- Collection type
- Object
- Description
- Circular spiked mimosa thorn wheel trap for trapping smaller game animals [RTS 30/6/2004].
- Long description
- Wheel trap, of a type usually used in conjunction with a noose. This is circular and is made from two wooden rods, each bent into a loop of similar diameter to form the framework of the wheel. These rings were then placed together, and a series of over 100 mimosa thorns passed through the gap between the rings, their broader, roughly finished and irregularly shaped ends left protruding from the outside edge, and their sharp pointed tips meeting at or near the centre of the object, where they overlap one another. This forms the hub of the trap, which would break when trodden on by an animal, to leave its hoof trapped by the surviving spikes and held by the noose that would have accompanied this object. The wheel framework was secured by winding flat strips of reddish brown plant fibre, possibly palm or banana, around the two rings. Each of these strips was split just above each spoke, usually into two parts, with the ends produced then passing around each spike to secure both it and the surrounding frame. The wheel is largely complete, but several thorns have broken at their tips, bodies, or bases. The fibre binding is a reddish brown colour (Pantone 470C), while the spikes are a lighter yellowish cream (Pantone 7506C). The wheel has an overall diameter of 218 mm, and is 24.5 mm thick; the circular frame has a diameter of 205 mm, while each spike measures around 7 mm across its base, and has a body diameter of 3 to 4 mm. The fibre binding strips range from 10 to 15 mm in width, and the wheel trap weighs 165.8 grams overall [RTS 30/6/2004].
- Cultural groups
- Lango
- Person
- Field collector Charles Delme-Radcliffe
- PRM source Charles Delme-Radcliffe
- PRM source British Museum
- Date / Period
- Date made: Before 1920
- Date collected
- By 1920
- Acquisition information
- Donated: 1920
- Materials and processes
- Material Plant Thorn, Material Plant Fibre, Material Wood Plant, Process Bent, Process Bound, Material Palm Fibre Plant, Material Banana (Abaca) Fibre Plant
- Dimensions
- Diameter: max 218 mm, Depth: max 24.5 mm, Weight 165.8 g
- Object numbers
- Accession number: 1920.61.2
- Research and responses
According to an Encyclopaedia published in 1911, Unyoro was the name of a country in East Central Africa, bounded by the Victoria Nile to the East and North, extending to the eastern shores of Lake Albert on the west (http://25.1911encyclopedia.org/).
For a similar wheel trap, see 1920.61.1, also attributed to the Lango. The ends of the thorns are much more roughly finished on this example than on 1920.61.1.
Driberg describes this type of trap as follows: "The commonest snare is the otaich, which is constructed of the long sharp thorns of the acacia or of thin pointed sticks.... It is strongly made with a double row of thorns, and is placed in a game run over a small hole which has been dug out to fit it, and is operated in conjunction with a cord, one end of which forms a noose placed under the thorns, the other end being fastened to a hidden log. The animal on getting its foot in tightens the noose, and as it is irritated by the thorns tightens it still more, the log preventing it from going any distance and leaving a trail which is easily followed" (J.H. Driberg, 1923, The Lango, pp 118-119). K.G. Lindblom did a study of wheel traps, which are used by a number of Sudanese groups, including the Nuer, Lango, Acholi, Bari and Baggara, for catching antelopes, but also larger animals such as giraffe and rhinocerous - with the size of the animal determining the size of the trap (K.G. Lindblom, 1928, The Spiked Wheel-trap and its Distribution, Statens Etnografiska Museum, Smärre Meddelanden 5) [RTS 28/8/2005].
Search terms: Hunting, Trap, Hunting accessory