Azaghvana E-Book 2003 - Flipbook - Page 277
drink after the Ɗagha peacemaker had used his vavanza (Cissus quadrnangularis) to build a
magical forest wall, when their respective lineage ancestors had ventured into the eastern
plains.
We also see tharɗe, which we were able to identify as Imperata cylindrica or speargrass,
which played a role in making bandoliers, waistbands and neckbands for the first two stages
of dzum zugune (adult initiation). We will discuss speargrass again in the relevant chapter, but
can point out here that it was not generally considered to be a very useful grass, and we
wonder why it was important as part of the ritual dress code of the early stages of the
Dghweɗe adult initiation.
Table 7d: List of some weeds in Dghweɗe
Botanical
name
Dghweɗe and
other languages
Dhagla
Ture
Imperata
cylindrica
Dhraɓaɓa
Hausa: Kiriya
Vigire
Dawayara
Gagɗaya
Wumaya
Manziwghargha
Wire kukwe
Hiya kukwe
Ghalangwa
Skhwete
Yaghwa zalike
Tharɗe
Hausa: Cofa
(speargrass)
Short summaries of the various uses
It represents guinea corn and they use it to fix the terraces
together so that water cannot remove the stones which form
the terraces. It is an anti-erosive measure. It was also the
legendary grass pulled by the first Gaske rainmaker to
produce drinking water.
It is like millet. Is also used to fix the terrace stones
together. They plant it between the stones so that it
develops and grows there. The roots spread into the stones
and tie them together.
Always grows in terraces (ghargha = terrace wall)
'millet of kukwe' (kukwe = dove)
'guinea corn of kukwe'
'tigernuts of birds of prey' (yaghwa = tigernut)
Its only use was to make bandoliers and waistbands for
ngwa hamtiwe and neckbands for ngwa garda during dzum
zugune.
Insects were a particular threat in terms of crop protection, and the rainmaker had a particular
role in providing protection against them, not only against too little rain or too strong winds.
We therefore list the Dghweɗe words for types of insects in the next two subsections, and also
typical medicines the rainmaker would use to increase the yield of crops and animals.
A list of vermin in Dghweɗe
The following insects were listed by John Zakariya:
•
•
•
•
•
Kwakwiye
Ghude
Vavrunga
Kwada
Sasarɗe
- insect found in the ground and animal manure
- cricket
- insect coming out of the ground during rainy season eating crops
- insect which eats leaves of crops
- earthworm. It penetrates ground nuts and spoils them
The list speaks for itself. Crickets were perhaps the most dangerous insects, while we do not
know which of the other two main categories also represented a threat.
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