Azande
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- Niam-Niam redirects here. Niam-Niam can also refer to a Mancala game with a 2×8 and stores.
| Azande |
|---|
| Total population |
|
1,000,000-3,800,000 |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Central African Republic |
| Languages |
| Zande |
| Religions |
| Christianity, animism |
The Azande (plural, "Zande" in singular) are a tribe of north central Africa. Their number is estimated by various sources at between 1 and 4 million.
They live primarily in the northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in southwestern Sudan, and in the southeastern Central African Republic. The Congolese Azande live in Orientale Province, specifically along the Uele River; and the Central African Azande live in the districts of Rafaï, Zémio, and Obo.
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[edit] Language
The Azande speak Zande, which they call Pazande in their language. (Their language is also called Zandi, Azande, Sande, Kizande, Badjange). Zande is an Adamawa-Ubangi language.
[edit] Population
The Zande population is spread over three countries, namely Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic - the effect of colonial borders. In most cases, people use the estimate in Sudan to determine the total Zande population, an approach that does not show correct estimates[citation needed].
[edit] Agriculture
Zandes are mainly small-scale farmers. Crops include maize, rice, groundnuts (also known as peanuts), sesame, cassava and sweet potatoes. Fruits grown in the area include mangos, oranges, bananas, pineapples, and also sugar cane. Zande land is also full of oil palms and sesame.
From 1998 to 2001, Zande agriculture scheme was boosted as World Vision was buying agricultural produce. Zandes managed to supply as much maize, soya beans, sesame, sorghum and groundnut as possible to feed the whole population of Southern Sudan sacks were marked Yambio or feed Sudan within Sudan.[citation needed]
[edit] Livestock
Azande have changed dramatically over the past years. In the 1970s, the only domestic animals the Zandes raised were chickens; by the early 1980s, the number of domestic animals had increased
[edit] History and traditional beliefs
Most Azande traditionally practiced an animist religion but this has been supplanted to large extent by Christianity. Their traditional beliefs revolve mostly around magic, oracles and witchcraft. Witchcraft is believed to be an inherited substance in the belly which lives a fairly autonomous life performing bad magic on the person's enemies. Witches can sometimes be unaware of their powers and can accidentally strike people to whom the witch wishes no evil. Because witchcraft is believed to always be present, there are several rituals connected to protection and cancelling of witchcraft that are performed almost daily (Evans-Pritchard 1979).
Oracles are a way of determining from where the suspected witchcraft is coming and they were for a long time the ultimate legal authority, the one setting the action as how to respond to the threats.
Homosexual marriage was another Azande traditional practice. Unmarried Azande warriors routinely took on boy-wives, who would be between the ages of twelve and twenty. They would purchase these boys in exchange for spears, and their bond would be publicly acknowledged. The boys did not cook, but would fetch cooked food, and would perform other services for their husbands. Their sexual relations were intercrural, and the Azande expressed disgust at the mention of anal penetration.
The practice had died out in the early 20th century, together with the military tradition, after Europeans had gained control of African countries but was recounted to him by the elders.[1][2]
[edit] Folklore
E. E. Evans-Pritchard and other anthropologists have paid special attention to Zande stories about Tule, also known as Ture. Tule (pronounced [tule] TOO-lay), which means "spider" in Zande, is sometimes portrayed as a trickster, similar to Anansi or Br'er Rabbit, and sometimes as a god.
[edit] The Name
The word Azande means the people who possess much land, and refers to their history as conquering warriors.
There are many variant spellings of Azande, including: Zande, Zandeh, A-Zandeh, Sandeh, etc.
The name Niam-Niam (or Nyam-Nyam) was frequently used by foreigners to refer to the Azande in the 19th and early 20th century. This name is probably of Dinka origin, and means great eaters in that language (as well as being an onomatopoeia), supposedly referring to cannibalistic propensities. This name for the Azande was in use by other tribes in Sudan, and later adopted by westerners. Naturally, today the name Niam-Niam is considered pejorative.
Another tribe called the Niam-Naims were a tribe from ancient legend, said to have short tails.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Evans-Pritchard, E. E. (December, 1970). Sexual Inversion among the Azande. American Anthropologist, New Series, 72(6), 1428-1434.
- ^ Seligman, Ch. G. & Seligman, B. Z. (1932) The Azande. London: George Routledge & Sons / Pagan Tribes
[edit] References
- Evans-Pritchard, E. E. (1979) ‘Witchcraft Explains Unfortunate Events’ in William A. Lessa and Evon Z. Vogt (eds.) Reader in Comparative Religion. An anthropological approach. Fourth Edition. New York: Harper Collins Publishers. pp. 362-366
- Evans-Pritchard, E. E. (1967) The Zande Trickster. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Evans-Pritchard, E. E.1937 Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande. Oxford University Press. 1976 abridged edition: ISBN 0-19-874029-8
[edit] External links
- Niam-Niam A public domain article from a 1911 encyclopedia.
- Ethnologue entry on the Zande language.
