1931.66.18

Collection type

Object

Description

Headrest carved from a tree branch, with narrow rectangular seat and 2 legs, one of which forks at its base [RTS 3/6/2005].

Long description

Headrest carved from a single piece of wood, stained a reddish brown colour (Pantone 469C). This is an example of 'found form', with a naturally grown branch specifically chosen because its shape, with subsidiary branches coming off the main stem to form the three feet, was suitable for making a headrest. It consists of a narrow seat that runs horizontally across the top and that is concave along its length, and almost flat across its width. This tapers to a point at either end. The underside of the seat is curved, except for the front area, which has an angular ridge running down from the seat tip to the top of the leg, and the back where a similar ridge runs from the end down the upper part of the back leg. 2 branches extend from the seat underside to form these legs, with a single leg at the front angled forwards and in line with the seat itself, and a thicker back leg, that extends almost vertically downwards before dividing into 2 parts, in the shape of an inverted 'Y'. These legs have rounded undersides, one of which has been burnt. The headrest is complete and intact, but has one minor crack running along the grain of the seat. It has a weight of 227.9 grams and is 212 mm high; the seat is 204 mm long, 17 mm wide and 24.4 mm thick, while the legs have a diameter of from 17.8 to 20 mm [RTS 3/6/2005].

Geographical reference

South Sudan

Africa > Eastern Africa > South Sudan

Cultural groups

Nuer

Person

Field collector Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard

PRM source Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1931

Date collected

1930 - 1931

Acquisition information

Donated: 1931

Materials and processes

Material Wood Plant, Process Carved, Process Stained, Process Polished

Dimensions

Length x Width: max 173 x 203 mm seat, Width: max 21 mm seat, Length: max 233 mm, Height: max 215 mm, Weight 227.9 g

Object numbers

Accession number: 1931.66.18

Research and responses

This object was collected by Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard, probably during his first or second season of fieldwork amongst the Nuer, e.g.: in 1930 or 'the dry season' of 1931. In the former, he spent around three and a half months in Leek territory at Yahnyang and Pakur on the Bahr el Ghazal, in Lou territory at Muot Dit, and at Adok, amongst the Dok Nuer. In the latter, he spent five and a half months at Nasir, on the Nyanding River, and at Yakwat on the Sobat River (see E.E. Evans-Pritchard, 1940, The Nuer, and the map of Evans-Pritchard's fieldwork in D.H. Johnson, "Evans-Pritchard, the Nuer, and the Sudan Political Service", African Affairs 81 no. 323, p. 233).

Objects like these were used by men to protect their elaborate hairstyles. Willis described the Nuer practice of covering their hair with a paste made of clay, cow dung and urine, and then shaping it into the desired style, such as a cock's comb, or a peak at front or back. This treatment gradually wears off, staining the hair a reddish colour, and then the hair needs to be redone. Domville-Fife describes a similar process for the Shilluk in some detail, although amongst that group hair is dressed by a specialist barber, and is a costly process (C.W. Domville Fife, 1927, Savage Life in the Black Sudan, pp 71-76).

While Evans-Pritchard did not record the local name for this particular example, a similar but undecorated headrest, 1937.34.49, is called köm, although he also uses this term for Anuak examples (see 1936.10.55-6). This type of lightweight headrest, made from a tree branch, is produced by a number of Nilotic groups; for further Nuer examples, see 1917.25.39-40, 1931.66.17, 1932.30.1, 1936.10.56, 1937.34.49 and 1948.2.128; for Dinka examples, see 1934.8.17, and for examples from the Anuak, see 1936.10.55 [RTS 22/08/2005].

Search terms: Furniture Dwelling, Headrest, Furniture