, 217 mm wide across the centre and 450 mm wide across the back legs, on the skin side only. The hide strip has a width of 8.2 mm and is 1 mm thick, with an extended length of 715 mm [RTS 15/2/2005].
Geographical reference
South Sudan
Africa > Eastern Africa > South Sudan
Cultural groups
Anywaa (Anuak)
Date / Period
Date made: Before 1936
Date collected
March - May 1935
Acquisition information
Donated: 1936
Materials and processes
Material Cat Skin Animal, Material Cat Claw Animal, Material Animal Hide Skin, Process Perforated, Process Plaited, Process Tied, Process Knotted
Dimensions
Width 450 mm back legs, Width 400 mm front legs, Width 217 mm centre, Length 500 mm, Length 715 mm hide strip, Weight 86.7 g
Object numbers
Accession number: 1936.10.65
Research and responses

Evans-Pritchard conducted his fieldwork amongst the Anuak between early March and May 1935 (E.E. Evans-Pritchard, 1940, The Political System of the Anuak of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, p. 3) [RTS 22/3/2004].

Search terms: Clothing, Dance, Animalia, Animal Part