Azaghvana E-Book 2003 - Flipbook - Page 442
Photographs I took to document the various aspects of Durghwe
A close-up photograph of the 'granaries' of Durghwe are shown on the back cover page of this
book, and in Plates 61a-61k we will add more images to give an improved idea of the three
pillars and the surrounding summit area of this significant interethnic mountain shrine. We
presented more distant views in earlier chapters, either from Dghweɗe or looking towards
Durghwe from afar. Unfortunately we do not have a picture of Durghwe from a similar
distance in the western plain, to check how Barth might have seen it during his journey in
1851. Instead we will rely on a reconstruction presented in the next chapter section.
Before showing new images, we want to look again at those presented earlier. We start with
Plate 6a (see Chapter 1.1) where we have a view from the western side of the summit of
Durghwe. We recognise the Guduf saddle and the Zelidva spur while looking towards the
northwest, perhaps in the direction of Mutube, which we present in Figure 26d as Barth's
second view of the Gwoza hills. There he marked out the Zelidva spur, describing it as the
beginning of a mountainous region. This view was presumably still somewhat further north of
Mutube, and we have to wait until he almost reached Isge before he provides us with more
information about what he saw. If we compare Plate 6a with Figure 26d, we can see the
Guduf saddle in both pictures from opposite points of view, a reconstructed one from the
western plain and another overlooking that very plain from the steep western summit of
Durghwe.
Plate 10a shows one of the few distant views of Durghwe I photographed, which is from the
border of Korana Basa and Kwalika in southern Dghweɗe, with the summit and the rock
columns of Durghwe visible in the north. Unfortunately we do not know for how long
Durghwe would remain visible if we were to carry on walking south across the Tur heights, as
I failed to look back and photograph Durghwe when I did this walk. While Plate 10a gives a
view of the visibility of Durghwe across the mountain chain from the southwestern corner of
Dghweɗe, Plate 10b presents Durghwe from the east, including a view of the terraced hillside
of Ghwa'a. We know that Durghwe was also visible from the Moskota hills on the other side
of the plain, and we think its physical distinctiveness made it a significant sight beyond the
immediate neighbourhood of Ghwa'a. Its characteristic summit and far-reaching visibility as
the highest point of Ghwa'a must have contributed to its importance as the most northern
subregional rain shrine, but that was only in terms of appearance.
As for the Dghweɗe themselves, it was the Btha lineage of Ghwa'a that had the ritual
responsibility for Durghwe, and also when it came to demands from Gvoko or further south,
but we have to admit we have no comparative oral evidence from Guduf and Chikiɗe. They
too had stopped sacrificing to their 'granaries' at Durghwe, and we strongly assume that the
seventh born (thaghaya) of Ghwa'a was the main custodian of ritual demands from further
south. This makes sense, especially if we consider the historical importance of 'Johode'
(Ghwa'a) as the early arrival zone from Tur. As reported earlier, the Thakara lineage remained
in Ghwa'a when Irira moved on to found Chikiɗe (Chapter 3.3), and it is logical to infer that
Ghwa'a as the early arrival zone provided the main custodians of Durghwe. Next we will
present additional physical aspects of the summit as photographed from Ghwa'a.
Although we do not know how long Durghwe would remain visible if walking along the Tur
heights, in Plate 61a there is a photograph showing that it was indeed visible from as far as
the north side of the Sukur massif. We can just about see the Zelidva spur on the horizon far
in the north, and next to it, after the Guduf saddle, there is Ghwa'a and Durghwe. After that
we see a rock formation of a very distinct shape, which marks the most northern beginning of
the Tur heights. Please consult Plate 11a for a close-up, taken shortly passing Ngoshe Sama of
Gvoko. Plate 61b shows a much closer view of Durghwe taken from Tatsa, which is to its
immediate south, and we recognise the flat place known as tar durghwe (tar = flat land on the
hill) at the top southern foot of the summit of Durghwe. We will learn more later from our
Dghweɗe friends about Tar Durghwe as a celebratory ground. Plate 61c shows a direct view
of Tar Durghwe, which according to our oral sources had very soft ground as the water table
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