<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">This paper deals with the practise of <italic>shwɛɛ</italic> ‘hunting’ among the Kushi, a Chadic speaking community of northeastern Nigeria. Subsistence hunting is still practised by Kushi, even if its importance and impact have been decreasing over the last few decades. A mental model of the past and present hunting practises are kept alive in the collective imagery by means of oral traditions, an instrument of knowledge transmission ubiquitous to many African societies. <italic>Shwɛɛ</italic> will be described through an oral text in which the narrator – a Kushi hunter – explains the nature and purposes of hunting along with the series of actions to be performed in order to carry it out properly, i.e. in a manner consistent with the values and social norms in force within the community. The procedural text describes some essential aspects of hunting: the way it is announced and who is allowed to lead it, the specificities of the kind of game that is hunted in terms of consumption and general use, and the traditional beliefs that need to be observed before and during hunting.</abstract>

Hunting and Hunting-related Practices among the Kushi (Northeastern Nigeria)

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The paper focuses on the context of a traditional women’s wearing component – a leather skirt – on the example of the contemporary semi-nomadic Datooga1 and ideas, imaginations, and myths which this product of material culture represents. Analysis of the researched material composed from the statements of the daily users (married women) as well as the members of the society on example of the Datooga people (Buradiga subgroup) in a particular locality of Igunga district in Tanzania will demonstrate why the leather skirt, linked and designed by women’s deity Urameselgwa, is considered not only as a sign of marriage from the external perspective through outsider’s eyes, but mostly as an identification factor and strong cultural symbol through the Buradiga’s perception. The author explains how Urameselgwa is presented in the daily routine of the Buradiga’ women and which kind of privilege, so unique among East African pastoralists, is given to them by the wearing of the leather skirt transmitted from one generation to the other.</abstract>

Is Leather Skirt Designed by Urameselgwa a Symbol of Datooga’s Identity?

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">This paper discusses the Datooga resistance to the British land law as announced by the Land Ordinance in 1923. The discussion centres itself in the provocation that the law implied and commanded on the local Datooga’s ownership and control of the natural resources within the jurisdiction of the chief. The Datooga as shown in the paper were probably the first to openly resist the public ownership of resources as announced by the Ordinance, because for the Datooga the land resources, particularly the salt deposits from Balangida Lalu or any other that fell within the reach and borders of their chief’s power were completely Datooga. The pinnacle of this contradiction is whether local chiefs in colonial Tanganyika understood the limits of what the British had claimed to offer to the local chiefs or they sometimes needed to resist what they considered undesirable situation. The salt fracas in Mbulu district that the paper discusses is an indicator of the irony of colonialism that offered local chiefs political power which the recipients could not use beyond the colonial framework.</abstract>

The Contempt of Public Property: the Datooga Salt Fracas and the Resistance against Colonial Definition of Property in Central Tanzania (1923-1927)

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The exchange of linguistic materials between languages which come into contact is indeed reciprocal. The previous accounts of the outcome of contact between Datooga and Sukuma was skewed towards impact of Datooga on Sukuma. Based on ethnolinguistic vitality approach, the Datooga tend to reveal solidarity-related social identity by acquiring their language as a mother tongue. They also reveal prestige-related social identity by acquiring Sukuma language which is the prestigious lingua franca of the Itumba area in Igunga District. Moreover, the Datooga envisaged mechanisms to either isolate out-group members using their ethnonyms. Based on a list of 250 loanwords, this paper highlights the substitutive borrowing of kinship terms and additive borrowing of agricultural terms. The Sukuma loanwords penetrate into the Datooga lexicon.</abstract>

Adaptation of Sukuma Loanwords in the Western Dialects of Datooga (<italic>Taturu</italic>) and its Dialectological Implications

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Naming can sometimes be associated with particular situations or someone’s birth. This study intends to find out the association between Datooga names and socio-cultural backgrounds. The study employs a qualitative research approach, in which case the collected data was subjected to descriptive analysis. Data have been collected from Datooga speaking students studying at the Dar es Salaam University College of Education, through Interviews and Questionnaire. The analysis is based on the Kripke’s three arguments in naming as described by Speaks (2007). The theory explains how naming is achieved with reference to the modal argument, the semantic argument and the epistemic argument. The findings of the study have revealed that in the Datooga society, naming is associated with different phenomena particularly time of birth and prevailing situations, traditions, norms and customs.</abstract>

