Hemispherical gourd ladle with short, perforated handle; decorated with pyroengraved bands below rim [RTS 25/3/2005].

Collection type: Object
Description: Hemispherical gourd ladle with short, perforated handle; decorated with pyroengraved bands below rim [RTS 25/3/2005].
Long description: Gourd ladle consisting of a narrow flat-topped rim on a hemispherical body with convex base. The rim is slightly compressed on one side with a narrow tapering handle extending from the rim opposite, which represent the base and neck of the original plant; both areas have been blackened, as has the top of the rim. A circular hole has been bored through the end of the handle using a heated tool. The interior is roughly textured, and a strong yellow colour (Pantone 7508C), while the exterior is a smooth yellowish orange (Pantone 7509C). This has been decorated by using a heated blade to draw a series of parallel lines around the upper body, which were then blackened between to form 2 thick bands around the circumference (Pantone black 7C). In one section, there are additional lines that have not been fully coloured in. The bands are irregular and vary in width. The ladle is complete and intact; there are 2 horizontal pencil marks on the inside walls below the handle. It has a weight of 52.8 grams, and is 85 mm high, 170 mm long, including the handle, and 167 mm wide, with a rim thickness of 4 mm and handle length of 35 mm; the hole through the handle has a diameter of 4 mm [RTS 25/3/2005].
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 Gourd Plant, Process Hollowed, Process Dried, Process Decorated, Process Burnt, Process Pyroengraved Pokerwork, Process Perforated
Dimensions: Height 85 mm, Length 170 mm, Width: max 167 mm, Thick 4 mm rim, Weight 52.8 g
Object numbers: Accession number: 1979.20.55 Other numbers: Langton Collection 113
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].
According to Langton's notes on 1979.20.50, the Dinka word anyel means 'decorated'. Nebel defines the term biny as ‘cup, drinking glass’ (Nebel 1979, Dinka-English Dictionary, p. 16), and Anyäl, pl. Anyel, as a calabash with drawings (Nebel 1979, Dinka-English Dictionary, p. 10).
Langton describes this method of decorating Dinka gourds in her entry for accession number 1979.20.91, with the pattern being marked out in charcoal, and then with a type of needle called a with (for this tool, which is made of iron, see 1979.20.59), which is then scored over using a heated spear or knife blade. This particular ladle has been decorated in a style very similar to bowl 1979.20.53, also from the Dinka Tuich [RTS 3/12/2004].

Search terms: Food and Drink, Spoon, Food Accessory