1. How would you describe the Azande settlements and subsistence strategies?
The homes are supposed to be well kept. They are mud and thatched grass on wooden framework and their upkeep is a daily job. Courtyards are also cared for and valued. The way the house and courtyard looks, its state of organization and visual appeal, reflects back on the family living there. If it is not well kept, then the family is seen as sloppy or not of good character.
Their subsistence strategy is shifting cultivation. Their main crops would be maize,millet, gourds and pumpkins, manioc and bananas, groundnuts, and beans. Relying so heavily on crops is because they cannot herd cattle due to the tse-tse fly. Although they have so many crops, the Azande do eat meat gathered from hunting - though they do not hunt in dry seasons, they fish.
2. What type of political organization do the Azande follow and why?
The political organization of the Azande were kind of like clans, only not quite as specific. Only the royal clan really kept their bloodlines tracked, so for anyone else it was almost impossible to track down everyone from their family. Instead they organized into groups as political units, if some people happened to be related in the same group then it was by chance.
Before the Europeans came, the Azande were part of chiefdoms. Each chiefdom was independent from another and all were under a chief from the Avongara lineage. Even though all the chiefs were related, there was a lot of hostility and war going on between the chiefdoms. Each chief would have second in commands called emissaries, who would usually be their sons but were always from the same lineage, to look over and control territories within the chiefdom.
3. Who is the character "Ture" and what role does he perform among the Azande?
Ture is a character featured the most often in trickster tales told in the Azande culture. He is used as an example for children and his tales are tools to teach them right and wrong. Each tale features an adventure that he goes on to get something, but he usually gets distracted or acts rash and gets into trouble, in which he must find a way out. He often uses trickery or magic to get what he wants but because he is using a negative way or a way that doesn't belong to him (such as magic that is used or belongs to someone else) his plan usually ends in failure. Ture is a teaching tool and supplements "didctic social training". Although they are directed to children the Ture tales are "more than merely moral examples", they have themes that every person can relate to.
The tales also serve another purpose: to teach that in certain situations, rules cannot be applied - some rules can be broke in the right situation. The tales emphasize the middle ground and teach flexibility, as well as knwoing what the moral thing to do is. Each trickster tale, not just Ture's tales, gives an inside look into that culture and it's society.
4. In your opinion, what can we learn from the Azande culture?
I must admit what i think can be learned from the Azande is biased. I think that the Azande's forgiving look about witchcraft is interesting. But i like how they do not live in fear of it, and if someone is suspected of being a witch they can show good faith that they mean no harm, and then the matter is dropped and forgotten. In America, small communities in the south especially, witches are not so lucky. Once it has gotten out that someone is a practitioner of witchcraft that person is never looked at the same way. Many people instantly assume evil and "devil worship" and often times that witch is ostracized or met with hostility. In the Azande a witch is not always seen as evil, their mangu may be doing harm without them even knowing. Once they show they have no ill will, everything goes back to normal. I think that is something that American culture can learn - giving the accused a chance to explain they have no ill will and no one has any reason to fear, and then the matter should be over/the person continue to be treated the same way as before.
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