Wooden club or mallet, carved in a single piece with a large cylindrical head [SM 14/05/2007].

Collection type: Object
Description: Wooden club or mallet, carved in a single piece with a large cylindrical head [SM 14/05/2007].
Long description: Club or mallet carved from a single piece of brown wood (Pantone 730C), and consisting of an everted head with flat upper surface, thick, slightly convex sides and flat underside, oval in plan view. The handle extends from the centre of the underside and appears to have been carved from the same piece of wood; this varies from oval to more circular in section. The upper part flares out slightly to a carination, perhaps imitating the segmentation seen in woods such as bamboo, before tapering in to form a narrow handle with small rounded base. There is some polish to the upper surface of the head, while its sides are largely matt; however the lower surface, and most of the handle have been polished to a very glossy finish, darkening the surface colour, perhaps as a result of carrying or holding the object. Overall the handle has a slight curvature in relation to the head. It is nearly complete; a narrow wedge-shaped sliver of wood has been lost from the side of the head, there are a few small chips lost from the sides, and the whole surface has been broken up by a series of cracks in the wood, mostly running vertically down the sides and probably the result of impact stress. There is also a long crack in the wood halfway down the handle, and a section along one side of the lower shaft where a section of the surface has been lost, along with some more minor cracking at the base. The club weighs 624.1 grams, and has a total length of 420 mm; the handle is 363 mm long, has a maximum width of 33.5 mm and thickness of 31.2 mm, at the carination, while its base measures by 14.8 by 15.5 mm across. The head is 119.3 mm long, 112.3 mm wide and 65.5 mm thick [RTS 24/11/2004].
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: 17 - 26 February 1979
Acquisition information: Purchased: 1979
Materials and processes: Material Wood Plant, Process Carved, Process Polished
Dimensions: Length 420 mm total, Length 363 mm handle, Width: max 33.5 mm handle, Length 119.3 mm head, Diameter: max 65.5 mm head, Depth 31.2 mm head, Weight 624.1 g
Object numbers: Accession number: 1979.20.131
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. Although no place or date of collection is given for this object, Langton's expedition appears to have been collecting Dinka material from these three sites between 17/2/1979 and 26/2/1979 [RTS 12/1/2004].

Search terms: Weapon, Tool, Club