Introduction

On this page we introduce the institution of title holding in Mandara montagnard societies and go on to list and describe the functions of title holders of Sukur and the rain priest of Wula. On a separate page we consider the origins of titles, the appointment of title-holders and the benefits they receive, before proceeding to brief conclusions on the nature of the system of title holding as it exists and existed at Sukur.

In even the smallest chiefdoms in the Mandara mountains there are, besides a chief and senior elders of clans, a number of other persons, perhaps only two or three, variously referred to as dignitaries, nobles, princes, notables, council members and the like. To describe them as a "court" or as a "council" misrepresents the scale, complexity and formality of the societies of which they form part. They are counselors rather than councilors, and we prefer to use the term "title-holders." Individually and as a group they play essential roles in the governance of their societies, and they embody much of the political history of their respective communities, history that is not written down nor necessarily remembered, but which can be teased out of their responsibilities, rights and relationships. Understanding the title-holders is a key to understanding both the present and past of Mandara montagnard societies.

The late Hidi Gəzik Kənakakaw (left), seated on his rock throne in the inner residence, consults with title-holders and others. His junior Tləfu, wearing his cap flattened on his head as a sign of respect, is seated on his left. Opposite them sit the senior Tləfu (light blue trousers) and Dalatə, whose frontal hairlock is just visible.

Title-holders, with occasional exceptions (though not at Sukur), are all male elders, and fall into three somewhat overlapping categories:

• the chief and his supporters, close political associates of his or closely related clans,
• persons who hold their offices at the pleasure of the chief and who may be described as his retainers; they  constitute his  political as opposed to domestic household and are often drawn from clans of relatively recent  origin, and
• persons with priestly functions generally drawn from clans regarded as autochthonous or at least very long established.

Though this may be less true of Sukur than of other Mandaran communities, the clans that provide the chief's retainers are for the most part small, sometimes deriving from a single immigrant taken into a chief's household, or for other reasons, e.g., smith/potter caste status, posing no political threat to the regime. Such title-holders, like freedmen officials in the Roman empire, depend upon the chief, and, having no other constituency to back them, maintain him in return. They may on the other hand transfer allegiance from one member of the chiefly house to another. At Sukur a number of title-holders in this category are drawn from larger, well-established, clans.

The clans with priestly title-holders vary in size but have as a group lost or given up much though not all of their former political power over people, while retaining their ties to local spirits and managing that relationship for the benefit of the community as a whole. While we know of no instances in which such clans have regained the chieftaincy, oral traditions make it clear that there is a tension between the chiefly and the priestly clans. Such tensions are clearly expressed at Sukur in the traditions relating to Hidi Kacima, possibly not a Dur but a Yanna clan member. Regime change is not inconceivable. It behooves a wise chief to cultivate his relationship with the priestly clans and the conferral of titles is one tactic in this strategy.

Sukur, in part because of its antiquity as a political entity and in part because during its heyday as an industrial chiefdom it attracted immigrants, has the largest number of title-holders and clans of any Mandara montagnard society. We list them below and then describe their characteristics and functions as groups and individually.

TABLE: Sukur clans, titles and holders' functions
by inferred phases of cultural development.

(i) indicates that the title is normally inherited within a patriline, potentially reverting to the clan.
† indicates clans that share a praise name with the chiefly clan Dur
* indicates clans that share the praise name Habega

Phases 3 and 4 - The Dur revolution and the period of village industry:
Title-holders with duties that are primarily secular
and/or closely tied to the person of a Dur Hidi.

Phase II - The community of clans:
title-holders with priestly functions

Phase I - The small egalitarian society:
title-holders with priestly functions

Navigate within this long document by moving back and forth
between this table and the individual titles discussed below.

Before proceeding to a discussion of the titles, we should note that two clans, Bakyaŋ and Bərdləng, are no longer represented on Sukur mountain. The Midala title used to be vested in Bakyaŋ and it is hard to believe that Karandu previously held no title at all. Kwasha, a recently arrived clan, is the only one definitely known not to have held a title.

The title-holders

Curiously there is no sakun word that unambiguously denotes the title-holders. Ndahay pə kə mbərəm, meaning "persons at the head of the community," comes closest to it, while pəshili designates those title-holders who are privileged to enter the chief's house at any time. Title-holders carry a thin wooden staff with a short fork at the top end (jif dlegaw).

