1917.25.6

Collection type

Object

Description

Wooden bow with sinew bow string and reptile skin binding [RTS 20/2/2004].

Long description

Bow made from a long piece of light brown wood (Pantone 464C), tapering to either end, and strung so that the bow shaft forms a simple, shallow arc. The shaft is round to slightly oval in section throughout. The wood has been polished. A short narrow strip or strips of reptile skin, possibly crocodile or lizard, around 2 mm in width, has been wound around the bow shaft some 53 mm from the end, with the loose end of the strip secured in place by tucking it underneath the other loops. This forms a 24 mm long band that acts as a stop, to keep the end of the bow string located in the correct position. This part of the bow shaft appears to be coated with a dark purple brown material (Pantone 4975C), possibly resin, that may have been painted on as an adhesive or binding agent; on top of this a piece of leather or hide has been wound round the shaft, perhaps to provide padding when carrying the bow over one shoulder. This covers an area of 143 mm, and no overlapping or joining pieces are visible; the surface is a similar colour to the material on the wood below, and the binding has probably received a further coating of this over its surface. This piece may have originally extended further down the bow shaft, covering a further 62 mm, but subsequently come away from the shaft, leaving the underlying adhesive exposed. A further narrow strip or strips of reptile skin has been wound around the shaft, 50 mm from the other end, and covering a larger area, 178 mm in length. The ends of this can be seen tucked under the binding in two areas. The bow has been strung with a single cord made of twisted sinew. This is attached to one end with a double loop around the bow shaft, the cord pulled through this and knotted, then fastened at the other end with another double loop that has been pulled tight, the loose end of the cord then wound several times around the bow shaft and tucked underneath the resulting loops. The bow string is no longer taut. The original colour of the string would appear to be a light yellow brown (Pantone 466C), but the surface is much darker. Length (when strung) 1548 mm, width of shaft at centre 24.4 mm, thickness of shaft at centre 24 mm, diameter of bow string (taut area) 2.8 mm, diameter of cord wound around shaft 3.5 mm [RTS 20/2/2004].

Geographical reference

South Sudan

Africa > Eastern Africa > South Sudan

Northern Bahr el Ghazal Western Bahr el Ghazal Warab Lakes Western Equatoria

Cultural groups

Jur

Person

Field collector Robert Grenville Gayer-Anderson

PRM source Robert Grenville Gayer-Anderson

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1917

Date collected

By 1917

Acquisition information

Donated: 1917

Materials and processes

Material Wood Plant, Material Animal Sinew, Material Reptile Skin, Material Resin Plant, Material Animal Hide Skin, Material Animal Leather Skin, Process Carved, Process Twisted, Process Bound

Dimensions

Length 1548 mm, Width 2.8 mm bow string, Width 24.4 mm bow shaft

Object numbers

Accession number: 1917.25.6

Research and responses

This object was probably collected in the period immediately before World War I (1909-1913, or 1910-1914?, according to Gayer-Anderson's biographical history). It is assumed here that 'Bahr el Ghazal' refers to the province, rather than to the river. At the time this object was collected, the Bahr el Ghazal province was much larger than it is today, extending from roughly the Bahr el Arab all the way to the border with the Belgian Congo; this area is now divided into the districts of Western Bahr el Ghazal, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, and parts of Warab, El Buheyrat and Western Equatoria [RTS 10/11/2003].

Associated publications

Illustrated in colour as figure c on page 56 of A Shared Struggle: The People & Cultures of South Sudan, edited by Tim McKulka (no place [Juba]: Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, Government of the Republic of South Sudan and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, 2013). Caption (same page): 'Jur (Beli or Modo) wood bow'. [JC 28 2 2014]

Search terms: Archery Weapon, Cordage, Bow