1979.20.59

Collection type

Object

Description

Short needle with a narrow iron point set into a carved wooden handle, used as multipurpose tool and as a hairpin [RTS 24/11/2004].

Long description

Short needle made from 2 pieces fitted together. The upper part consists of a handle carved from a single piece of yellowish brown wood (Pantone 7504C), that has been either stained or burnt a dark reddish brown in places (Pantone black 4C). This has a flat, disc-shaped head with straight sides that is oval in plan view, blackened on the upper surface, and decorated on the sides with 3 crosses burnt into the surface. Below this, the handle sides have been cut into to form a squat biconical section, also blackened, then an elongated cone with flat upper surface and concave sides that taper in to the base, where they join the needle body. This has been made from a short iron rod, round in section. The upper part has been fitted into the centre of the handle, which must have been partially hollowed out for this purpose; this has caused the end of the wood to split slightly. The lower part of the needle has been sharpened to a fine point. The needle is complete, but has some surface rust on the iron part. It has a weight of 2.4 grams, is 72.7 mm long, has a head that measures 13 by 11.8 mm across, and a needle diameter of 2 mm [RTS 24/11/2004].

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

17 February 1979

Acquisition information

Purchased: 1979

Materials and processes

Material Iron Metal, Material Wood Plant, Process Carved, Process Pyroengraved Pokerwork, Process Burnished, Process Decorated, Process Incised, Process Burnt, Process Stained

Dimensions

Length 72.7 mm, Length 13 mm head, Width 11.8 mm head, Diameter 2 mm pin, Weight 2.4 g

Object numbers

Accession number: 1979.20.59 Other numbers: Langton Collection 128

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].

Nebel defines with as ‘arrow, needle; pin, nail, quill (of porcupine)' - suggesting that it was used to describe various types of sharp object (Nebel 1979, Dinka-English Dictionary, p. 94) [RTS 9/11/2004].

Search terms: Ornament, Tool, Hair Ornament