Azande, D.R.C        

The Azande ("Zande" as an adjective) are a tribe of north central Africa. Their number is estimated by various sources at between 1 and 4 million. They live primarily in the northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in southwestern Sudan, and in the 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.

Most Azande traditionally practiced a religion but this has been supplanted to large extent by Christianity. Their traditional beliefs revolve mostly around magic and witchcraft. Witchcraft is believed to be an inherited substance in the belly which lives a fairly autonomous life performing bad magic on the person'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 and cancelling of witchcraft that are performed almost daily. When something out of the ordinary occurs, usually something bad, to an individual, they may blame witchcraft, just as others may say "bad luck".

Oracles are a way of determining from where the suspected witchcraft is coming and they were for a long time the ultimate legal authority, the one setting the action as how to respond to the threats.

There was also a social institution similar to pederasty in Ancient Greece, as E. E. Evans-Pritchard also recorded that male Azande warriors between 20 and 30 in the northern Congo routinely took on young male lovers between the ages of twelve and twenty, who participated in intercrural sex and sex with their older partners. The practice had died out by the early 20th century, after Europeans had gained control of African countries, but was still surviving and was recounted to Evans-Pritchard by the elders to whom he spoke.[1].

E. E. Evans-Pritchard and other anthropologists have paid special attention to Zande stories about Tule, also known as Ture. Tule (pronounced [tule] TOO-lay), which means "spider" in Zande, is sometimes portrayed as a trickster, similar to Anansi or Br'er Rabbit.

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 Sudan, and later adopted by westerners. Naturally, today the name Niam-Niam is considered pejorative.

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