A Complex Polity
|Glossary
Texte intégral
athi: see muthoi
authi or kibata: warriors’ dance
baite: term of address a) between men of consecutive generations who have handed over power to each other; b) between men of different generational divisions; c) between a maternal uncle and his nephew once the latter has been initiated; d) among Meru, when they cross paths in Nairobi, for example; e) as a result of d), a nickname given to the Meru
bankiro: official lovers’ relationship between a man and a woman of conjoined generation sets
chuku: granary, once erected outside of the family kraal
ekaanga: dry, hot season around January and February during which raids increased
etaalia (pl. mataalia): step for measuring a length; age grade
etaana (pl. mataana): promotion of initiates; the three generational subsets classed by order of initiation: ndinguri ( “those who wait because it is closed”): first subset; kobia: [literal meaning not found]: second subset; kaberia ( “the little ones who are in front”): third and last subset
gaada (or gada): name of the generation-set system specific to the Borana and more widely to the Oromo people
gaaru: dormitory of the non-initiates; warriors’ hut; hut of the father
gakenye (pl. tûkenye): non-initiate, small girl
gichiario: kin relationship in the form of a blood brotherhood that prohibits marriage and fighting, and imposes a kind of mutual aid
gichiumû or gichumû: wooden object representing the male and female genitalia, used by non-initiates during games to test knowledge revealed gradually
gîkumbi: the wife’s house
girane: individuals, both male and female, who are reputed to be very beautiful, and to cause the death of successive spouses
gîtiba: term designating one or both generational divisions, or generational cycles; see ntaliba
gûciara: to be born, give birth, give new life; see ûciarwa
gûcimba: to spit through one’s upper teeth, to scorn sb.
gukurîrwa: provisional shunning of a husband declared by the women’s council
gûtûra matû: “ear piercing” ritual
gwato: contract between one who lends a cow and one who borrows it; cattle bond
gwûkwamira: curse carried out by women only
ibwa (mabwa): honeycomb of a hive; honeycomb cells; reticulum, the compartment of a ruminant’s stomach whose inner walls resemble the honeycombs of a hive
îcia: mother
ina: mother; inamuthenya: “day mother”; “godmother”
inya: energy of the creator principle, or Supreme Being, called Ngaï or Murungu; energy, force
iraa: cosmetic made from the salted white clay from Mwimbî or the Igombe crater, used in rituals involving the “accomplishment” of an individual
îrika (pl. marika): sometimes designates the female initiation promotions
ithe (pl. baîthe): father; ithemuthenya: “day father”; “godfather”
ithûngi: the “Erect”; in Tigania this designates the grade of the Accomplished; synonym of mwariki
îtîri (pl. matîri): threshing ground; the consecrated place on the public ground where boys and girls are (were) circumcised
jûûjû: grandparent; grandchild
kaaria: a kind of white clay that is the emblem of the set of women who have reached the grade of political power
kaberia: see etaana
kaîjî (pl. îwîjî): small non-initiate, small boy
kaita or kagita: the name of a healing association
kearao (pl. cearao): public ground of the “neighborhood” (ntoora)
kiaanda (pl. tûaanda): blacksmith’s workshop, potter’s workshop; kiaanda kia ntaanî: “novice’s workshop”, seclusion hut of newly circumcised boy
kiama (pl. ciama): council of Fathers of the country, council of men; kiama cia aka: “council of women”
kiara (pl. ciara): household waste pit
kiempe: drum, honey pot
kieni kia gaaru: “public ground of the warrior gaaru”; designates the communal ground where people gather within each territorial section
kîgwîria: “He who makes people happy”, honorific title
kiingo (pl. cingo): farming season that corresponds more or less to one semester
kîmukwa: pendant necklace received by a girl during the “ear-piercing” ritual
kiome (pl. iome): awning at the entrance to a father’s hut; place where men convene
kioncho: incest within generational sets; individuals (men or women) excluded from their generational sets; premature child
kîooro: iron for branding cattle; “trial of the kîooro or kioro”: trial by ordeal in which the novice is threatened
kirago: category of objects or particular individual (see mûgwe) considered beneficent and endowed with a protective force
kirato: sandal (s); a boy receives his first pair of sandals during the “ear-piercing” ritual
