IDNO

LS.103403.MF

Description

View of the outside of a Tallensi hut, with pointed, thatched roof and decorated walls. Hanging around the edge of the roof there are various ceremonial objects, including the nugo (basketry cap with sheep-hair plume) as well as bows and arrows, sets of arrows in quivers and what appears to be skin? bags and animal skins.

Place

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

Cultural Affliation

Tallensi

Named Person

Photographer

Fortes, Meyer

Collector / Expedition

Fortes, Meyer

Date

Collection Name

Fortes Collection

Source

Drucker-Brown, Susan

Format

Lanternslide - Black & White

Primary Documentation

Other Information

LS.103397.MF - LS.103405.MF were kept in the box now numbered C570/.

Clothing: "Until this century, only a few hat types were traditionally worn by Frafra men, and these were associated with privilege or achievement. The most respected head covering is a blackened cap made of twined bast fiber. This cap is restricted to the custodian of the earth (tendana) and an important category of diviner (bakolidana). Both of these positions are vested with considerable influence and authority. When chieftancy was introduced, a red fez became the emblem of a paramount chief. Chiefs also wear cloth caps enhanced by leather or metal amulets. Another traditional head covering is the semicircular calabash helmet used by hunters and warriors. This form, frequently decorated with cowrie shells, animal hair, or feathers, is symbolic of achieved success. For funerals there are two basic helmet types: the nugo, basketry cap with sheep-hair plume (Fig. 14), and the nugo illa, basketry cap with attached antelope or bushcow horns." (Smith, F.T., 1982, African Arts, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 36-42+92). [ED 21/2/2008]

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. [Elisabeth Deane 21/5/2008]