The chief and his supporters

Tliɗi

Tliɗi, usually written Hidi, means chief in sakun and the title is applied to chiefs beyond Sukur. During the period of village industry the chief ruled Sukur subject to the threat of deposition by other factions of his Dur clan and the checks and balances of the clan system. Although he carried out no priestly duties, those that might have been his being delegated to Tləsəku, he played a central role in community ceremonies, especially the Ɓər initiation and Yawal, the latter festival celebrating his chieftaincy and the chiefly Dur clan. He exerted a form of domain over the land of Sukur; for example he designated land for the use of newcomers. It is said that he or his sons might on occasion seize livestock and that a powerful Hidi could arrogate to himself all the mahogany trees on a hillside. He judged his people, fined and punished them. It would seem that Dzarma and Tlagama acted as his henchman in such matters, probably acting in concert with other members of his household and of clan Dur.

He negotiated with other chiefs regarding access to raw materials for the iron industry and with local and long distance traders visiting the weekly iron market, from which he greatly benefited. Partly in return for his facilitation of the iron industry he received goods and services from his people in a form of tax. Until complaints were made to the Mandate administration in Hidi Matlay's times, the chief received a hind leg of all bulls that were ceremonially slaughtered. He still receives a token quantity of meat. He is regarded by many neighbor chiefs as their ritual senior and played, and still may play, a part in their installation, sending Tlagama (with other representatives) to shave their heads, leaving a hairlock into which some of their predecessor's hair would be woven.

The regalia of chieftaincy include a central hairlock, always hidden by a cap, and an iron staff and bracelet, both with attached iron medicine envelopes, used only on certain ceremonial occasions.

The powers of Sukur chiefs depended upon their personalities, political skills and the larger political situation. Although the independence of Sukur had been severely damaged by Hamman Yaji and subsequently diminished in the course of the Mandate, its chiefs still retained considerable freedom of action at the local level. From 1961, when Northern Cameroons became part of Nigeria's then Northern Region, Sukur and its neighbors began to be more effectively integrated into regional and later state administrations. Successive chiefs lost power as their right to administer justice was reduced and their chiefly role was combined with that of servant of the state. Until 1993 when a Sukur District was created, the chief acted as the representative of Sukur and several satellite settlements vis à vis the Adamawa state government, but he has now been de facto demoted to the lower status of village head.

Rwa Tliɗi

The term, which literally means child (rwa) of Hidi has several senses. Most generally it is used to refer to younger men of the chiefly patriline or section who are or more precisely were, potentially at least, in contention for succession to the chieftaincy. French ethnographers sometimes call these the "princes." As a title it referred to the heir apparent, ideally but not often actually a son of the chief, who would act for him in the his absence including judging cases. From about 1960 the title was no longer used in this sense since a) appointment of the Hidi came to depend more and more upon negotiations with the civil administration and the chiefly hierarchy headed by the Lamido of Yola, and b) the tasks formerly delegated to Rwa Tliɗi fell to Wakili.

According to one source, when the chief died the Rwa Tliɗi would inherit at least one of his wives. If the Rwa Tliɗi was the son of a ɗai wife he would inherit a ɗai wife on his father's death.

During the Ɓər initiation ceremony one of the youths of Dur clan - and in former times no doubt a Rwa Tliɗi close to the chief - is appointed leader of the initiates with the temporary title of Rwa Tliɗi. Cohorts of initiates are remembered by the names of their Rwa Tliɗis. The leader is assisted by a second-in-command called Rwa Nza (The literal meaning appears to be the young man who condoles or sympathizes with the Rwa Tliɗi ), a title that does not otherwise exist. It is the privilege of clan Kiggi to provide the Rwa Nza.

Wakili

The title is borrowed from Arabic via Hausa where it has the general sense of representative (Abraham 1962).

The first Hidi to have a Wakili was Nzaani (1923-34), seemingly because he had to leave the village to wait on the District Head and British administrators, and Wakili's main job was at that time to accompany Hidi on these journeys. It would seem that the role changed to become that of the chief's spokesman and envoy as the state administration demanded ever more frequent interaction between visits of representatives of the various communities to the seats of the local government to which they are assigned. For Sukur this was Gulak until very recently but has now, with the creation of a Northern Madagali Local Government Area, become Madagali.

Conversely, if the Hidi is absent, Wakili now acts as his deputy. Wakilis have always been of the chiefly clan and fairly close relatives, e.g., cousins, of the chief.

