Costume
- Title:
- Costume
- Collection:
- Selections from the Cornell Anthropology Collections
- Donor:
- Victor Turner
- Date:
- 1950s
- Site:
- Mwinilunga, North-Western, Zambia (inhabited place)
- Location:
- Mwinilunga, North-Western, Zambia (inhabited place)
- Country:
- Zambia
- ID Number:
- Anthr1966_004_0015_01
- Old Catalog Number:
- 966.4.15
- File Name:
- Anthr1966_004_0015_01.jpg
- Culture:
- Ndembu
- Style/Period:
- Ndembu
- Work Type:
- masks (costume)
- Materials/Techniques:
- bark cloth
string
basketry (object genre)
pigments (probably clay) - Subject:
- ndembu (african people)
rites and ceremonies
masks
African
Turner, Victor W., 1920-1983
ritual objects - Measurement:
- A: 509 (arm length from shoulders to wrists) (millimeters)
228.6 (arm length from wrist to middle finger) (millimeters)
152.4 (collar length) (millimeters)
76 (collar width) (millimeters)
416.4 (across bottom of bodice) (millimeters)
335.6 (up side of bodice) (millimeters)
B: 304.8 (thigh length) (millimeters)
508.8 (thigh circumference) (millimeters)
483 (knee to ankle) (millimeters)
228.6 (foot length at base) (millimeters)
101.6 (foot width at top near toes) (millimeters)
63.5 (foot width at heel) (millimeters)
C: 254 (thigh length) (millimeters)
508.8 (thigh circumference towards middle) (millimeters)
483.4 (length knee to foot) (millimeters)
203 (leg circumference towards knee) (millimeters)
127 (leg circumference at ankle) (millimeters)
228.6 (length of foot) (millimeters)
50 (foot width at heel) (millimeters)
89 (foot width at top) (millimeters) - Description:
- Pieces A-C The entire costume is made of woven bark string segments done in knotless netting. The segments are sewn together with bark string cord. Each leg consists of four segments the feet, and the soles made of leather and fur ( B has the fur facing out and C has the fur facing inside). The shirt part consists of six segments--the two arms, the two hands (with the fingers sewn on separately), the collar, and the bodice. The colors used in this costume are red (10 R 5/4-4/4 weak red), white (5 YR 8/1 white), and brown (5 YR 3/1-4/1 dark grey). Two legs are woven into various triangular patterns of these three colors. Piece C has an additional gold color. The arms are striped, as are the fingers, and the collar is a segment of rectangular weaving. The bodice front has two sets of full diamonds on either side, and two sets of triangle sis attached between these designs. The back of the bodice has four sets of triangles in each of the four corners and one large diamond design in the center. It is divided into four symmetrical sections. This costume is worn during the Mukanda ceremonies (initiation rites) of the Ndembu tribe by the makishi dancers. It may have been used with one of the masks in the Turner Collection, but it is impossible to designate which one.
- Bibliography:
- Victor Turner, The Forest of Symbols: Aspects of Ndembu Ritual (Cornell University Press, 1967)
- Archival Collection:
- Ndembu masks and costumes
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- The images in the Collection 'Selections from the Cornell Anthropology Collections' are protected by copyright, and the copyright holders are Cornell University Library and the Department of Anthropology. Physical artifacts from the Cornell Anthropology Collections were photographed by Cornell University Library in 2012-13 for inclusion in this image collection. Cornell is providing access to the materials for research and personal use. The written permission of any copyright and other rights holders is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use that extends beyond what is authorized by fair use and other statutory exemptions. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.
Cornell would like to learn more about items in this collection and to hear from individuals or institutions that have any additional information. This collection is funded by an Arts and Sciences Grant to Frederic W. Gleach, Curator of the Anthropology Collections. Please contact him for more information about this collection, or to request permission to use these images.