MADI PEOPLE AND THEIR CULTURE

MADI PEOPLE AND THEIR CULTURE

MADI CULTURE

The Madi people live in the district of Moyo at the

boarder of South Sudan. The Madi are known to

have originated from Sudan and their language is

similar to that of the Bari of South Sudan.

Regarding birth, the Madi carried a lot of

significance to birth and most of their beliefs were

based on reproduction. Rubanga was the Supreme

Being responsible for births. Rubanga was also

known as the creator of everything. Regarding the

birth of twins, the Madi regarded it as an ill-omen

and was attached to Rubanga’s will. The twins

were regarded as mysterious creatures and the

elder twin would be named Ejaiya literally meaning

take him to the bush and the younger one would

be named Rubanga. Following the birth of twins,

the father and the mother’s family would bring a

sheep that would then be eaten by the twin

parents along with the woman who had looked

after the mother of the twins during confinement

period. This ceremony is locally called Lati. The

family of the mother was also required to provide

other sheep that would be tied on a bed lke

structure which was made up of sticks at the slide

of the hut of the mother both morning and in the

evening. The sheep would be allowed to live a

usual life just like the sheep apart from morning

and evening periods when it was put on the bed.

When the sheep gave birth, it would then be killed

as a sacrifice for the twin parent’s wellbeing. The

special bed comprised of sticks where the sheep

would be continually placed was named Rabanga

and the sheep its self was named Rabanga-Bilo.

Regarding religion, the Madi’s entire life would be

centered on the belief that their ancestors had life

after death and thus lived as spirits called Ori. The

Madi believed that the spirits would intervene

directly in the life of the living. The misfortunes

were attributed to the anger of the spirits and the

people would approach Odzogo (the witch doctor)

to ascertain which ancestor was behind the

misfortune following that, respective sacrifices

would then be offered to a certain spirit in order to

neutralize its harshness on the living. According to

Madi, the powerful families were known to have

strong spirits that would help them.

Regarding the Rain making, in the entire Madi

community, there were only forty five (45) centers

for rain making. The rain could be made by the

rainmaker using special stones that are white in

color. The rain stone were believed to have come

with rain from the sky and they were grouped into

male and female. The Male stones were conical in

shape with relatively sharp points whereas the

female ones would be round or conical with no

sharp points. Though some stones would look

alike, the rain maker would easily identify them

without difficulty. The rain stones would be

reported to the chief once discovered and were

kept in pots and would not be looked at without

the permission of the rain maker or the chief as it

was believed that one would get impotent. Once

the rain took long to rain, the people would

approach the rain maker for assistance and the

rain making process was exclusively rain makers

preserve. The stones were smeared oil or fats and

appeals were made to Rubanga and to the former

chiefs. The offertory food was eaten and the stones

would be perched in little water. The rain maker

would take the offertory food locally known as

Mtami, Wimbi and beans along with shear butter

nut oil to the huts whee the stones were kept. A

clay pot would be put on a wooden basin, remove

the rain stone from their pot, cleanse them while

calling upon the ancestral spirits of the Rubanga

and the dead chiefs to provide them rain. The rain

stones would then be out in a bowl where they

were anointed with little oil. The rain maker along

with the chiefs principle wives were the only

people noted to be present at the rainmaking

function. The food prepared on the function would

be eaten by the rain maker and the two principle

omen who had prepared it. The rain stones would

then be placed in the pot that and enough water

which was not too much and not too little and the

rainmaker and two women would not move out of

the hut or consume any other food throughout the

day. The rain was expected to fall on that very

day.

If the rain did not appear, the odzo would then be

consulted or the rain maker would extend the rain

making function to incorporate the killing and

eating of a sheep. And may be if there was

unnatural phenomenon, the rain would be expected

to fall. If the rain was too much, the rain maker

would then get a branch of a bush named erewa

and would smear it with red ochre and put it on

the huts roof where the rain stones were kept. It is

note that there were two (2) clans that would make

rain using rain stones and their elders would meet

at a worship place and pray to Rubanga to grant

them rain.

Regarding political set up, the Madi were arranged

in chiefdoms and every chiefdom was led by Opi a

hereditary chief who had both religious and

political powers. This person was accorded

maximum respect and regarded as the political

center and a collective point for the former chief’s

influence. The rainmakers and the Vudipi who was

responsible for the issue of the land were other

two notable personalities of religious significance

in the Madi Community. These two were also

believed to be descending from the ancestral lines

that carried out such acts and were thought that

they would retain their powers even after their

death.

Regarding the Judicial system, in case one Madi

pleaded innocent over staling or adultery

accusations, the witch doctor would be approached

to ascertain the truth. The doctor would take a

handful of spear grass and order the accuser and

the accused to hold each end of the grass then the

grass would be cut by an arrow. The guilty would

fall sick and the truth would come out through

consequences. The guilty would be cleansed by

paying a sheep which would then be slaughtered.

The dung and blood on the sheep’s intestines

would be smeared on the back of the hands of the

accused and accuser and others on the chests.

Their legs were tied with the sheep’s skin and the

elders of the two families of the two parties would

convene to eat the mutton as a reconciliatory act.

The cases that involved poisoning, the witch doctor

heat a spear and touch the accused thigh with the

spear’s hot end. If the weal appeared the accused

would have proved guilty and would be speared to

death. Though it appears automatic that by

touching the thigh with a hot spear would attract

selling, the traditions indicate that at time it would

not.

Regarding the Superstitions, the Madi believed that

if a man met a rabbit, a wild pig or a bush buck

while on a journey, he would go back to consult a

witch doctor to ascertain what to do before

embarking on the journey. Also if a man owl

hooted while perched on top of some ones house,

or if a man met a leopard or a snake, then family

might lose a member. Is a jackal barked in a

compound of someone, the family would relocate

as the old home would be considered cursed.

Regarding the economy, the Madi were

agriculturalists and their main crops were Mtami,

Wmbi and a range of beans not forgetting shear

butter. They would practice barter trade and

carried out impressive trade with their neighbors.

On top of crop growing, they would rear chicken,

sheep, goats and cattle.