Makarma

This title, of Bornoan origin (Forkl 1985), is held by a senior member of the chiefly clan. According to Shaw (1935) there were two Makarmas, the chief's "executive officer[s]", one with special responsibility for Sukur's upper and the other for the lower wards. It would seem unlikely that, if Shaw is correct, these corresponded with the two offices as they exist at present.

In 1992 the Makarma was Putanga Jaweli; by 1996 he had died and been replaced. The Makarma is appointed by the Hidi, and acts as his close advisor; he is his supporter on ceremonial occasions, and was formerly his supporter in arms. He also assists the Makarma bin huɗ at the installation of the Hidi. It would seem that there has been in the past considerable and variable overlap in the duties of the Rwa Tliɗi, Wakili and Makarma - to the point that Rwa Tliɗi might also be Makarma.

Bin huɗ literally means "ties the belly" and refers to a critical element in the installation of a Hidi when this title-holder ties a black turban around his waist. Unlike the Makarma, the Makarma bin huɗ, who stems from a patriline that has never held the chieftaincy, holds his office by inheritance. Today it would seem that his duties are entirely ceremonial. However, the Makarma bin huɗ was formerly one of Hidi's envoys to Gudur and, it seems, the leader of a delegation engaged in a primarily ritual enterprise. The present title-holder remembers his father going on such a mission to Gudur at the time of the last locust plagues in the early to mid-1930s.

Fa tə Tliɗi

Fa tə Tliɗi observes the Zwaku sacrifice at Mədlirəh hill.

Fa tə Tliɗi (literally "father of the chief") is accurately described by Shaw (1935) as "the titular father and personal advisor" of the chief. He is appointed by the chief and, at least since Nzaani's time, has always been an elder of Shagwam clan, though he could, we were told, be chosen from Kəmavuɗ or Karandu, the other two clans closely allied to Dur. While Fa tə Tliɗi is appointed by the chief, it is said that he can not be dismissed by him, a sophisticated political mechanism for ensuring that his advice will be disinterested.

Midala on his rock during the Zwaku campaign to drive evil out  of Sukur.

• to shave the head and dress the hairlock of the Hidi at his installation and later as required,
• to play the squeeze drum (ruwi dang) when the Hidi appears on various occasions including Yawal, and
• to shave heads of chiefs of other communities as part of their installation ceremonies.

This constituted ritual recognition of what is accepted in the region as Sukur's seniority, due, we suggest, not to political overlordship past or present but rather to its antiquity as a socio-political entity in the region and perhaps its preeminence in the iron trade. Tlagama has himself been, either accompanying his father or on his own, to shave the heads of the chiefs of Kurang and Damay on the Sukur plateau; Kamale (Higi); Gulak, Kojiti, Palam, Maiva, Vapura (all Margi); Wula and its Muduvu offshoot; Mabas; and Vamay (possibly the Mafa settlement of Mavoumay west of Mokolo).

Tləgəm

The origin of the title is unknown but appears to include the same Wandala prefix as in Tlagama.

The title is of Bornoan origin; the functions, according to Shaw (1935), are those of "herald or clan crier." The title is vested in clan Zwahəi; the present holder took over the office from his father's brother. When bulls are sacrificed Dzarma is authorized to collect the beasts' windpipes, thought to increase his vocal power.

2) He sacrifices at hərəi Muŋgwolai, a shrine on the small summit immediately north of his house. This was the former site of the Ɓər initiates' retreat, but as many died on account of the spirit of the place, the retreat was transferred to the nearby Dlang Mbadlavai ("rocky hill of the initiates").

3) He has general responsibility for Dlang Mbadlavai, including offering to its spirit. During the first day of Ɓər he seats the initiates on their respective clan rocks on Dlang and exhorts them to unity. On this as on other ritual occasions he should wear a loinskin and no shirt (in 1992 he wore trousers). The absence of a hat reveals the hairlock on his forehead.

4) He assists informally and wearing ordinary clothes in the sacrifice at hərəi Mədlirəh during Zwaku. He expressed this by saying it was his task "to act as Tləfu to" the Mbəzəfwai of clan Gadə (see below).

5) He decides where wells should be dug, going with a special calabash containing pwa or beer mash and offering this to the local spirit. He then acts as chief engineer during the well digging and its revetting with stone blocks. He told us that in the old days only Dalatə did this form of dowsing, but more recently others, including Mbəzəfwais, have undertaken it. Given their special relations with local spirits, this seems appropriate.

