firedrill

One of a pair of firesticks made from 'lguita' wood by Dorobo elders. This stick is the 'drill' ('lpiroi'), and is long, narrow, and cylindrical.

Kept in the house and used ritually by boys from 20 years upwards, morans and elders. When a new generation of morans is made, the last but one generation of morans (now elders) are responsible for them. They are known as firestick elders. They begin a new generation of morans by lighting a fire with new firesticks in a special enclosure within a new boma, built especially for the new morans. This is a blessing. Firestick elders can also curse their morans.

object
MUSEUM NUMBER
1972.129.2
PLACE
COLLECTION
MEASUREMENTS
overall: 522 mm x 11 mm
MATERIAL/TECHNIQUE
wood
CATEGORY
Anthropology: Ethnography
SHAREABLE LINK

Continue exploring anthropology

Collection Information

These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.

The database retains language taken from historical documents to help research. Please note that some records may feature language and reflect systems of thinking that are outdated and offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.

If you have any further information about objects in our collections, can suggest corrections to our information or if you see content requiring immediate action, please contact us: enquiry@horniman.ac.uk