Azaghvana E-Book 2003 - Flipbook - Page 190
any longer and that they had decided to leave together. Now the Mughuze-Ruwa people called
Linga, Zhiwe, and Mangala to come back but the rest left for Gudulyewe.
The story concludes with the famous divide of the 'sons' of Gudule, and we know that Gudule
himself was seen as the 'brother' of Ske, the lineage ancestor of the Gaske rainmakers. We
learn later (in Chapter 3.13) how Tasa banned Gudule from rainmaking because he had cut
the tail of his father's favoured cow to impress a local girl. The tale leads us to a continuation
of a collective legendary past and describes the oral historical circumstances of the ritual
privilege of the Gudule in starting the bull festival on behalf of the whole of Dghweɗe. The
bull festival was presumably, in late pre-colonial times, the most important communal festival
in Dghweɗe, and ceased being performed in late colonial times.
We next present the story of Ghwasa who came from Dghweɗe (according to oral history,
before the formation of the Mughuze-Ruwa) to settle in Divili (Plate 5b), a mountain village
high up on the Zelidva spur, where his grandson Kumba Zadva became the founding ancestor
of a whole new ethnic group: the Zelidva. After we tell the story of Kumba Zadva, we will
discuss both narratives, by looking specifically for their similarities and differences.
The story of the founding ancestor of the Zelidva
The story is left almost in its rough field format as it was compiled from various interview
sessions conducted in each of the Zelidva villages in 1994. There were variations of it, and
this is the one which I find most authentic. The story was told by lawan Mohammed Tada
Ndume, the village head of Wala (Fachikwe), with some corrections from the Divili and Juba
(Figure 3) version, which we will not retell separately. Again, we leave the original English
by Ibrahim Vile 2 mostly intact by only applying rudimentary changes:
Ghwasa came from Dghweɗe and had a son called Zadva. It is because he married a daughter of
Zuwagha, his son Zadva had Lamang as his mother tongue. Ghwasa met the [Lamang speaking]
Zuwagha people in Divili, where he hid in a cave. Every day when the Zuwagha people went
farming, he cut grasses for their animals and stole food they had left at home for their children. He
ate the food and went back to his cave. When the parents came from the farm, the youngest child
informed them that somebody was eating their food.
One man amongst the families asked the question from which direction he came. The children said
that he came from the cave. Ghwasa continued stealing the food after he had cut the grass for their
animals. Now the man was hiding at home and when Ghwasa came with his grass he dropped it
and gave it to the animals. Next, he went into the house to search for food. He ate the food. On his
way out of the house, the Zuwagha man stepped out. Ghwasa was scared and the man asked him
where he came from. He answered: 'I am from there', and showed towards the cave. The Zuwagha
man asked him to stay and he stayed with him.
There were many mature girls in the Zuwagha man's house and Ghwasa made one of them
pregnant. The man finally gave him his daughter as his wife. Although it was not considered an
offence it was still an illegitimate child. This illegitimate child was Zadva. Ghwasa had two sons,
Zadva and Kalaghva.
The Zuwagha people started molesting his children and he went to see a divine healer, to find him
medicine to feel independent so that he would feel free and his children as well. The divine healer
[a Ɗagha] advised him to go and kill a flying kind of snake [snake with wings]. He should kill the
snake, put it into a pot, and bury the pot at the rubbish dump. But he should mix the dead snake
with very small thorns. He should wait until a big man of the area would die and at the funeral
celebration he should spread the rotten snake and thorn mixture on the dancing ground, but he
should not forget to wear local skin shoes himself. Ghwasa strictly followed the divine healer's
advice and did exactly what he was told. He went in the night and sprayed the dancing ground.
People came and gathered the next day and when they danced they were affected by the poisoning
thorns. Gradually all those who got infected died.
2
Ibrahim Vile from Gwoza was my Lamang interpreter and research assistant during the 1994 survey.
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