Zande people
 Zande men with shields, harp | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| about 1.1 million | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Central African Republic | |
| Languages | |
| Zande | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity, African Traditional Religion |
The Azande (plural of "Zande" in the Zande language) are an ethnic group of north Central Africa.
They live primarily in the northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in South Sudan, and in southeastern Central African Republic. The Congolese Azande live in Orientale Province, specifically along the Uele River; and the Central African Azande live in the districts of Rafaï, Zémio, and Obo.
Name
The word Azande means the people who possess much land, and refers to their history as conquering warriors.
There are many variant spellings of Azande, including: Zande, Zandeh, A-Zandeh, Sandeh, etc.
The name Niam-Niam (or Nyam-Nyam) was frequently used by foreigners to refer to the Azande in the 19th and early 20th century. This name is probably of Dinka origin, and means great eaters in that language (as well as being an onomatopoeia), supposedly referring to cannibalistic propensities. This name for the Azande was in use by other tribes in South Sudan, and later adopted by westerners. Today the name Niam-Niam is considered pejorative.
Another tribe called the Niam-Niams were a tribe from ancient legend, said to have short tails.
Language
The Azande speak Zande, which they call Pazande. (also known as Zandi, Azande, Sande, Kizande, Badjange). Zande is a member of the Ubangian language family, with an estimated 1.1 million speakers.[1] "Zande" is used also more widely of a set of closely related Ubangian languages, besides Zade proper including Barambu, Pambia, Geme, Kpatili and Nzakara.
Demographics
The Zande population is spread over three countries, namely South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic.
Estimates of Zande speakers reported in SIL Ethnologue (2009) are 730,000 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 62,000 in the Central African Republic (1996 estimate) and 350,000 in Sudan (1982 estimate), amounting to a total population of just above 1 million.[1]
Agriculture
The Azande are mainly small-scale farmers. Crops include maize, rice, groundnuts (also known as peanuts), sesame, cassava and sweet potatoes. Fruits grown in the area include mangos, oranges, bananas, pineapples, and also sugar cane. Zande land is also full of oil palms and sesame.
From 1998 to 2001, Zande agriculture was boosted since World Vision International was buying agricultural produce. The Azande managed to supply enough maize, soya beans, sesame, sorghum and groundnuts to feed the whole population of southern Sudan.[citation needed]
Traditional beliefs
Most Azande traditionally practiced an African Traditional Religion, but this has been supplanted to a large extent by Christianity. Other traditional beliefs include magic and witchcraft. Among the Azande, witchcraft is believed to be an inherited substance in the belly which lives a fairly autonomous life, including performing bad magic on one's enemies. Witches can sometimes be unaware of their powers, and can accidentally strike people to whom the witch wishes no evil. Because witchcraft is believed to always be present, there are several rituals connected to protection from and cancelling of witchcraft that are performed almost daily. When something out of the ordinary occurs, usually something unfortunate, to an individual, the Azande may blame witchcraft, just as non-Zande people might blame "bad luck".
Oracles are a way of determining from where the suspected witchcraft is coming, and were for a long time the ultimate legal authority and the main determining factor in how one would respond to the threats.
E. E. Evans-Pritchard and other anthropologists have paid special attention to Zande stories about Tule, also known as Ture. Tule (pronounced [ˈtule])(Ture), which means "spider" in Zande, is sometimes portrayed as a trickster, similar to Anansi or Br'er Rabbit.
(Mr Migihe Lawrence Enosa Mbaraza) According to my late Grandfather Rev. Canon Enosa Mbaraza, the Azande population was 1.1 Million before the British came into the Azande Kingdom. At that time there were no international borders within the Azande Kingdom. It was one Kingdom stretching from Rafaï, Zemio and Obo in what is now the Central African Republic, to the regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo along the Uele River, and the Western Equatoria State in South Sudan.
Azande territory covers a vast expanse of land from the fringes of the Upper Nile basin in South Sudan to the Semitropical rain forests in Congo and part of the Central African Republic.
See also
Notes
References
-
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Niam-Niam". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press - Evans-Pritchard, E. E. (1979) ‘Witchcraft Explains Unfortunate Events’ in William A. Lessa and Evon Z. Vogt (eds.) Reader in Comparative Religion. An anthropological approach. Fourth Edition. New York: Harper Collins Publishers. pp. 362–366
- Evans-Pritchard, E. E. (1967) The Zande Trickster. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Evans-Pritchard, E. E.1937 Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande. Oxford University Press. 1976 abridged edition: ISBN 0-19-874029-8
- Spike-TV (2010) Deadliest Warrior, Episode 13: "Aztec Jaguar vs Zande Warrior"
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