Azaghvana E-Book 2003 - Flipbook - Page 399
Comparison of the equivalent of dzum zugune among the Dghweɗe neighbours
Other than the distribution of the bull festival as a communal event, we seem to have less data
on the equivalent of dzum zugune among the Dghweɗe neighbours. In a comparison John
Zakariya carried out for us about dzum zugune and some other key features of Dghweɗe
culture, he only mentions the Gvoko, the Chikiɗe and the Glavda as having something similar
to dzum zugune. However, the data are rather rudimentary and he did not ask about the Guduf
or the Chinene. Apart from the groups mentioned, he also inquired about the Mafa, Lamang
and Zelidva, and whether any of them had anything that could be compared to dzum zugune.
Since John's inquiry was not substantial, we cannot be at all sure about that result, except of
course for the Mafa because we know for certain that they did not have anything comparable.
Table 10: John's list of comparison of equivalents to the Dghweɗe dzum zugune stages
Glavda
Tsufga
(John's
Glavda
source
was Baba
Katighaya
Thga, age
unknown)
Gvoko
Pughu
(John's
Gvoko
source
was Baba
Dukwa
Bala,
aged 80)
Chikiɗe
(John's
Chikiɗe
source
was Baba
Huparda
Zgah,
aged 95)
Fstaha
The Glavda had tsufga like the Dghweɗe had dzum zugune. If they planned to
perform tsufga they would not have eaten green leaves for a whole year during
the night because it was against the rule of the tsufga ritual. During tsufga the
Glavda only wore a goatskin and when they went to the place Zaghandara,
people would carry the candidate on their back to that place, and on their
return they would hide because the tsufga performers would beat them with
lashes. The Glavda tsufga took up to three years to complete, while the
Dghweɗe needed up to five years. Another difference was that tsufga
performers could not marry each other's wife or daughter and during a
traditional fight they could not fight one another. Also when one of them died
they would not attend the funeral on the first day because it was against their
practice. It was also against the rule of tsufga to wrestle with a tsufga mate.
Another difference was that dzum zugune included running while tsufga did
not include a running competition.
Pughu in Gvoko was done by someone who had become rich. To perform
pughu he would have prepared enough beer and food for the people to eat and
drink while they gathered around him. The people were dancing and singing
while the person performing pughu would have sat on a stool to show that he
was a man for himself. The Gvoko performed their pughu for only one year.
The Gvoko pughu procedures differed from Dghweɗe because the Gvoko
tradition allowed people to perform it without their fathers or elder brothers
performing it first. The Dghweɗe did theirs over five years while the Gvoko
did theirs only in one year.
Fstaha in Chikiɗe took four years to complete. In the first year, they used the
skin from an aborted goat and would not wear anything else. In the second
year, the performer would get a goatskin and put it around his neck and would
have been dancing all around the village with it. In the third year, they would
have put on certain types of dresses. These dresses consisted of ram skin,
goatskin, and also clothes made of cotton with a big traditional helmet on their
heads and with a very big stick in their hand. The sticks had some spots on
them and they would go around the village dancing and hitting the sticks on
the rocks or on any solid things that would sound very well. In the fourth year,
they would dress like somebody going to war with shields and spears and
everything else needed for warfare. Early in the night, they would go to Gava
to get a fruit of a mahogany tree and come home with it. In the morning people
would be hiding because they beat people if they saw anyone outdoors. Next,
they would climb a small rock and jump down three times and that was the
end of it. During jumping down the rock they would not want any stone to hit
or touch their legs since the performer could otherwise die.
Among those three Gwoza hills groups listed by John, the Chikiɗe and the Glavda appear to
have a ritual which can be compared to dzum zugune in terms of a man having to go through
several stages over consecutive years, while the Gvoko have a celebration called pughu which
certainly bears similarities to the idea of dzum zugune, but as an individual accomplishment
which does not seem to have much of a collective performance aspect. It was performed only
once, although we cannot be entirely sure about that. The Chikiɗe equivalent of dzum zugune
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