kîrimo or kîrimarimo: term to do with the idea of “swallower”; in initiation games and folktales, it designates a boy disguised as a wild beast, or a kind of ogre, or even a magic gourd
kîrumi (pl. îrumi): curse
kîrûrû: grain reserves inside the wife’s house
kitharimo (pl. itharimo): blessing
kitheega: “the Malignant”; term for a child conceived by an uninitiated big girl
kobia: see etaana
kûbirika: period of mourning; to mourn, with the tacit intention of getting rid of the mûgiro or pollution from an inauspicious death
kûbwithia kiongoana: “to repair the head”; phrase designating the category of rituals involving the growth and accomplishment of individuals
kuramuka: raid; see also njûûri
kuringa nthenge: “beating the goat”; designates a sort of oath-swearing ordeal
kurîria: category of songs chanted during visit by a boy or a girl to the mother’s kin preceding his or her initiation; name of this peregrination
kûruga na mîambo: “to fight through words”, to pretend to fight, a way of designating joking relationships
kûtaana: “to circumcise”, “to excise”; to initiate; see etaana
lamalle or ramare: warriors in charge of fetching the circumciser; council of warriors
lûbua: seclusion hut of a circumcised girl
maatha: twins
maitha: enemies
makûikû: name of a healing association
matheta or matuna: internal conflict
mirongo ithato: “thirty”; number designating the largest fine that a council of Fathers or women’s council could impose on a culprit
mirra: (Catha edulis) tree whose bark— from young branches—contains natural amphetamines, and is chewed
mîthega (sg. mûthega): medicinal plants, protective charms; always used in the plural
moran: in the Maasai language blended with Kiswahili, term designating a warrior; often used by white people to designate any warrior in eastern Africa
mûciari (pl. aciari): agnate
muciere (pl. aciere): woman of child-bearing age
mûciî (pl. mîciî): family kraal; mûciî jwa ngombe: “cattle enclosure”; mûciî jwa mîthega: “protective enclosure”, any family kraal whose father provisionally holds a ritual function
mugaa (pl. agaa): diviner-healer; mugaa wa ntaanî: “diviner-healer of the novices”, buffoon disguised as a cow who carries out the trial of the kîooro (see above) of the novices
mugambi (pl. agambi): “he of the speech”; in a council of Fathers of the country, the individual who stands out in his ability to express himself, to find solutions, and bring about agreement
mûgiro: state of sickness or contamination of an individual and/or a country, following a deliberate or involuntary transgression of the forbidden, or brought about by a curse
mûgwe (pl. agwe): dignitary who with the left hand blesses the newly promoted sets; in Tigania, designates the mantle worn by the individual responsible for these blessings
muka (pl. aka): female individual, young woman; term to designate an initiate after the birth of her first child
mûkenye (pl. nkenye): female adolescent, non-initiate who is growing
mûkiama (pl. akiama): “council man”; in Tigania it designates an individual whose function resembles that of the mûgwe (see entry)
mûkûrû (pl. akûrû): “he who has matured”; Father of the country; man who has begun initiating his children
muntuetû: “our man”; term of reference and address designating the maternal uncle
mûrimo (pl. mîrimo): disease
murogi (pl. arogi): witch
mûrumî (pl. arumî): male individual; term to designate a man who has become a young father
Murungu: see Ngaï
mûtaanî (pl. ataanî) wa îjîîjî: circumciser; mûtaanî wa nkenye: exciser, female circumciser muthaka (pl. nthaka): “Bushman”, warrior
muthoi (pl. athoi ou athi): hunter
muthoni (pl. athoni): ally (in marriage alliance)
mûturi (pl. aturi): blacksmith
muuma: truth, oath; kwaria muuma: litt. to speak truth, to take an oath
mwaka (pl. mîaka): year; mwaka ya mpaara: “year of fatigue”, year of scarcity or famine
mwalle: designates the bridewealth heifer; a deformation of mware, “girl” or “sister”
mwana (pl. aana): child
mwariki (pl. ariki): Accomplished; last age grade; see ithûngi
mwekûrû (pl. ekûrû): “matured woman”; Mother holder of the kaaria (see this term); woman who has begun initiating her children
mwenjî: “he who shaves”; the poor individual who deals with the corpses of those who die inauspiciously
mwerera or nthanîthio: part of the bridewealth, the paying of which permits the initiation of the future bride
mwîjî (pl. ijîîjî): adolescent, growing non-initiate
