1913.27.2

Collection type

Object

Description

Iron spearhead with leaf-shaped blade, long barbed and decorated shaft and socketed base [RTS 24/6/2005].

Long description

Iron spearhead consisting of a narrow leaf-shaped blade with very slight thickening down the centre, on a long square sectioned shaft that has a series of long downward-pointing barbs chiselled out of opposite sides and faces. There are 2 large barbs of double thickness at the base of ths section, pointing upward on either side of the shank, with 2 grooves around the body below, then a circular socket that expands slightly towards its base, with a closed seam running up the front. The base of the blade has been decorated with a pair of oblique lines on either side, and the socket with a narrow band of crosshatching running down the centre of the upper part, also on either side. The square sectioned shank in between has been more heavily decorated, with a series of shallow notches cut into the edge opposite the barbs, then a line running down the length of the body just inside this edge. The remaining space is divided up in 4 sections by pairs of horizontal lines; the top 2 of these are filled with crosshatching, while the lower sections have a central line with oblique hatching extending from it in a feather design. This pattern is repeated on both faces. The remaining part of this section, divided by 2 grooves, is covered with vertical hatching all the way round the body. The object is complete and intact, with slight edge damage around the blade and traces of what may be rust on one side; it is currently a metallic gray colour (Pantone 877C). It has a weight of 279.2 grams and is 411 mm long, with a blade length of 144 mm, width of 32.3 mm and thickness of 2.6 mm; the shank is 12.8 mm wide and 11.3 mm thick, and the socket has a base diameter of 18.3 by 17.8 mm [RTS 27/6/2005].

Geographical reference

South Sudan

Africa > Eastern Africa > South Sudan

[Upper Nile]

Person

Field collector William Benjamin Chamberlin

PRM source William Benjamin Chamberlin

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1913

Date collected

By 1913

Acquisition information

Donated: 1913

Materials and processes

Material Iron Metal, Process Forged (Metal), Process Hammered, Process Socketed, Process Decorated, Process Incised

Dimensions

Length: max 410 mm, Depth: max 18 mm, Width: max 49 mm, Weight 279.2 g

Object numbers

Accession number: 1913.27.2

Research and responses

For an essay on the variety and cultural significance of spears in South Sudan, particularly among the Dinka and Nuer, see ‘“Spears” that are not Spears’, by Jok Madut Jok, in Pieces of a Nation: South Sudanese Heritage and Museum Collections, edited by Zoe Cormack and Cherry Leonardi (Leiden: Sidestone Press, 2021), pp. 110–114.

Although the term 'Upper Nile' is now used to refer to a modern administrative district, covering a stretch of the Bahr el Abiad from Geigar to Malakal, and the Sobat River to Nasir, at the time this object was collected the term was used differently. Up until 1981, it was the name of a province that covered the districts now known as Upper Nile, Jonglei, Wahda and part of el Buheyrat. It may also have been used to describe the Bahr el Abiad and/or Bahr el Jebel rivers. Lake No is located on the eastern edge of the modern administrative district of Wahda.

The long barbs on this spearhead might suggest that it was intended for use in hunting game, where the intent would be to keep the weapon seated in the wound. [RTS 27/6/2005].

Search terms: Weapon, Hunting, Spear-head, Hunting accessory