Gourd cleaner

Museum number:
5-6100
Permalink:
ark:/21549/hm21050006100
Accession number:
Acc.2155
Description:
Gourd cleaner; wood stick inserted in goat’s tail. Used by women to clean out the inside of narrow gourds after fumigation. The gourd is first cleaned inside with cow’s urine and then fumigated with a piece of special scented wood such as 5-6101. It is then brushed out with the goat’s tail. This one was found in a deserted Masai villiage.
Donor:
Ronald J. Clarke and University Appropriation
Collection place:
Olorgesailie, Kenya
Object type:
archaeology
Accession date:
1966
Department:
Africa (except Ancient Egypt)
Images:
Hearst Museum object titled Gourd cleaner, accession number 5-6100, described as Gourd cleaner; wood stick inserted in goat’s tail. Used by women to clean out the inside of narrow gourds after fumigation. The gourd is first cleaned inside with cow’s urine and then fumigated with a piece of special scented wood such as 5-6101. It is then brushed out with the goat’s tail. This one was found in a deserted Masai villiage.
Legacy documentation:
Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Gourd cleaner, accession number 5-6100, described as Gourd cleaner; wood stick inserted in goat’s tail. Used by women to clean out the inside of narrow gourds after fumigation. The gourd is first cleaned inside with cow’s urine and then fumigated with a piece of special scented wood such as 5-6101. It is then brushed out with the goat’s tail. This one was found in a deserted Masai villiage.

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