Azaghvana E-Book 2003 - Flipbook - Page 559
A glossary of key Dghweɗe expressions used in this book
The glossary contains key expressions in the Dghweɗe language which appear in various chapters of
the book, and there are also some Hausa and Kanuri words that need explaining and we have
indicated when this is the case. The glossary is selective and does not list all the Dghweɗe words
used. The reader is invited to return to chapters with additional Dghweɗe word lists, such as the
chapter about working the terraced land and the chapter about the ritual density of Cissus
quadrangularis. Another list for study is the list of ritual pots in the chapter about the house as a place
of religious worship, and the list of dress and body adornments in the chapter about adult initiation
(dzum zugune). Other relevant chapters are referred to in the Dghweɗe cultural vocabulary below.
A
Alla [ɗala] ghuza’a
A mixture of goat’s blood and sour milk (perhaps alla should be
spelled ɗala); it was consumed on ritual occasions and our Dghweɗe
sources mentioned alla ghuza'a being removed from them by force
during the visit of lawan Buba which eventually led to his killing in
1953 (see comparison of colonial report and oral accounts in Chapter
2.2).
Azaghvana
Ethnonym often used by colonial officers to refer to the Dghweɗe;
Azaghvana means 'I say' in the Dghweɗe language and as such was an
ethnolinguistic self-reference claiming ethnic identity, but it was also
used by neighbouring groups. We interpret it more as a reference of
ethnic belonging to an Azaghvana-speaking local group rather than as
an expression of an overarching Dghweɗe ethnicity; see Table 1 for
similar synonyms for neighbouring groups (Chapter 1.2).
B
Bajije
Grandmother: you call your mother's mother bajije; your father's
mother you also call bajije; you also call the sisters of your father's and
mother's mother bajije; see Chapter 3.6 for more details.
Bak zalika
The fourth and final stage of adult initiation dzum zgune (see Chapter
3.14); see also photograph of a lance called zalika in Plate 59b.
Ɓala wurighe
Part of a palm tree (Borassus aethiopum); it is mentioned in Chapter
2.2 as one of the gifts taken by the Dghweɗe peacemaker mission to
the British resident in Maiduguri, leading to the arrest of Hamman Yaji
in the 1920s (see Chapter 2.2).
Ɓalghaya
Mountain yams (Chapter 3.10)
Balinga or Ghandawa lusa 'Monkey' or 'ash-coloured monkey'; consult Chapter 3.22 about the
classification of living and non-living things.
Balwaya
Lance made of iron, used by the ngwa yiye during the third stage of
dzum zugune; see a photograph of a balwaya lance in Plate 59b
(Chapter 3.14).
Bangagave
Hyena; see ritual link to harvesting from a bushfield in Chapter 3.22.
Barike
From English: barracks – Dghweɗe reference to the colonial
guesthouse in Ghwa'a (it was burnt down at the time of the killing of
lawan Buba in 1953); see comparison of colonial report and oral
memory account (Chapter 2.2).
Bathi'a
Sorrel to make a ritual sauce for thagla (harvest festival) in the absence
of guinea corn for ritual beer making; see also ndighuva as another
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