1) Gadə clan, resident in Dzuvok. He is the senior Mbəzəfwai in the sense that his sacrifice is regarded vital to the welfare of the community and initiates a series of sacrifices by Tləduv and other Mbəzəfwai. The present incumbent is the senior man of his clan and followed his father and father's father in the office. In September he performs the sacrifice central to the Zwaku rites of purification undertaken at Mədlirəh hill near where he lives in Dzuvok ward. The sacrifice is offered to Zhigəla on behalf of the whole community. The victim used to be a bull but, since few Sukur are now prepared to contribute to customary rites, on the two occasions we were present, the bull was replaced once by a small goat and once by a piece of skin of a bull bred on the mountain. Dalatə assists and Fa tə Tlidi observes this sacrifice, later reporting to the chief. Before we attended this rite, regarded as essential to the health and prosperity of Sukur, one of the Bəlamas told us that this Mbəzəfwai was the senior one and that:

On the first day of Zwaku he sacrifices a goat at Ŋwa Mixyrux, leaving the goat overnight, unbutchered, in a cleft in the rocks. Next morning he inspects the goat, hoping to find a kind of army ant (mashalak) on the wound, as if they are absent there will be no millet. He butchers the goat and cooks it in water only - but when you taste it, it tastes salty! Then he shouts "Woo'a ru Dwa," [addressed to the spirits of the dead and meaning "Hey! Go off to the Kapsiki"].

The goat was not in fact left overnight (the excuse made to Hidi was that it was very small and the Mbəzəfwai is lame) but the practice makes good sense to the Sukur in that a swarming of insects is associated with an abundance of guineacorn and pearl millet.

So far as we know the Zwaku sacrifice is the single ritual act carried out by this Mbəzəfwai on behalf of a group larger than his own lineage. He makes no separate sacrifice for his clan.

2) Hwatlə, resident in Daza. Following Tləduv's sacrifice at Kushir shrine (see below), he begins the sequence of sacrifices that precedes the harvest. He serves the Duŋvuwa shrine at the top of the escarpment leading down to Mataka and Midlu. At Zwaku he sacrifices a chicken and covers the roof of either the divination room or Drizha in the Hidi's residence.

3) Ka-Ozha, resident in Gwafak. Sacrifices at Manjam shrine on the way to Damay, probably before harvest. After the first good rain, Makarma summons him and, together with other title-holders, he sows the first sorghum in one of Hidi's fields. He then takes presents provided by the chief to Tluwala, the Wula rain maker. Next day all may sow.

 

The Habega Humtəva Mbəzəfwai at his home.

4) Habega Humtəva, resident in Duŋgom. He has a shrine marked by a large dəɓa jar in Duŋgom where he also sacrifices before the harvest, burying bones of the goat under or near the pot. He does not tie strips of its skin across any path but it seems that the motivation is similar and that his sacrifice blocks the way to evil coming from the deep Nawu valley. Perhaps in part because he lives closest to the house of the chief, this Mbəzəfwai plays an important role in several ceremonies including initiation and in the installation of the chief.

5) Rəvai, resident in Dalak. Zerahə Madə, the incumbent in 1992-93, had died and been replaced by a nephew when we returned in 1996. He sacrifices before the harvest at Muva shrine located at the north end of Muva and near the way leading to Rhoumzou and Kapsiki territory. His sacrifice is the last in the pre-harvest sequence.

6) Habega 'wai, resident in Gwafak.  

  Unlike the others of the same title he does not sacrifice when the millet is nearly ready to harvest although he assists Jir dək'u (see below) at such a sacrifice. He serves the Gulazə shrine, sacrificing there (we think) during Zwaku. His differentiation from other Mbəzəfwai is perhaps explicable in that there are at present only two Habega 'wai households in Sukur. Their forebears moved some time ago from 'wai at the south end of Muva to Gwafak. When asked by Hidi (Ziraŋwadə ?) to take responsibility for a shrine at 'wai he refused, though it would excellent sense if that were the shrine at which his predecessors sacrificed and prayed to block evil invading Sukur from the south.

