Anthropology Artifacts Collection | Wheaton College Archives & Special Collections

Collection Overview

Title: Anthropology Artifacts Collection

ID: WC-Anth/Main

Extent: 0.0

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The anthropology artifacts collection contains a wide range of items that document the material culture from around the world and was received as gifts. The artifact descriptions were created from existing information created near the time of acquisition as well as research conducted by students.

Box and Folder Listing

Item 158: FF-104-2-B -- Mitei, mite

A long, flat wooden spoon decorated with decorative wood burnt lines on underside.

Additional Information: African Art, Music & Cultural Resources. The African Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Electronic Document, http://africa.wisc.edu/links/cultural.htm, accessed October 3, 2006.

Guide to Vintage African Spoons. 2006. africadirect. Electronic document, http://reviews.ebay.com/Guide-to-VintageAfricanSpoons_W0QQugidZ10000000000759915, accessed 1st October, 2006.

Isaac, Barry L. 1982. Economic Development and Subsistence Farming: The Case of the Mende of Upper Bambara Chiefdom,

Sierra Leone. Central Issues in Anthropology 4(1):1-20.

Little, Kenneth. 1948. The Mende Farming Household. The Sociological Review 40:37-55.

References Cited: Gordon, Raymond G., Jr., ed. Ethnologue: Languages of the World. Electronic document, http://www.ethnologue.com/, accessed September 11, 2006.

Little, Kenneth. 1967. The Mende of Sierra Leone. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

Staub, Beitrage. 1936. Zur Kenntris der Materiellen Kultur der Mendi in der Sierra Leone (Contributions to a Knowledge of the Material Culture of the Mende in Sierra Leone). Solothum: Buchdruckerei Vogt Schild. Translated from German for HRAF by Cecil Wood.

Culture: Mende

Culture Area: Sierra Leone

Date Acquired: [Unknown]

Dimensions: 32.5 cm x 6.5 cm

Donor: Lois Lehman

General Area of the World: West Africa

Material: Moderately soft, whitish wood

Outline of Cultural Materials Code: 322- Woodworking, 415-Utensils

Outline of World Cultures Code: [undetermined]

Use and Background: The Mende are a people group of 1, 479, 700, with a majority living in Sierra Leone on the coast of West Africa (Ethnologue). Farming is their livelihood; their diet consists mainly of the rice that they harvest. (Little 1967:77) Once the rice has been harvested and washed in water, it is boiled in metal or clay pots. Mitei (Mende), or wooden spoons, are used to remove the rice in clumps from the pot. (Staub 18-19) The large, flat head of the spoon is well suited to manipulating the consistency of the rice after it has been cooked. During July and August supplies of rice run low for much of the population, and yams and cassava or manioc takes its place as the main form of sustenance. Manioc is a starchy vegetable, of which the Mende eat the roots. (Little 1967:77) They clean, peel and boil the roots in water, stirring the mixture with a wooden spoon as it cooks. (Little 1967:77, Staub 19) A very popular food amongst the Mende is fufu dumpings," which are produced at this point when the cooked cassava is molded in a mortar. (Staub 19, 79) This spoon has been decorated by wood burning or "pyrograving" (Staub 80). Most Mende have some level of skill in producing the tools for everyday living, but the local smith takes a prominent role in society. He works in both metal and wood, but also acts as a leader and mediator within the community. While this spoon could have been crafted by the smith, it is possible that it was created for completing the simple tasks of daily cooking by any Mende layman. A man would learn these skills at a special "bush school" (Staub 44). "