IDNO

N.101820.MF

Description

Generations of a Tallensi family out in the fields in the dry season. The two men standing in the foreground are dibbling; they are holding dibble sticks to make holes for sowing seeds. The older man in the front wears a cotton loin cloth and cloth hat, the man behind him wears a danseka, a traditional short smock of hand-woven cloth. Behind them there is a row of younger family members who are bending to the ground holding small calabash bowls, used for sowing seed. They are working in a field in which a crop of the staple cereal, guinea corn has been grown and harvested. There is a dwelling to the left in the background. In the distance are hills and vegetation. [AF 16/4/2008]

Place

W Africa; Ghana; Upper East Region; Tongo [Gold Coast; Northern Territories]

Cultural Affliation

Tallensi

Named Person

Photographer

?Fortes, Meyer

Collector / Expedition

Fortes, Meyer

Date

January 1934 - April 1937

Collection Name

Fortes Collection

Source

Drucker-Brown, Susan

Format

Glass Negative Halfplate

Primary Documentation

Other Information

N.101811.MF - N.101821.MF were kept in the box now numbered C545/.

The inscription on the metal box numbered C545/ does not fully correspond with the contents. [Jocelyne Dudding 10/4/2007]

Context: Farming is the main economic livelihood of the Tallensi and collective assistance from all members of the household are often expected. Fortes writes, “They work under the direction of the head of the house, and the products of their labour accrue to a common food supply. This is part of the co-operative economic organization of the household. Thus at sowing or harvest time one often sees a whole family working together in the fields. When a sowing party is at work one sees the men striding vigorously ahead, dibbling the hole with their long heavy dibbles cut from saplings, while the women follow behind, chattering and laughing amicably as they sow the grain. And when the harvest is in full swing, one sees similar cheerful family parties out on the field or homeward bound at dusk in Indian file, the men in front, perhaps carrying their pear-shaped wicker coops in which they collected a brood of chickens that had been allowed in the fields during the day, the women sauntering close behind them, the heavy baskets of grain on their head, and small boys and girls gambolling in the rear blowing their whistles and shaking their rattles (kinkayah) of serrated calabash disks.” (Fortes, 1949, p.128) [Alicia Fentiman, 16/4/2008]

Context: “In addition, the cut of the narrowband smock reflects status and social importance. The most widespread and ordinary type is the danseka, a sleeveless smock (Fig. 9). This type, which can be worn by any adult, is the typical male garment of northern Ghana. ... According to a Frafra tailor, “Anyone can wear a danseka, even a chief” (interview at Zuarangu, February 1973). Except for the danseka which is usually purchased in the market, a smock of any importance is commissioned from a “reputable” tailor, especially one who handcrafts his product.” (Smith, F.T., 1982, ‘Frafra Dress,’ African Arts, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 36-42+92). [ED 3/12/2007]

Bibliographical Reference: Fortes, Meyer, 1945. Dynamics of Clanship Among the Tallensi (London: Oxford University Press).

Bibliographical Reference: Fortes, Meyer, 1949. The Web of Kinship Among the Tallensi (London: Oxford University Press).

Bibliographical Reference: Fortes, Meyer, 1987. Religion, Morality and the Person: Essays on Tallensi Religion (London: Oxford University Press).

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program Two. [Jocelyne Dudding 10/4/2007] [Alicia Fentiman 16/4/2008]