1979.20.49

Collection type

Object

Description

Grass ring-pad, used for carrying objects on the head [RTS 12/8/2004].

Long description

Circular ring-pad made from bundles of grass gathered together and bent into a loop, then strengthened with an outer rib made from plaited plant fibre strips that runs around the centre of the outside edge of the object. The two ends of this rib meet and are knotted together, before continuing from the top of the ring as a suspension loop. The grass core and outer rib were fastened together by winding narrow strips of yellow bast (Pantone 7402C) and grayish brown bast (Pantone 7532C) around the body at right angles, with each binding strip coming up the outside face, wrapping once around the rib, then continuing around the inside face of the ring. The grayish brown strips are limited to a small section of the ring, directly opposite the suspension loop. The ring-pad is essentially complete, but some of the strip binding is fraying and some strips are broken along their length. It has a weight of 154.4 grams, has an outer diameter of 160 mm and a thickness of 59.5 mm, while the central hole measures 65 by 55 mm. The bast strips range from 3 to 4 mm in width, and the cord loop is 125 mm long and 3 mm wide [RTS 11/8/2004].

Geographical reference

South Sudan

Africa > Eastern Africa > South Sudan

Northern Bahr el Ghazal Dhangrial

Cultural groups

Dinka Tuich

Person

Field collector Patti Langton

PRM source Patti Langton

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1979

Date collected

18 February 1979

Acquisition information

Purchased: 1979

Materials and processes

Material Grass Fibre Plant, Material Bast Fibre Bark Plant, Process Bound, Process Plaited

Dimensions

Diameter: max 160 mm, Diameter: max 65 mm hole, Depth 59.5 mm, Weight 154.4 g

Object numbers

Accession number: 1979.20.49 Other numbers: Langton Collection 91

Research and responses

At the time this object was collected, the Bahr el Ghazal province was bordered by the Upper Nile Province to the east and Western Equatoria to the south; this area is now divided into the districts of Western Bahr el Ghazal, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, and parts of Warab and El Buheyrat. Dhangrial is located within 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 [RTS 9/8/2004].

This object has a similar construction to 1936.10.49, an Anuak ring-pad collected by Evans-Pritchard [RTS 11/8/2004].

Search terms: Clothing Headgear, Transport and Travel, Carrying Device, Headgear, Head Ornament