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Seasonal hunger among the Ngoni and Ntumba of central Malaŵi

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2012

G. T. Nurse
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Extract

The cultural significance of regular ‘hunger periods’ in tropical Africa, however much it may be disputed by anthropologists, has for a long time been apparent to less objective observers. It is generally accepted by those concerned in the engagement of migrant labour that at certain regular times of the year the supply is greater than at others: and it is believed that the number of men presenting for engagement is related to the quantity of food available in the villages. This view, as will be shown below, is an over-simplification. Ogbu (1973), though he relates seasonal hunger among the Poka to labour migration, sees die latter as a cause rather than a result of the former. He apparently considers that migration reduces the number of agricultural workers to below an unstipulated critical level above which it might still be possible to produce a sufficiency of food at all seasons, provided that animal pests could be controlled and agricultural techniques made more efficient. Seasonal hunger among the Ibo of Onicha he blames on shortage of farmland, low yield, and high storage loss of foodstuffs. At first sight it might appear that the cultural concomitants of the hunger period contrast rather strikingly between the two populations; and yet the recurrent hunger period is recognized by the FAO and other authorities (though Miracle (1961) questions its existence) as being a phenomenon widespread in sub- Saharan Africa, and one which might in consequence be expected to result from similar or related causes in most of the situations in which it occurs.

Résumé

LA FAMINE SAISONNIÈRE CHEZ LES NGONI ET LES NTUMBA DU MALAŴI

L'existence de périodes régulières de famine en Afrique tropicale est un phénomène bien connu. Ogbu vient d'étudier récemment ses incidences culturelles chez les Ibo de Nigeria et les Poka de Malaŵi du Nord. Chez les Ngoni et Ntumba du Malaŵi Central, l'apparition d'une famine fut démontrée par des mesures de hauteur et de poids. Ces études ont fait apparaître des différences significatives de fluctuations saisonnières du poids moyen en fonction de la hauteur. L'influence d'une période de famine semble réduite par les migrations de la main d'œuvre, qui n'ont pas d'effets perceptibles sur la production de la nourriture et qui réduisent le nombre des consommateurs potentiels, tout en faisant affluer l'argent liquide permettant l'achat de nourriture. Les migrations assurent, parmi les Ntumba, population matrilinéaire, quelques-unes des fonctions jusque-là assumées par le culte nyau des hommes. Chez les Ngoni qui sont patrilinéaires, les migrations servent de substitut aux razzias organisées auparavant pour se procurer des denrées alimentaires pendant les périodes de famine. Il se peut que les cérémonies des premiers fruits des Ngoni, dites in/wala, qui ont connu une renaissance récente, aient temporairement exacerbé la famine. Les Ngoni et les Ntumba ont en commun les deux causes pour une période de famine, également communes aux peuples décrits par Ogbu, à savoir la production et la conservation inadéquates des denrées alimentaires. Ce dernier facteur semble le plus important: l'amélioration des méthodes de stockage des réserves serait problement le moyen le plus efficace pour combattre la famine saisonnière.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 45 , Issue 1 , January 1975 , pp. 1 - 11
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 1975

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