Unlike others in this group, the title is of Wandala origin, perhaps suggesting relative recency. We infer that when members of clan Kiggi returned to Sukur after their exile in Dzu they were accorded a priestly title. However Barkuma is not considered one of the tu hərəi. In 1996 a new Barkuma had been appointed, supposedly by the chief, though it seems more likely that he merely ratified an appointment agreed within a Kiggi section or patriline. The incumbent's predecessors were Fi Yaŋwa and Kami Kwari, described as brothers though they may not in fact be such close relatives. His duties as he described them to us are listed below, and we have attached the chief's, our assistants' and our own comments.

His duties are, he said:

Tləduv

This title, inherited within clan Dəmsa, is one of three held by the Dəmsa (farmer caste) and Təvwa (smith/potter) clans. It is indigenous (though with the possible Wandala prefix) and may mean "responsible for the plain." In 1992 the office was held by Ndiho Yavarda who had inherited it from his elder brother who, we believe, succeeded his father's elder brother. Ndiho was an excellent informant, who was most regrettably later killed at a funeral (rin). He has been succeeded by his son.

Tləduv's role is very similar to that of the Mbəzəfwai; he serves as Dalatə's assistant at Yawal dəɓa and his most important sacrifice forms part of the same sequence as those of the Mbəzəfwai. It takes place in October at the Kushir shrine, the fig tree where people rest half way down the mountain on the northern paved way. Following on from the Gadə Mbəzəfwai's Mixyrux sacrifice, it precedes those of the remaining Mbəzəfwai. As in several (probably all but one) of their preharvest sacrifices, strips of the hide of the goat killed are tied across the way from one tree to another, blocking the way to spirits that might wish to enter and harm Sukur.

Tləduv Ndiho sits in the position of the person pumping the bellows of a furnace in Goeri that we cleared and measured in 1993.

Tləduv also makes offerings before the harvest at two shrines on the plain to the north of Sukur, at hərəi Muvelim where they used to collect iron ore and "potash" and at hərəi Dlandəv ("stream of the plain"), upstream of a crossing on the way from the mountain to Mefir Sakun. At yet a third shrine, hərəi Goeri, he makes another offering. He takes germinated sorghum, grinds it and boils it, and then puts it into a special calabash (dlehad) and in evening takes the fermenting mash and makes the offering. The next morning he goes very early and offers the mash to two other spirits, carrying his forked staff and speaking to no one on the way. Like the sacrifice at hərəi Kuxir, these offerings are made on behalf of the community.

Other of Tləduv's duties align him closely with the Təvwa title-holders. In 1992 he told us that when the chief dies, he slaughters a goat at a place where there is a deep hole in the ground and pours the blood into the hole. A hoe with (exceptionally) a socket riveted to the blade and the Hidi's loinskin are placed in the hole, which is then covered by a stone. These three items go direct to Mpsakəli (Gudur) where they inform the chief of the Hidi's death. Tləduv also plays a role in the chief's actual burial, helping to dig the tomb and to seat his body on a low stool within it. Little wonder then that many Sukur regard him and his Dəmsa clan as ɗai whereas they are in fact mbəlim, of the farmer caste.

Tliɗi Ɗai

The title is indigenous and means "chief of the smith/potters," and indeed was held in a senior section of clan Təvwa different from that of the Ɗai Kərɓa. But it has now lapsed, the last incumbent having been Dalli Kaigama who died in the mid-1980s.

Tliɗi Ɗai specialized in burial, being called on from all over Sukur and its satellite settlements. His duties included dressing the corpse, carrying it on his shoulders to the grave and placing it in the grave. He supervised other funerary smiths. However, he was not involved in the burial of the Hidi. He also did the surgery necessary to remove the fetus from a pregnant woman who died in order for it to be given separate burial.

He went about with his own sub-cylindrical drinking vessel made of grass basketry, sewn in a tight spiral like young boys make for themselves as a hat (mbulari), which he carried over his shoulder on a strap or cord. On the inside a line of squirrel tail hairs was incorporated into the vessel. He wore a hairlock at the back of his head but no cap. These were his insignia. He appears to have been the last of the smiths specializing in burial and who were regarded as dirty in a way that others are not and apparently were not.

Tliɗi Ɗai also specialized in protecting women from spirits. The woman would provide him with a puppy and/or other items suggested by the diviner and he would take them off and bury them, the puppy alive, in an upturned pot as an offering to the spirit.

He also had a responsibility at Zwaku when he carried a pot containing the blood of a bull slaughtered for the festival around the west and to the south end of the Sukur plateau to the area called'wai at the south-west end of Mt Muva. Here he met Jir dək'u (see above).

