Endangered Material Knowledge Programme

Congratulations to Patrick Nunn, Tricia King and Roselyn Kumar for publishing an article in the interdisciplinary journal 'Human Ecology', titled "Contextualising future climate-forced community relocations on islands: the long history of water-related settlement mobility in Ra Province, Fiji." The article relates to their EMKP project, 'Traditions of Artificial-Island Construction in the Western Pacific Islands', a project hosted by the University of the Sunshine Coast.

If you would like to read the article, it can be accessed free of charge via this link: https://ow.ly/bqYf50ZjKQT

If you are interested in learning more about Gerelmaa's project, click here: https://ow.ly/TfS250ZjKQU

IMAGE CREDIT // Patrick Nunn, 2024 // IMAGE LICENSED UNDER CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

NEW EMKP COLLECTION RELEASE - Masks of the Navadurgā in Bhaktapur, Nepal: documenting the annual process of making the deities from raw soil to cremation ⬆️ A project hosted by The King's Foundation School of Traditional Arts

Congratulations to Emily Pott and the team for completing their project and uploading it to the repository!

The dances of the Navadurgā (nine goddesses, forms of Durga) and associated deities are at the centre of an annual cycle of festivals celebrated by the Newar community in Bhaktapur, Nepal. After a short absence, the return of the physical presence of the deities to Bhaktapur coincides with the delivery of the mask of each deity to the dancers who will embody them in a series of ritual dances. This project documented the knowledge associated with the recurring, annual making process whereby the masks are created through the transformation of dark lumps of soil into the bright, recognisable faces of each deity. In any generation, this knowledge is only held by one individual and ideally passed on from father to son through mainly silent demonstration and experience.

Because of the secret and ritual nature of the process, it had never been documented previously. The mask maker was only willing to allow documentation of the process for the first time because of the immense challenges that are currently faced and the worry that this knowledge would be lost. This radical step was taken with the understanding that this making process is crucial in facilitating the ability of the community to connect with, to know, and to live alongside their deities.

To learn more, click here: https://www.emkp.org/mask-deities-navadurga-bhaktapur-nepal/

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS // "We are particularly grateful to the mask maker, Purna Chitrakar, his son, Rajesh, and his wife, Chet Kumārī. We would also like to thank the rest of the family for their hospitality. In addition, the project would not have been possible without local co-investigators, Dr Renuka Gurung and Professor Dr Purushottam Lochan Shrestha, and local research assistant Rajesh Gaiju. We are greatly indebted to research assistant Jonathan Eeles for his many hours of dedicated work, and to Alma Aleksejeviene for stepping in on such short notice. Finally, we would like to mention the crucial importance of the local patrons of the mask-making process. Without them, it would not be possible for the work of the mask maker to continue."

IMAGE CREDITS // 1, 3, 4 & 9. Emily Pott, 2024 / 2 & 5-8. Renuka Gurung, 2024 / 10. Renuka Gurung, 2025 // ALL IMAGES LICENSED UNDER CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

NEW EMKP COLLECTION RELEASE - Material culture of traditional fishers on the Rufiji River floodplain, Tanzania ⬆️

Congratulations to Marie-Annick Moreau and the team for completing their project and uploading it to the repository!

Fishing with woven traps was once widespread. On Tanzania’s Rufiji River floodplain, the Ndengereko people still use a variety of fishing traps and techniques to catch fish. From local plant materials men weave basket traps and fishing fences (weirs) for use in the channels and ponds that swell and shrink with the floods. Women fish as well in drying ponds, using lengths of fabric to scoop up juvenile fish and shrimp. This project particularly focused on the gendered knowledge of the fishers, which included basket traps and weirs for men, and clothe-seine fishing for women. You can see examples of these differing but complementary knowledge systems in the photographs above.

These methods have been on the decline since the 1970s, with the adoption of nylon nets. Nonetheless, until recently traditional tools remained the most productive for catching fish at certain points in the flood cycle. The completion of the Julius K. Nyerere megadam on the Rufiji River, however, threatens downstream wetlands.

This project documents the material knowledge involved in making and using such traditional fish traps among communities of the northcentral Rufiji floodplain. The Ndengereko are recognised as skilled fishers, practicing a flood-adapted livelihood system. Historically, the Ndengereko did not accumulate material possessions. As a result, there are few physical manifestations of Ndengereko culture, with fish traps and woven baskets notable exceptions. Values of reciprocity associated with trap fishing between and among communities remain central to people’s understanding of fairness and belonging, and influence attempts to manage local fisheries resources. This project systematically documented how materials used to make fish traps are collected from the local environment; the various types of traps; the steps in their construction; where traps are sited in the landscape; and traps’ cultural significance. The project team also documented how people came to learn how to make and use the traps and of the value they assign to them; specialised vocabulary in the endangered local language (Ndengereko) as relates to the objects and their use; and, as appropriate, recordings of songs and stories relating to the objects studied.

To learn more, click here: https://www.emkp.org/fishers-rufiji-river-floodplain-tanzania/

HOSTED BY // University College London // ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS // "This project would not have been possible without the collaboration of our expert craftspeople and fishers. Thank you to the village and district officials for welcoming our project and to the entire Ruwe community for their support. Marie-Annick would like to especially thank Moshi, Karim, and their families for their warm hospitality. We are also grateful to Tanzania’s Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) for granting permission to conduct this research."

IMAGE CREDITS // Karim S. Tenge, 2023 // LICENSED UNDER CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

⬆️ NEW EMKP COLLECTION RELEASE: Last of the Bamba Bark Cloth Makers, Zambia, by Laurence Barham.

For generations, communities in northern Zambia used bark fibre to make clothing, containers, and other everyday items. However, the arrival of commercial textiles and plastic goods during the 20th century led to a steep decline in bark-cloth production. By 2020, only three individuals still possessed the knowledge and skills needed to practise this craft. Today, just two artisans remain.

This project documents the expertise of these last bark-cloth makers, recording their techniques, personal histories, and the ways they learned their craft. It also explores how their communities value bark cloth today, highlighting the cultural significance of a tradition that is now at risk of disappearing.

To learn more, click here: https://www.emkp.org/bemba-bark-cloth-makers-zambia/

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS // "We thank the following institutions and individuals for their support in enabling this project to take place: the National Museums Board of Zambia, the University of Zambia Humanities and Social Sciences Research Ethics Committee, and the University of Liverpool. The project moreover would not have been possible without the contributions of Charles Matipa as research assistant."

IMAGE CREDITS // 1-5, 7 & 9. Stephen Lawrence Barham, 2023 / 6, 8 & 10. Stephen Lawrence Barham, 2022 // ALL IMAGES LICENSED UNDER CC BY-NC-SA 4.0