Azaghvana E-Book 2003 - Flipbook - Page 382
Plate 59b: BALWAYA and ZALIKA – used by ngwa yiye
Balwaya – lance made of iron, used for ngwa yiye during the third
stage of dzum zugune. It was also used for war and funerals, in the
latter case as part of mock encounters.
Zalika – lance made of iron, used for ngwa yiye during the third stage
of dzum zugune. It was also used for hunting leopards. We do not
know whether it was used by the bak zalika as the name would
suggest.
Plate 59c: RUMA – used by ngwa yiye
Spear or lance with two functional ends. The spearhead has two sharp and two
blunt sides on one side, while the other end is sharply pointed, fixed with a
piece of twined iron. It was used by the ngwa yiye who in their darke, the indigo
dress (Plate 57i), were known as 'lusa' or 'black cows'. The rainmaker would
have planted his ruma into a ritual dunghole (Plate 60a) found nearby his house,
which involved a series of sacrifices being carried out before and afterwards.
This all happened in the presence of the lineage elders of Ghwa'a who were
resting on dedicated sitting stones nearby (Plate 60b). Afterwards the ngwa yiye
would have celebrated their fstaha near the ritual dunghole.
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