Azaghvana E-Book 2003 - Flipbook - Page 572
Mbarte
Rectum; anus; ground level or bottom level; the sun is seen to rise out
of the 'bottom' of this world which we interpret as an oral historical
reminder of a pre-Copernican worldview (Chapter 3.16).
Mbitha
Gourds grown at the house
Mbra/Ngra
Mythical ancestor of all Dghweɗe and many other groups of the
Gwoza hills, including the Wandala; linked to the Tur tradition
(Chapter 3.3).
Mbthawa
Patrilineages that could intermarry (opposite of gwagha); see example
of marriage alliances between the major lineages descending from
Thakara as founding ancestor of Ghwa'a (Chapter 3.6).
Mughuze-Ruwa
Outsider ancestor of the largest clan group in Dghweɗe (see Chapters
3.4 and 3.5); Vaghagaya was the most succesful 'son' of Mughuze and
played a key role in the founding legend of Korana Basa; in Mughuze's
case the oral historical narrative puts great emphasis on the legendary
role of his first wife 'Bughwithe' of Hembe as the mother of Vaghagaya
(see Chapters 3.7 and 3.20).
N
Ndafa
Sauce and eating bowl (Plate 59g); also had ritual uses, and we
identified two dedicated storage facilities: one was the 'stomach' of the
house shrine (khuɗi thala) and the other was the loft of the first wife's
room (gude tighe); see Figure 20b and Plate 43a for storage
illustrations; the ndafa stored in the 'stomach' of thala was also used to
libate beer over the three ancestor stones (kwir thala).
Ndange
Ceremonial bird-shaped knife (Plate 59k); was carried in the right hand
by the ngwa garda at the place called Fkagh Gwatadhe (see Figure 22
illustrating the key stations of dzum zugune) during the first step of the
second stage of dzum zugune (Chapter 3.14).
Ndighuva
Seeds of the fruits of a tree used to make a ritual sauce for thagla
(harvest festival) in the absence of sorghum for brewing ritual beer; the
rest of the ndighuva fruit seeds are thrown on the path; another
alternative to sorghum beer was sorrel leaves (bathi'a); see interview
with Zakariya Kwire in Chapter 3.13.
Ndughwe
Large beer pot (Plate 29e); it was used for cooking and storing beer.
Ngurangura
Diospyros mespiliformis; tree used by rainmaker to tie carpet grass
(ghalaghala) to increase the growth of crops and also to control strong
winds (see Chapter 3.10); Table 6b lists a ritual group site in
Gathaghure as 'Ngurangura ga Gaza' (Chapter 3.9).
Ngwa garda
First step of second stage of dzum zugune; see Chapter 3.14 for details.
Ngwa hamtiwe
First stage of dzum zugune; only a man whose father and senior
brothers had completed dzum zugune (at least as long as they were
alive) could be a ngwa hamtiwe; see also kaɓa ritual following the
death of a man's father as precondition of becoming a ngwa hamtiwe
(Chapter 3.14).
Ngwa kwalanglanga
Second step of second stage of dzum zugune; after the ngwa garda ran
downhill they changed into ngwa kwalanglanga and danced back
uphill to perform the fstaha initiation of the house (Chapter 3.14).
Ngwa yiye
Third stage of dzum zugune; after the senior rainmaker had planted the
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