Azaghvana E-Book 2003 - Flipbook - Page 207
Throughout Part Three we will refer to the Dghweɗe way of local group formation, not only
with regard to the specific social space it reproduces, but also in the context of the particular
belief system of the Dghweɗe and their cosmographic view of the world. In the next chapter
we will present the Dghweɗe system of specialist lineages, and see how the patrilineal descent
of rainmakers and cornblessers reflects the belief in a celestial world above and a primordial
world below, all interconnected by divine action. We will show how cosmological pairing
based on the patrilineal co-option of females was employed to maintain ritual control over the
promotion of fecundity from an ego-centred perspective in the form of 'brotherhood of the
same kitchen' (kuɗige).
Conclusion
This chapter has been about Dghweɗe relations and relationship terms and we realise that our
data are indeed fragmentary. We started with the patrilineal descent model of the Dghweɗe,
and explained that we used the English terms clan and lineage but without any theoretical
intention. We went so far as using the term 'maximal lineage' as a technical alternative for
clan, and in future chapters will sometimes use the terms major or minimal lineage, but
without any underlying theoretical reference to lineage theory. In the context of this, we
interpreted the Dghweɗe concept of ksage as the more classificatory expression of
genealogical descent, and kambarte as the geographical expression of localised group
formation and spoke of lineage sections in that context. The latter is a term gathered from
descent theory but is only used here as a technical term to express classificatory lineal descent
from the starting point of one locality.
We pointed to the nuclear or conjugal family home as the patrilocal base unit for patrilineal
descent, which by its very nature had to be connected to a particular place. In the context of
this, we realised that as a result of polygyny, the sons of one mother were referred to as
kuɗige (kitchen), a term referencing lineage splitting not only on the ancestor-centred
classificatory level but also on the ego-centred level of genealogical lineage. The two wives
of Vaghagaya are a typical oral historical example of ancestor-centred descent leading to
various future descent-group beginnings in different newly-founded neighbourhoods.
We also looked into exogamy rules, and found that the term gwagha indicated clan or lineage
exogamy, while zbe related to matrilateral exogamy across clan or lineage groups over four
generations in the past which had been reduced to only two generations in more recent years.
Then we picked up on the term skmama for generational grouping across one's own lineage
group, and were able to establish that the sons of one generation of skmama derived their
special relationship from the fact that their fathers were already skmama. Apart from sons with
different mothers leading to the term kuɗige as a sign of lineage splitting, skmama referred to the
sons of different fathers within one patrilineal descent group.
Finally, we gained some idea about the family-related social relationship terms of the Dghweɗe.
We were able to show that jije not only referred to one's grandfather, but also to most of the kin
of one’s grandfather's mother's brothers’ children down to the present generation. They would all
refer to each other as jije. The other aspect we were hopefully able to show was the great
inclusiveness of the Dghweɗe family relationship terms when it came to siblingship. The same
terms were used for full-siblings and half-siblings, but with an emphasis on gender as in female
siblings or male siblings. This was the case even across the divide of paternal and maternal
extended family connections.
In the final section of this chapter we tried to illustrate local group formation along kinship ties.
We pointed out that our model was very general, aiming to give a spatial idea of some of the key
concepts related to the various levels of patrilineal kin in specific situations of patrilocal
relatedness. In that context we showed which concepts were applied across clans and lineages,
such as ksage and zbe, and those that were more localised expressions, such as kuɗige and
kambarte. We also included the necessary lineage shrines (khalala) in the model, and said we
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