15 · Treasure · technique

Tools in relation

Bow, arrows, spear, bag and dog collar

The bow, spear and accessories form a hunting set collected in Kaninya.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

Relative-scale inventory of bow, arrows, spear, bag and dog collar without human figure — **DECLARED VISUAL RECONSTRUCTION · AI-GENERATED IMAGE · TRACEKEEPERS**
Generated reconstruction · Declared visual hypothesis
AI RECONSTRUCTION · visually verified inventory, forms not exact

History and context

The Kaninya set brings together bow, arrows, spear, bag and dog collar collected by John Lister.

It can dialogue with testimonial vocabulary from Mgahinga if both provenances remain separate and visible.

Evidence and interpretation

British Museum Af1948,08.202, .209 and .257–.265.

Catalogue facts

Narrative date: ca. 1947
Location: Kaninya, Rwanda; today London
Material: wood, iron, fibres, leather and materials to be verified in each record
Context: Do not stage generic hunting, slain animal or present activity.
Curatorial reading: The documented fact and its interpretation appear separately in the evidence block.
Dossier axis: treasures
Research record: BATWA · treasure-kaninya-hunting-ensemble
Documentary coverage: 2 museum, heritage, primary corpus or research sources for this stop.

A SHARED TOPIC, DIFFERENT MOMENTS

Objects connected through time

Follow a topic across the collections. A shared tag is a way to compare objects, not proof that one culture influenced another.

The order uses the midpoint of each approximate date range; ranges can overlap. Spacing does not represent elapsed time. Swipe, scroll or use the arrows. With the sequence focused, use ← / →, Home or End.

THE CURRENT OBJECT

Its date is not sufficiently established to place it on the timeline. We keep it here, separate from the dated objects.

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ca. 1947

Tools in relation

Batwa / Twa histories

Ca. 1947 documents the collection of the set; not manufacture nor antiquity of the practice.

Current record

Wood13 dated objects

1 / 13In the centre: Shigir Idol

Also connected, without a comparable date (3)

These objects are not placed after the others: an unknown date does not mean a more recent object.

Memory in performanceBantu-speaking worlds · 19th–20th centuries and transmitted practice
Rice on stiltsYayoi Japan · Especially 1st–3rd centuries CE
Rome learns in terracottaEtruscans and Rome · End of the sixth century BCE

You can scroll the first group without JavaScript. The other topics are also available below.

Iron

Current object, without a comparable date: Tools in relation.

Before the Iberias · Final Bronze, c. 1000 BCE · Iberians
Falcata from Almedinilla · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Iberians
Kabusanza, ca. 400 · ca. 400 CE · Batwa / Twa histories

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Iron changes the frontier · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
The workshop inside the ditch · 4th century BCE–3rd century CE, peak in Middle and Late Yayoi · Yayoi Japan
Weapons under the Lake · Mainly 3rd–1st centuries BCE · Celtic worlds

Leather

Current object, without a comparable date: Tools in relation.

Bow and arrows in a case · 5th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
Hunter’s tunic · early 20th century · Mande Worlds

Arms and military equipment

Current object, without a comparable date: Tools in relation.

Bilateral harpoon · ≈15,000 years · Magdalenian · Prehistory
Nahal Hemar Knives · 8th millennium BCE · Pre-Pottery Neolithic B context · Prehistory
Holmegaard bow · ≈7000 BCE · Prehistory
Gebel el-Arak knife · 3600–3200 BCE · Naqada II C–D · Ancient Egypt
Narmer Palette · ca. 3100 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Stele of the Vultures · Towards 2450–2425 BCE · Sumer
Naram-Sin Stele · Reign of Naram-Sin, 2254–2218 BCE · Sumer
Before Phoenicia · 20th–18th centuries BCE · Phoenicians
Talayotic sword · ≈1200–1000 BCE · destruction of the talayot towards 790 BCE · Iberians
The lute-shaped dagger · Towards 1000–400 BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Steppe kurgans · 7th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
Bow and arrows in a case · 5th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
Coțofenești helmet · Second half of the 5th century – beginning of the 4th century BCE · Thracians
Grave goods of Baza and Toya · First half of the 4th century BCE · Iberians
A battle on a comb · Early 4th century BCE · Scythians and Saka
The Solokha gold comb · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
453 astragali from Alarcos · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · necropolis chronology · Iberians
Falcata from Almedinilla · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Iberians
The blade became straight · 5th–1st centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Vas dels Guerrers · 3rd–early 2nd century BCE · Iberians
Warriors' Vase · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Iberians
The Shield that Did Not Fight · Around 350–50 BCE · Celtic worlds
Gladiators Cup of Chavagnes · 25–75 CE · Etruscans and Rome
Thracian Gladiator from Cádiz · 67–100 CE · Etruscans and Rome

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Daegok-ri grave goods · from c. 5th century BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Dance with weapons · Towards 400 BCE. Xenophon's story · Thracians
Four panoplies · No individual dating published on this record · Iberians
Weapons under the Lake · Mainly 3rd–1st centuries BCE · Celtic worlds

Hunting

Current object, without a comparable date: Tools in relation.

Holmegaard bow · ≈7000 BCE · Prehistory
Ashurbanipal Hunt · 645–635 BCE · Sumer
Hunter’s tunic · early 20th century · Mande Worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Fawn spear-thrower · Middle Magdalenian · Prehistory

A closer look

About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: September 5, 2026.

The hunting equipment also belonged to exchange networks

For Batwa communities in southwest Uganda, the study by Rose Nakayi identifies meat, skins and honey among the traded goods; also medicinal plants and aromatic woods could obtain cultivated food, metal or money. This regional context helps interpret the Kaninya equipment beyond animal capture: its products could sustain relations with other crafts and communities. The comparison does not attribute these exchanges to the unknown owners of these Rwandan pieces. It shows a regional economy documented in which hunting, gathering and trading were not exclusive activities.

Research · Forest Peoples Programme · Rose Nakayi, Land rights in Uganda: The case of the Batwa, 2009Access recorded: September 5, 2026.

Where it is held

The British Museum

Component of the group · Documented collection

The link brings together pieces attributed to Twa communities of Kaninya. The virtual file recomposes a comparative set and does not assert that all its components are displayed together.

The holding institution is documented; public display may change. Check its official record before visiting.

Sources and references

Expand this information and consult its sources

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Tools in relation

History and context

Evidence and interpretation

Catalogue facts

Objects connected through time

Tools in relation

Shigir Idol

Holmegaard bow

Abydos Boats

Royal Game of Ur

Standard of Ur

Maya's cubit

Wooden faces

Mazarrón 1

Mazarrón 2

Bow and arrows in a case

Kuba ndop

19th-century kora

Lukasa

A closer look

The hunting equipment also belonged to exchange networks

Where it is held

The British Museum

Sources and references

Did you enjoy this exhibit?