mwiriga (pl. mîiriga): territorial section, territorial sub-section; clan category, clan; front gate a) to the family kraal; b) to the cattle enclosure; category, species
nainchû: honey, mead
ncibi: secret council of non-initiated boys
ncoro or choro: horn of the set of women in power
ndatho: part of the bridewealth, the paying of which permits the departure of the future bride
ndinguri: see etaana
ndûgû: term used among the children of sisters; combined with other terms (ndûgû îcia, ndûgû etû, ndûgû imwe) ndûgû designates the various categories of potential allies among kin; the payments called ndûgû correspond to the heads of cattle paid for each child and each grandchild born from a sister who left to marry
ndwa: war
ngaa: women’s small wooden shield; part of the ethnonym Mwiko jwa Ngaa, used to designate the Tigania before the colonial conquest
Ngaï or Murungu: terms used to designate the Supreme Being; the first is of Nilotic origin, the second Bantu
ngoono cia ngombe: “stories told by cows”; riddle, enigma
ngutu: novice in her period of seclusion; initiated girl not yet married
ngwiko: form of coitus interruptus and/or intercrural sex
njuki: bee
njûûri: raid, battle; dance to celebrate the return of warriors who have killed an enemy
njûûri ncheke, or njuri ncheke: “raid by a small number” or “close council” made up of super-initiates responsible for the arrest and execution of criminals and sorcerers; in colonial times, a council that eventually replaced the defunct councils of the Fathers of the country
nkilion: secret council of uninitiated girls
nkoro: heart; organ of speech located on the left for men and on the right for women
nkulani: “to give in an ongoing exchange”; cycle of exchanges; see also rûracio
ntaanî: male novice in his seclusion hut
ntaliba: for a girl, designates the sets of fathers and mothers of her generational cycle of origin; see gîtiba
nthaaria nguo: “to tear up the mantle”; ritual during which a father introduces his eldest daughter to his generation peers
nthîî: soil, earth; land in the sense of “sovereign country”; nthîîgûrû: “earth-sky”, domain of the mûgwe (see this latter)
nthoni: restraint, manners
nthukî: generation set; genealogical level
ntindiri: “he who waits to do nothing”; an individual, male or female, with an extraordinary longevity
ntongu: small yellow fruit placed on thresholds during rites of passage
ntoora: “neighborhood”; basic residential grouping made of family units living in proximity to each other; erroneously considered “village”
ntuiko: “rupture”; phase of the handover of powers between generations marked by numerous transgressions and widespread disobedience
nyamba: breeding bull; used as a protective device to designate a person who has died under inauspicious circumstances, that is any individual who died prematurely, whose name must no longer be uttered
riiko: “hearth” inside a wife’s hut
rugoi: warriors’ horn
rugoono (pl. ngoono): story; see ngoono cia ngombe
rukunyî: peaceful handing over of power between generations typical of the southern Meru groups
rûracio: part of bridewealth paid in heads of cattle, from the verb kûrachia; to give in an ongoing exchange; see nkulani
rwaato (pl. ndwaato): association; mode of recruitment to an association that can be a result of individual choice but may also include forced recruitment
thaano: cool, dry season, around August and September, during which rituals having to do with the maturation of individuals, especially initiations, took place; moment when the change of year occurred
thîîri, ûkiri: peace
tibûû: commercial expeditions when women, accompanied by warriors, went to neighboring or more distant populations to trade their goods
ûbacûgia: reinsertion ritual of the killer warrior
ûciarwa: “born together”; designates the link between the Tigania-Igembe and the Kamba, as well as the link resulting from the adoption of a newcomer by the Tigania-Igembe; see gûciara
ukindara: kind of wrestling practiced by non-initiates only
ûkûûra gaaru: ritual of the “uprooting of the warrior gaaru”; can be used to designate the handover of powers between generations, see ntuiko and rukunyî
ûrûcia: coaffins; men of the same generation set
uthoni: marriage alliance
waangi: altered state in which a warrior is seized by the desire to kill an enemy
waathi: name of a healing association
waatho: order or law dictated by the Fathers of the country; from the verb kûwaatha, to institute
winj’anga: family incest
© Africae, 2020