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Figurines used in the Initiation Ceremonies of the Nguu of Tanganyika Territory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 August 2012

A. Cory
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Extract

The following pages give some examples of the figurines used in the male initiation ceremonies of the Nguu, a tribe related to the larger and better-known Zigua of Tanganyika Territory. The Nguu, like the Zigua, practise circumcision.

My own collection of figurines used in the initiation ceremonies of this tribe numbers eighty-seven; this is known to be only a small part of the total in use. The figures are made of clay, and vary in size from a few inches up to three feet in height. Beads, the bright red seed of Abrus Drecatorius, and coloured paper are used for decoration. This varies with individual taste and appears to have no symbolic significance.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 14 , Issue 8 , October 1944 , pp. 459 - 464
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 1944

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References

1 I do not claim personal familiarity with the Nguu dialect in which the songs are sung. My informants in each case supplied a Swahili translation, from which I have prepared the English appearing below the Nguu words actually used.