Dagger; Thipa (Sheath; Kghata; Selata)
Item
Title
Dagger; Thipa (Sheath; Kghata; Selata)
Creator
Unrecorded
Description
Physical Description: Dagger and sheath. White metal dagger with carved wooden handle. Sheath made from two seprate pieces of wood bound together with leathe. The overall shape of the sheath is phallic, with a symbol (possibly an animal form) carved on the the upper half, and a carved loop on the back.
Contextual Description: 02:43:20 He knows and understands that in some parts of Botswana this would be described as a kghata and here they call it selata Transcription by KL of MAC_BB_20190817_RPM3 SL Interview with Tshupo Ntono, Village Elder, Language: Setswana with English translations by SL, 2019
Publisher
Making African Connections
Date
Pre 1899
Type
PhysicalObject
Format
Whole: 197 mm x 42 mm x 40 mm
Identifier
R4007/98
Source
Collected by Reverend William Charles Willoughby, a Christian missionary, in what was then the Bechuanaland Protectorate (1885-1966). It is now the Republic of Botswana, having gained independence from Britain in 1966.
From 1889-92 Willoughby was pastor at Union Street Church, Brighton (now The Font pub). From 1893 to 1898 he worked for the London Missionary Society in Bechuanaland. He assembled this collection of objects during this period. This was a period of social and technological changes and these objects represent traditional lifestyles and skills, rather than the contemporary lives of the people Willoughby met.
Willoughby's collection was loaned to Brighton Museum in 1899 when he returned to the UK. The loan was converted into a donation in 1936, and accessioned as acquisition R4007.
Some objects were re-numbered with the WA (World Art) numbering system in the 2000s. These numbers have been reverted to the original R4007/... numbers where possible for consistency in 2019.
From 1889-92 Willoughby was pastor at Union Street Church, Brighton (now The Font pub). From 1893 to 1898 he worked for the London Missionary Society in Bechuanaland. He assembled this collection of objects during this period. This was a period of social and technological changes and these objects represent traditional lifestyles and skills, rather than the contemporary lives of the people Willoughby met.
Willoughby's collection was loaned to Brighton Museum in 1899 when he returned to the UK. The loan was converted into a donation in 1936, and accessioned as acquisition R4007.
Some objects were re-numbered with the WA (World Art) numbering system in the 2000s. These numbers have been reverted to the original R4007/... numbers where possible for consistency in 2019.
William Charles Willoughby
Botswana, Southern Africa, Africa
1893-1898
Space/Place
Zambezi River (Zambia), Zambia, Southern Africa, Africa
Cultural Group: Barotse; Lozi
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International