Decorated red pottery jar with narrow mouth, short neck and globular body, used for drinking beer [RTS 3/8/2005].

Collection type: Object
Description: Decorated red pottery jar with narrow mouth, short neck and globular body, used for drinking beer [RTS 3/8/2005].
Long description: Pottery vessel used for drinking beer, and hand made from a moderately well levigated clay, fired an orangey red at the surface (Pantone 7525C) with some black patches. This is circular in plan view, and consists of a narrow, upright flat topped rim on a short narrow neck that flares out slightly to its base, where it joins onto a deep, globular body with convex base. The surface has been covered with a layer of greenish brown fibrous dung (Pantone 7531C), partially obscuring the decoration, which has been applied with a roulette. This consists of oblique impressed lines around the upper part of the neck, then 3 rows of an impressed rope pattern around the base of the neck and shoulder, enclosing 2 broader bands that have been divided into a series of squares by groups of vertical impressed lines. These squares alternate in the upper and lower band, creating a chequerboard pattern. The rest of the surface below has been covered with closely spaced impressed lines, giving the area a textured, mat-like appearance. The vessel is complete, and has a weight in excess of 1000 grams, a height of 325 mm, rim diameter of 112 mm, and maximum width across the body of 350 mm; the rim is 4 mm thick [RTS 3/8/2005].
Geographical reference: South Sudan
Africa > Eastern Africa > South Sudan; Northern Bahr el Ghazal Dhangrial Wun Rog Mayen
Cultural groups: Dinka Tuich
Person: Field collector Patti Langton; PRM source Patti Langton
Date / Period: Date made: Before 1979
Date collected: 25 February 1979
Acquisition information: Purchased: 1979
Materials and processes: Material Pottery, Material Animal Dung, Material Cattle Dung Animal, Process Handbuilt, Process Fire-Hardened, Process Decorated, Process Impressed
Dimensions: Height 325 mm, Diameter: max 350 mm, Diameter 112 mm rim, Weight 1000 g
Object numbers: Accession number: 1979.20.113 Other numbers: Langton Collection 289
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, Wun Rog and Mayen lie 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.
Nebel gives the definition for acoop as ‘sacrifice after a marriage to take the taboo from the marriage price cattle’ (Nebel 1979, Dinka-English Dictionary, p. 4), but Acop as a ‘pot with a narrow opening’ (ibid), suggesting that Langton's spelling / pronunciation may be in error here. Coating the exterior with dung may have helped keep the vessel water-tight and the contents cool. The small mouth and lip are not suitable for drinking directly from, but this vessel could have been used in conjunction with drinking straws as a communal jar [JC/ RTS 29/7/2005].

Search terms: Vessel, Food and Drink, Pottery, Tool, Food Accessory