The months of January, February till early March are known in rural Zande regions for fishing. In these months, the level of seasonal rivers drops, leaving fish exposed for the effective ‘scooping water’(gara ime) out of the fish. Women and children who keep homes lively throughout the year, spend these months fishing in the rivers [...]
The moon symbolizes different things to different cultures and religions. For instance, in many religions a waning and waxing moon is a sign of fertility, related to life and death (Fr. Johann Roten, n.d.). Many Zande people are keen to know when a moon crescent would appear, and then welcome it by shouting. As a child, I [...]
The author of this essay reflects on explanation of how the dead become atoro (spirits) and live on. Culturally it is explanied that the spirit escapes the body at death and become spirits that offer divine-like services to the living. Their services may have positive or negative influences on us mortals. While this explanation is against Christian doctrines, still some elements of the explanation live on
Explaining what happens at funerals, burials and the construction of the grave can easily make one to forget another vital aspect of Zande funerals: its funding. One might suspect that the ‘owner of the funeral’ (irakpee) provides everything at the funeral. But is that so? This essay will explore how Azande used to fund the [...]
Have you ever listened to a song that had great influence on your life? While some particular songs have influence on an individual level, there are some that influence the entire society or sub region. Today I would like to share with you such a song that greatly influenced the style of building graves among [...]
“The soil has been eating good people, alas!”was an expression my late grandma would utter each time she would come from a burial. Death, though Azande says it is a brother to sleep , turns to be dreadful when the dead must be buried. Anthropologists who studied Azande documented much on burials. Although Zande burials [...]
When we get sick, we may go to drug stores, clinics, Primary Health Centers, hospitals and referral hospitals. We visit medical personnel in these places with the hope of getting well. Some sicknesses are treated fast, while others take long or even kill the patient. But what happens when patient’s condition keeps worsening even though [...]
In part two of learn Pazande today, I’ll introduce you some basic conversation between a patient and a physician. For Azande in diaspora, this conversation can be studied by children and later on be acted as a drama. I hope this will enhance your Pazande vocabulary. English Pazande Doctor: Enter please. Take a [...]
Bambombo was the local term given to a deadly poison that was meant to destroy termites in Nakpazigi village of Nzara town. Bambombo instead was used as a weapon of mass destruction for fish and other living organism in the nearby rivers. Why would a Zande spare termites and destroy fish instead? The answer lies [...]
What is your marital status? Single married . If married, how long have you been married? These are some of the questions that appear on forms about marriage. But Zande cultural meaning of marriage goes farther than Merriam Webster dictionary definition ‘the state of being united as spouses in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized [...]
