IDNO

N.19202.ROS

Description

A back view of Sipi Falls on Mount Elgon.

Place

E Africa; Uganda; Elgon; Mount Elgon; Sipi Falls

Cultural Affliation

?Bagesu

Named Person

Photographer

?Roscoe, John R.

Collector / Expedition

Roscoe, John R. [Mackie Ethnological Expedition, Uganda, 1919 - 1920]

Date

1919 - 1920

Collection Name

Roscoe Collection

Source

Format

Film Negative Black & White

Primary Documentation

Other Information

This negative was kept in an envelope marked C30/152/ by the cataloguer. The envelope was kept in box marked C30/ by the cataloguer.
Previously stored on Shelf 4, in group of 4 wooden boxes numbered 180.

Publication: Similar image published in Roscoe, J., 1922. The Soul of Central Africa: An Account of the Mackie Ethnological Expedition. (London: Cassell and Co.), p. 266 with the caption: "The Sipi Fall, Mount Elgon”. [ED 26/10/2007]

Context: "When these Bagesu first came to Mount Elgon they had to make their dwellings on the higher peaks of the mountain, and seldom dared venture down to the valleys, for there they were always in danger of attack of some foe, and defeat meant death or slavery. Ten or twenty families join together to form a village, building their homes in a small cluster on a fairly level spot some way up the mountain, where they dig their fields and plant their millet, sweet potatoes and other crops as near as possible to the village” (Roscoe, J., 1922. The Soul of Central Africa: An Account of the Mackie Ethnological Expedition. (London: Cassell and Co) p.246). [ED 19/9/2007]

Context: "The camp to which I now went was near one of the finest falls I had seen in Uganda. It is called the Sipi Fall and has a drop of nearly 500 feet. The noise of the water is deafening to anyone near it, but at a short distance it sounds musical and has a soothing effect. The vegetation around the fall is wonderful, for the tree trunks are covered with ferns and flowers grow everywhere, even where they seem to be clinging to the surface of the bare rock. An indescribable effect of grace and beauty is added by the maiden hair fern which hangs from the rocky walls wherever it can find a space. The ravine into which the water falls is so overhung with trees and flowers that from the heights above, the rocky bed of the river is completely concealed, while the tropical growth gives cover to all manner of wild beasts and birds.” (Roscoe, J., 1922. The Soul of Central Africa: An Account of the Mackie Ethnological Expedition. (London: Cassell and Co.), p. 266 - 267.). [ED 26/10/2007]

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program Two. [Elisabeth Deane 26/10/2007]