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The Zande, also known as the Azande Kingdom is a kingdom predominantly dominated by the Zande people or tribe. It is located in the area of Western Equatoria State of South Sudan. Its royal seat or capital is based in Yambio which is also the state capital of Western Equatoria State. [1]
Reliable sources cite that the Azande Kingdom was founded approximately 300 years ago. [2]
Its not clear who was the first king of the Azande Kingdom but one of the prominent rulers of the kingdom was King Gbudwe who ruled the kingdom from 1870 to 1905. King Gbudwe was killed during the British patrol led by Major Boulnois in February 1905 after resisting the British administration at the time.
The current king of the Azande Kingdom is Atoroba Peni Rikito who was crowned on 9 February 2022 and is the great-grandson of Gbudwe. [3]
As with many African kingdoms, the Azande Kingdom is political and religious in nature. The ruler of the kingdom is responsible for social command and security of the kingdom. The kingdom is divided into provincial states and the king rules over the central province and appoints governors, with one of his eldest sons being the most important of them, to rule over the surrounding provinces of his kingdom. [4]
The Azande who are also part of Bantu group of people can be found in the southeastern Central African Republic, northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the south-central and southwestern part of South Sudan.
The Azande language is similar to the other Bantu languages. Approximately five dialects are said to be spoken throughout the area they occupy. [2] The Azande people of South Sudan mainly live in places such as Central Equatoria, Western Equatoria and Western Bahr el Ghazal States in areas like Yei, Maridi, Yambio, Tambura, Deim Zubeir, Wau Town and Momoi. The Azande are predominantly agriculturalists who plant crops like maize, beans and sorghum and fruits too. The favorite Azande meal is cassava leaves prepared with palm oil commonly known as Nzeme Mbiro and eaten with boiled cassava or posho. [5]
The Azande are an ethnic group in Central Africa speaking the Zande languages. They live in the south-eastern part of the Central African Republic, the north-eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the south-central and south-western parts of South Sudan. The Congolese Azande live in Orientale Province along the Uele River; Isiro, Dungu, Kisangani and Duruma. The Central African Azande live in the districts of Rafaï, Bangasu and Obo. The Azande of South Sudan live in Central, Western Equatoria and Western Bahr al-Ghazal States, Yei, Maridi, Yambio, Tombura, Deim Zubeir, Wau Town and Momoi.
Sir Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard FBA FRAI was an English anthropologist who was instrumental in the development of social anthropology. He was Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Oxford from 1946 to 1970.
Equatoria is the southernmost region of South Sudan, along the upper reaches of the White Nile and the border between South Sudan and Uganda. Juba, the national capital and the largest city in South Sudan, is located in Equatoria. Originally a province of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, it also contained most of northern parts of present-day Uganda, including Lake Albert and West Nile. It was an idealistic effort to create a model state in the interior of Africa that never consisted of more than a handful of adventurers and soldiers in isolated outposts.
Western Equatoria is a state in South Sudan. It has an area of 79,343 square kilometres (30,635 sq mi). The state capital is Yambio. The state was divided into counties, each headed by a County Commissioner. Western Equatoria seceded from Sudan as part of the Republic of South Sudan on 9 July 1956. On October 2, 2011, the state was divided into Amadi, Maridi, and Gbudwe states, and Tambura State was split from Gbudwe state on January 14, 2015. Western Equatoria was re-established by a peace agreement signed on 22 February 2020.
Yambio is a city in South Sudan.
The Avukaya are an ethnic group of South Sudan. Some members of this ethnic have fled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo due to persecution. About 50,000 members of this ethnic group live in South Sudan. Many members of this ethnic group belong to the Christian minority of South Sudan. The Avukaya traditionally live in a rain-forest area in Equatoria close to the Democratic Republic of Congo in Southern Sudan.
Moru is an ethnic group of South Sudan. Most of them live in Western Equatoria. They speak Moru, a Central South Sudanic language. Many members of this ethnicity are Christians, most being members of the Episcopal Church of the South Sudan (ECS). The Pioneer missionary in the area was Dr Kenneth Grant Fraser of the Church Missionary Society (CMS). The population of this ethnicity possibly does not exceed 200,000.
Yambio Airport is an airport serving Yambio in South Sudan.
Maridi is a town in South Sudan.
The Sere are an ethnic group numbering over 10,000 living in the South Sudanese state of Western Bahr el Ghazal. Their old home was a place called Ndedegumbva or Ndedekumbva, said to be recorded on the maps of old explorers.
Gbudwe Bazingbi was the Azande King in South Sudan from 1870–1905.
The culture of South Sudan encompasses the religions, languages, ethnic groups, foods, and other traditions of peoples of the modern state of South Sudan, as well as of the inhabitants of the historical regions of southern Sudan.
South Sudan is home to around 60 indigenous ethnic groups and 80 linguistic partitions among a 2021 population of around 11 million. Historically, most ethnic groups were lacking in formal Western political institutions, with land held by the community and elders acting as problem solvers and adjudicators. Today, most ethnic groups still embrace a cattle culture in which livestock is the main measure of wealth and used for bride wealth.
The history of South Sudan comprises the history of the territory of present-day South Sudan and the peoples inhabiting the region.
Nzara is a town in Western Equatoria State. It lies 15 mi (24 km) to the northwest of Yambio by road, and is 25 km (15m) from the border with the DR Congo.
Gbudwe State was a state of South Sudan that existed between 2 October 2015 and 22 February 2020. It was created from Western Equatoria state. Tambura State was split from Gbudwe State on January 14, 2017. Gbudwe State was located in the Equatoria region. Gbudwe bordered the states of Lol, Maridi, Tambura, and Western Lakes, and also the province of Haut-Uélé in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Haut-Mbomou in the Central African Republic. The state had a population of 364,272 in 2008.
Witchcraft among the Zande people of North Central Africa is magic used to inflict harm on an individual that is native to the Azande tribal peoples. The belief in witchcraft is present in every aspect of Zande society. They believe it is a power that can only be passed on from a parent to their child. To the Azande, a witch uses witchcraft when he has hatred towards another person. Witchcraft can also manipulate nature to bring harm upon the victim of the witch. Oracles and witch doctors determine whether someone is guilty of using witchcraft on another villager. More magic is then created to avenge the victim and punish the one who committed the transgression.
Ture is a character in the folklore of the Zande people of North Central Africa. A trickster figure, he is "the chief character in Zande folktales", in which he employs what among the Azande is called sanza, or speech with a double meaning. According to E. E. Evans-Pritchard, who collected and published a number of Zande stories, most of them involve Ture.
Zande literature consists of the literature of the Zande people of North Central Africa.
Atoroba Peni Rikito is the great-grandson of King Gbudwe who ascended to the Crown on 9 February 2022 as the King of Azende.
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