Azaghvana E-Book 2003 - Flipbook - Page 417
resulting in the sacrifice of a fellow human's spirit while asleep. After all, the Dghweɗe did
not actually believe that their deceased fathers and grandfathers physically ate the food
sacrificed to them, so neither could a sorcerer actually sacrifice a human spirit to gwazgafte
during this enaction of their supernatural activities.
Perhaps the following anecdote will underpin our interpretation of what our Kwalika sources
meant in speaking of the kind of sacrifices allegedly performed by sorcerers. The tale was
told to me in Hudimche. It was claimed that particularly dangerous sorcerers from Kwalika
could be identified by the line marks left on the ground of public places by the sexual organs
of their victims. These allegedly consisted either of one line caused by the clitoris of a female,
or two parallel lines from the testicles of a male victim of such sacrificial sorcery. Such sexual
markers left on the ground, allegedly visible as straight lines, were interpreted as a sign that a
victim had been dragged through a public space during the night while asleep, and it was seen
to be a mark that a particularly powerful male sorcerer left behind. This tale was told to me by
someone from Ghwa'a, and we remember that Kwalika had a history of being marginalised,
and they were seen as particularly dangerous people with access to the supernatural. We
remember for example the role of the Ɗagha Kadzgwara, and that Kwalika was accused of
having led Hamman Yaji into Dghweɗe by virtue of their access position at the western
foothills.
Our friends from Kwalika denied any such thing, and said that neither sorcery nor its cure
were down to any particular power that sorcerers or healers applied, but that everything was
entirely down to gwazgafte. Perhaps this view emphasises that both the injury and the healing
sides of sorcery were generally seen as different aspects of gwazgafte in a more overarching
sense, as a universal supernatural agency which could be accessed by sorcerers and healers
alike. We will see below how the Dghweɗe spoke of the transformational force that some
talented people owned and used, and with which sorcerers and healers were seen as being
equipped. Perhaps the human sex drive, as both a constructive and a destructive reproductive
life force as an aspect of gwazgafte, should be presumed here. In that way, witchcraft and
sorcery were in our hypothesis perceived as integrated parts of existential personhood, similar
to the human sex drive as the most vital aspect of the force of human reproduction.
We will now present a list of sexual connotations and personality types and traits, which
includes what we will refer to as natural mental illness or confusion, as opposed to illness,
bad luck or even death caused by supernatural attack. In that context we will distinguish
between pathological personality traits and those linked to sorcery and witchcraft. The reason
for this approach is to try to produce a more distinct assessment as to whether the Dghweɗe
traditionally distinguished between mental illness and mental deterioration caused by sorcery
attacks. I need to emphasis that our comparison is purely hypothetical, but hope that it helps
to sharpen our perspective on the Dghweɗe concept of existential personhood.
List of sexual connotations and words for types of positive and negative personality traits:
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the sex act is expressed in the word rɗa
sɓila is applied to both genders if someone is over-interested in sex
the erected penis is called sɓila ce geve
the clitoris is called dadatha or dadakatha
the vagina has many names. Ndale is the general name, but to avoid naming it
directly it is referred to as kushe
huwe is someone who always thinks of himself first, or who always wants to have
more than everyone else
ndaɓe is someone who always wants to give, someone who is generous
game means good in terms of handsome
wudiye means a positive personality
baza means bad in terms of ugly
wudiye va means that someone is not a positive person
a zalghede would be classified under wudiye va only
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