Ɗai Kərɓa

This title, held by a section of the Təvwa clan, is indigenous. Its meaning "smith of the rock slab" refers to a large flat slab in Ndilləi where they live. In the 1990s the incumbent was Tizhe, son of Jamaare, who had preceded him in the office. Tizhe was then a very old and feeble man with poor sight who has since died. He had not been formally replaced when we visited Sukur in June 2004 and it is possible that his office may, like that of Tliɗi Ɗai, be allowed to lapse.

We interviewed Tizhe and other Təvwa elders in 1992 and they told us that in olden days it was Ɗai Kərɓa who shaved the Hidi's head and that, when a Ɗai Kərɓa was to be installed the Hidi sent people to summon him and confirmed him in office by tying a turban around his waist. The last time a Ɗai Kərɓa was installed, Midala, one of the Tləfus and Tlagama come to the Ɗai Kərɓa's outer court with an old Təvwa man as a witness. They brought a large cow skin and a male goat and tied a turban around his waist. He then remained for nine days in a shelter built of mats outside his house. At the end of this period the goat hide was made into a loinskin which the Ɗai Kərɓa put on. He could now reenter his house and was shaved by Tlagama, who left a hairlock. In the final phase of installation the Ɗai Kərɓa and his people went to the Patla. The Hidi came out with beer. He took a calabash and, in a form of blessing, blew a mouthful over the Ɗai Kərɓa, saying, "We will not meet again until I die. If you need to communicate with me, we will do so through our children." Then they departed to their respective houses.

During ceremonies the Ɗai Kərɓa does not come up to the Patla but stays below on a special rock associated with him beside the paved way. When a Hidi dies, the wife who cooks for him sends food to Ɗai Kərɓa. Similarly if the latter dies, his wife sends food to the Hidi. For nine months after his installation Tlagama continues to shave the Ɗai Kərɓa.

This form of installation parallels that of the Hidi in the tying of a turban around the waist, and in the period spent in a mat shelter. It emphasizes a special relationship between them that is expressed in other ways. Ɗai Kərɓa is the first to slaughter his bull at Hən dlə and, we were told, celebrates his own Yawal in Ndilləi concurrently with the Hidi's.

While the best known duty of the Ɗai Kərɓa is to direct the Hidi's funeral, Tizhe regarded his most important responsibility as propitiation of hərəi Ndilləi, a dangerous spirit associated with a baobab; if a man climbs up he risks coming down with a vulva in place of a penis, or he may be afflicted with a smallpox-like rash.

Other title-holders

The following titles, one the imposition of an exterior power and the other held in Wula, are not counted as Sukur titles although their holders play active roles in Sukur life.

Bəlama

The title is of Bornoan origin (though it may not have come directly to Sukur but have passed through Hausa and Fulfulde, the language of the Fulbe) and in Sukur is applied to the heads of the Sukur Sama wards, those of Rugudum and Mataka on the plain and some small satellite settlements. First mentioned by Hamman Yaji in his diary for 1914, the office was adopted by the British Mandate authorities and survives to the present. All serve at the Hidi's pleasure though probably now with considerable input from the Sukur District Head.

Hidi, seated in a folding chair center, and Bəlamas meet with the deputy District Head (left) to discuss the reorganization of Sukur's wards.

Although they are not title-holders in the same way as others, unless like Tlyam mbərəm Təka they are both, and their office does not of itself qualify them to carry a forked staff, Bəlamas act for the chief and are his counselors, participating as respected elders in meetings including the one held annually and formally in Mbuk during Zwaku.

Tluwala, the Wula rain priest

Resident in Wula's Kushiri quarter, Tluwala's family has close connections with Sukur where his Ka-Ozha clan is known as Manjam. He prays for rain for Sukur and numerous other communities and also to abate the squalls that threaten the millet before the harvest. The title, which appears to include the Wandala "tle" prefix, is inherited and the present incumbent is the son and grandson of rain priests.

The indigenous explanation of why Sukur relies on Tluwala for its rain is contained in its origin legends. A much fuller account of Tluwala and his responsibilities is given by Sterner (2003:202-04).

* * *

This concludes the long list of twenty-four Sukur titles and, as of our last count, twenty-six title-holders. Further information on the origins of titles, the appointment of title-holders and other matters is given in a separate file.

Comments? Email: