Azaghvana E-Book 2003 - Flipbook - Page 365
management, especially in the light of subsequent social transformations and technical
approaches to terrace farming.
The first chapter section about the four stages of dzum zugune starts with kaɓa, a ritual that
has been briefly mentioned before, which was crucial regarding an individual’s ritual
entitlement to start the first stage of dzum zugune. Producing plenty of sorghum beer to share
with family and neighbours for this was not all about becoming intoxicated but was a valid
socio-economic indicator for being a successful terrace farmer. Unfortunately we do not know
enough about the conditions of a man's entitlement if his father had not performed dzum
zugune, but know there was what we refer to as a 'patrilineal seniority rule'.
We know that dzum zugune was very much a family tradition, and men whose fathers and
older brothers had not performed it were not allowed to perform it. In that way seniority
counted. A man would even have to compensate his mother's brother with a specially
decorated billy goat, a pot of beer and a meal, if he wanted to perform it before him. We
therefore think that even if a man's entitlement to start dzum zugune changed with the death of
his father, he would still have to wait for his senior brother to perform it. We will discuss this
more later, including any other questions arising out of the apparent seniority rule, and the
potential death of any of the patrilineal family members who were part of the genealogical
chain.
We have kept the reconstructed field summary mainly in the ethnographic present, and list
many Dghweɗe words concerning dzum zugune. We will not always translate them, as it
would interrupt the flow of the narrative, but will translate them afterwards.
The four stages of dzum zugune – a reconstructed field summary from 1996
After the death of a man's father, he had to perform kaɓa before he could carry out his
independent sacrifice to his deceased father. Since a great deal of beer needed to be brewed,
and food preparation as well as goats to be slaughtered, it could take years following the death
of a man’s father for him to be in a position to perform kaɓa. First kaɓa and then har ghwe
were essential for a man who wished to perform dzum zugune, to free him from the economic
and social pressure to demonstrate full responsible manhood.
To perform dzum zugune was much more difficult than achieving kaɓa. All three granaries of
a house had to be full, and therefore a man and his family could not consume all of their
harvest every year, as part of it needed to be saved to gradually fill the granaries.
The four main stages of dzum zugune were:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Ngwa hamtiwe
Ngwa garda and ngwa kwalanglanga
Ngwa yiye
Bak zalika
These performances took place in the period between har ghwe, the sacrifice for a deceased
father after a man had successfully performed the kaɓa ritual, and har daghile (bull festival).
Har ghwe opened the ritual cycle and har daghile closed it.
Every man from Ghwa'a who was ready to perform dzum zugune would first perform har
ghwe, then carry a pot called jahurimbe filled with beer, to a local place called Fkagh Dzga.
The number of pots of beer brought to this place indicated the number of men wanting to
perform dzum zugune in that particular guinea corn year. These men would wear a special
dress for their har ghwe to show they wanted to start the entry stage ngwa hamtiwe. Thereby
they received a better share of the sacrifical meal for their dead father, as it was recognised
that they wanted to start dzum zugune.
The day after har ghwe, the beer pots were counted by the local elders who had gathered at
Fkagh Dzga. For the dresses, the entrants tied a goat skin around their hips, and three ropes of
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