Kpakata, the species of mushroom men would never eat among the Zande. ‘Even if you haven’t seen chicken’s beak with a food, never eat kpakata,’ my grandma’s advise. Food, we could not survive without it for long! People often prefer eating specific foods, sometimes for religious, cultural or gendered reasons. Similarly, there are also items [...]
Mothers are experts on the growth and development of children. This is due largely to the close intimacy that exists between mothers and their babies. In describing how mothers becomes experts, one Zande mother said: ‘you don’t need to attend big schools to understand a baby’s growth… observing and trying to understand how a baby [...]
Nganganango atindi wirinai mbiko inaapai ~ fugo Zande Gi pangbanga re boro rengbe na kina dega kina tue sani rogo gi bangiri ba du ene. Akoo, oni mbupai fere, wene ausunge de fugo na kini girisihe kindi bere te, gidu re nga asada pai gbua. Gu sino nga inaapai areme dagba agu asino zagino aboro [...]
Most of us want to succeed in life. But what does ‘success’ mean? And how does one success in life? Paths to success are many, and hard work, determination, patience, and talent can all lead to success. While Azande acknowledge these paths to success, they often add an important cultural factor: the power of blessings. [...]
‘Mo gumba nga rengo? Mbori tee, kina boro rengo were nzunzu…’ Ti ima kpakara tipa Zande fura ki nyasihe zanga na zungahe. Gu fugo du ni kodikodihe na azungahe rogoho nga sino rani. Vovo pai nga Zande ni fura kini zungahe te. Mo bi, mbata fu kparaka yo ringara Zande ku rogo apaparaha biata, rimbasa [...]
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 [...]