A Semantic Analysis of Personal Names in Datooga Society

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">This article is centred on place identity in Hanang’ District. Informed by the literature about place identity, the study describes the origin and the sociolinguistic meaning of place names following the analysis of 110 names that were collected from different places around Hanang’ District. Snowball sampling was appropriately used to obtain 15 informants for face-to-face interviews. Our analysis revealed that many place names in Hanang’ are predominantly from Datooga language and a few from Kiswahili, Nyaturu, Iraqw, Alagwa and Maasai. The qualitative analysis of the names revealed that the names have informative content deriving from landscape features, plants, people, animals and names of birds, events, activities, and the behaviour of some objects in the place. Sometimes, post-modification is done for descriptive specification. This is to say that marked geographical features and events in a particular place characterise the place in Hanang’. Therefore, place names in Hanang’ serve to describe the people’s history, beliefs, or label important features. There is a trend of shift in a number of place names in Hanang’ as a result of contact with the Bantu speakers. This has, consequently, contributed to the replacement of some indigenous sounds by the Kiswahili sounds that contributed to the loss and/or hybridization of names in terms of spelling and pronunciation.</abstract>

Toponyms and Identity in Hanang’ District: Their Origin and Meaning

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Vi Hilbert, collector, performer and activist who worked with the folklore material of the northwestern region, has found somebody to follow in her footsteps in the promotion of the local culture and literature. This somebody is Sherman Alexie, a writer, publicist, poet and scriptwriter who has published around 30 books to date. Like Vi Hilbert, Sherman Alexie, who is three generations younger, proclaims his Native American heritage. He represents it and helps other readers and interested people understand, or join the path towards building this identity. His texts are characterised by a humorous distance as well as an excellent gift of observation. Alexie is one of the most significant figures of the literature of the indigenous Americans and is a textbook example of a new type of narration, which has deep roots in this region and is nurtured. His early works were a great surprise at the time of their publication, both for readers from the Native American community and other Americans. From an ethnological point of view, they are not only a factual source of knowledge, but also provide a perspective for evaluating the culture emically.</abstract>

Folk and Literary Reflections on the Culture of Northwest Coast Indians of the Puget Sound Area of North America

Search for Indian America 3 [Hľadanie indiánskej Ameriky 3] Conference Report

AHEAD OF PRINT

Volume 22 (2022): Issue 1 (June 2022)

Volume 21 (2021): Issue 2 (December 2021)

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Volume 19 (2019): Issue 2 (December 2019)

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Volume 18 (2018): Issue 2 (December 2018)

Volume 18 (2018): Issue 1 (June 2018)

Volume 17 (2017): Issue 2 (December 2017)

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Volume 16 (2016): Issue 2 (December 2016)

Volume 16 (2016): Issue 1 (June 2016)

Volume 15 (2015): Issue 2 (December 2015)

Volume 15 (2015): Issue 1 (June 2015)

Volume 14 (2014): Issue 2 (December 2014)

Volume 14 (2014): Issue 1 (June 2014)

Ethnologia Actualis

 Ethnologia Actualis is an academic peer-reviewed journal published by the Department of Ethnology and World Studies, University of SS Cyril and Methodius in Trnava. It promotes research findings that pertain to ethnic groups and their cultures. The journal prefers articles from authors coming mainly from humanities and social sciences, although interdisciplinary approach is strongly encouraged. We intend to offer an opportunity of academic presentation to all those who engage in search of recordable evidence that emphasizes the interrelatedness of cultural, social, and religious aspects of human life. Therefore, we kindly invite ethnologists, anthropologists, historians, sociologists, social-scientists, linguists, philosophers, and others to participate in our academic activity. The journal is planned to be published semiannually.  Archiving  Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico - digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections.  Plagiarism Policy  The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System's users in order to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscripts screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process. 