STEFANO SANTANDREA The Kresh Group, Aja and Baka Languages (Sudan) A linguistic contribution 1976 ISTITUTO UNIVERSITARIO ORIENTALE NAPOLI Tipografia Don Bosco - Via Prenestina 468 - 00171 Roma - Tel. 25.82.640 ANCORA UNA PREMESSA E trascorso piii di un decennio da quando ebbi il piacere, e Vonore, di compiere un atto di doverosa e cordiale deferenza presentando il primo con- tributo linguistico del Santandrea, quel « Languages of the Banda and Zande Groups-A contribution to a comparative study », che porta il 1965 come anno di pubblicazione. Primo, sia chiaro, con riferimento ai lavori usciti sotto il patrocinio delVIstituto Orientale di Napoli, poiche assai piu ampia e Vattivita di studioso del Santandrea sia per spazio di tempo che per quantita e varietd di contributi, linguistici e storico-etnologici {si pub consultare la « Bibliografia di studi africani della Missione delVAfrica Centrale », Verona, 1948, stesa dal Santandrea stesso, e, per i lavori posteriori a quella data, ma fino al 1967 soltanto, « Hanno scritto », in « Nigrizia », Verona, febbraio 1967, pp. 37-38, con fotografia dello studioso, che e anche Vautore di questa seconda notizia bibliografica; dopo il 1967 il Santandrea ha continuato nella sua incessante e alacre operosita). Oggi, sono stato stimolato a mettere giu ancora due modestissime righe dalla soddisfazione, non piccola certamente, di osservare come con il presente volume {che avrebbe visto la luce con qualche anno di anticipo se non fosse incappato in estenuanti lungaggini burocratiche in sede amministrativd) il Pa­ dre Stefano Santandrea ha arricchito la sezione di studi linguistici sulVAfrica delVIstituto Orientale con un'altra monografia, il cui valore pub essere im- mediatamente colto nella sua sostanza se si consideri che i materiali organi- camente analizzativi costituiscono un insieme di dati tutti originali e inediti, raccolti sul posto, come di consueto, dalVAutore durante la sua lunghissima permanenza, che delle lingue interessatevi gli consentl di diventare un co- noscitore provetto per pratica e studio diretti ed una delle poche o addirittura Vunica fonte di cui si disponga da parte europea. E poi anche una felice coincidenza che, contemporaneamente al contri­ bute del Santandrea, venga pubblicato un altro studio, anche questo per cura e a spese delVIstituto Orientale, « A comparative-historical phonology of the Chari languages {Nilo-Saharan languages of Central Africa)», dovuto alia Dr. Linda J. Thayer {Monrovia). Questo saggio, infatti, costituisce una oppor- tuna, e benvenuta, messa a punto del quadro dei fenomeni fonematici delVarea a cui appartengono le lingue studiate dal Santandrea, nel cui nome il lettore si imbattera alia prima pagina della trattazione come quello di una delle — 6 — fonti originali dei materiali presi in considerazione, mentre poi, scorrendo le pagine successive della Thayer, egli potrd toccare con mano e trovare chiara testimonianza delTimportanza del nuovo presente lavoro del missionario. Siarno cost arrivati, caro Padre Santandrea, addirittura ad una Sua tri- logia di scritti (Taltro, e superfluo rammentarlo, sono le 325 pagine del « Note grammaticali e lessicali sul gruppo Feroge e sul Mundu (Sudan)», uscito nel 1969) venuti alia luce grazie alia Sua assidua collaborazione con noi, frutto e attestazione nobilissima della Sua indomabile fede nei valori della cono- scenza, capace di aiutarLa ad affrontare serenamente e ad avere ragione delle continue sofferenze fisiche che mai cessano di accanirsi per piegare la cagionevole Sua salute, messa a grande prova in tutti gli anni, i migliori della Sua vita, spesi in quelle lontane e ardue regioni da Lei elette a sua seconda, e amata, terra, il Bahr al-Ghazal. Per cost fecondo operare e per tanto strenuo e splendido esempio di quanto possa la forza delle esigenze libere e assolute dello spirito desidero qui esprimerLe, in piena umiltd, la mia grata, e affettuosa, ammirazione. Lanfranco Ricci Direttore del Seminario di Studi sull’Africa Istituto Orientale Napoli 10 ottobre 1976 SOUTHWESTERN SUDAN and adjoining territories N.B. - The names of the tribes whose langua­ ges are studied in this book have been underlined. INTRODUCTION The linguistical situation in the Bahr el Ghazal (B. el G.) A sketch, with additional explanations, will give - I hope - a fair idea of the situation. Languages are classified according to the “ tradi­ tional ” method used by Westermann, Tucker, etc. group subgroup Dinka Jur (= Luo) Dembo (= Bodho) Nilotic Luo Shatt (= Thuri) Boor (= Belanda) Ndogo Sere Ndogo Tagbu Bai Bviri Ndogo-Feroge- Feroge (= Kaligi) Mundu Manga (= Bugwa) Feroge Indri Togoyo Mundu Sudanic Mundu Congo C.A.R. Bongo Rumbek Jur Bongo Amadi Moro Sara-Bagirmi- Yulu Bongo-Kresh. . . ■ Kara Kresh Kresh Woro Dongo — 8 — group subgroup Kresh-Banda Aja Banda Banda Golo Gabu..... Banda-Zande Ngala Sudanic (cont.) Zande Zande Barambu Pambia Birri Explanations 1) Aja and Ngala have been placed between two groups because they partake of both. 2) Names in italics indicate locations of the tribes concerned. For the Rumbek Jur and the Amadi Moro see my Bongo (7-8). The former are a group of small tribes, surnamed Jur in Dinka, living near Rumbek, and the latter a cluster of tiny ethnies in the neighbourhood of Amadi, known under names whose first component is Moro. By Congo and C.A.R. (Central African Republic) several tribes are intended, of whose languages I have given a short account in my Feroge-Mundu (309-21). 3) Birri does not belong to any of the language groups within my knowledge. It shows points in common with all those mentioned before, but still more with the Moru-Madi-Logbara..., here omitted because it lies wholly outside the B. el G. I think it useful to record here, once for all, “ our ” publications on languages not contemplated in this study: a) Dinka — P. A. Nebel, Dinka Grammar, M.C.2. Verona 1948 (p. 175); b) Jur — P. Stefano Santandrea, Grammatichetta Giur, Verona 1946 (p. 142); c) Birri — Stefano Santandrea, The Birri Language - Brief Ele­ mentary Notes, M.C.20 (p. 52). A detailed bibliography is given further on of all the languages con­ nected with this work for the sake of comparison. From it one gathers that all the B. el G. groups have been illustrated in previous publications, with the exception of the following. — 9 — The Kresh Group Though the Kresh are the most important tribe of the Western B. el G., we must admit that they have been the most neglected in literature, as I remarked in my short notes on this people k Only as far as history and general information are concerned they have been given a fair share of attention in my Tribal History (see: Bibliography), together with the Woro and the Aja (pp. 191-229). The Dongo (alias Dango) - owing to particular circumstances, mainly historico-geographical - have been illustrated together with the Feroge group (ibi, pp. 156-59; 186-90). Therefore here a few words will suffice to introduce the tribes whose languages form the main concern of this study. In former times (old maps should be consulted for the purpose) the Kresh inhabited, roughly speaking, a long stretch of land on the Nile- Congo Divide, starting in the north from the Bahr el Arab, down south to the sources of the Kuru river. In the north their territory expanded vastly on both sides of the Divide, being the main part of what used to be called Dar Fertit. The Dongo formed the last ring of the tribal chain in the north-west, that stretched from Hofrat en-Nahas beyond the Bahr el Arab, up to Jebel Dongo (thus called after them), whereas the Woro formed the last ring of the same chain in the south, going from Deim Zubeir eastward up to, and beyond, the Kuru. The Aja, in their turn, were the westernmost branch of the race, living alongside the paramount section of the Kresh, the Naka, in what is now the C.A.R. The Kresh were undoubtedly a great nation, as evidence from manifold sources bears witness; but, being exposed more than others to slave-raiding and internecine fights, more than others they were greatly reduced in number and strength. The true name of the Kresh This is no fit place for discussing such an extremely complex problem for which I beg to refer to my Tribal History (pp. 207-209). Suffice it to say that Kresh, though a foreign name, is the only one that covers all the sections of the peoples concerned, and is understood by all in the Sudan and abroad; therefore it has been retained for its practical value. As for the spelling, Kresh represents the commonest pronunciation in the 1 In Annali del Pontificio Museo Missionario Etnologico (formerly Annali Latera- nensi), XXXm, pp. 125-211. — 10 — country. Other spellings to be found in books and maps are: Kreish, Kreich, Kredj, etc... The name Woro (phonetically Woro) has been preferred because it is the commonest among themselves and kindred tribes; the pronunciations Oro, Oro, and even Oor (with a long close “ o ”) are also heard. Dongo is pronounced Dango in some quarters, and also this spelling may occasionally be found in books and maps. Aja, otherwise spelt Adja, Ajja, etc., is likewise an unequivocal deno­ mination for the little tribe concerned, though its name, in their language, is Gbaya. But, as I have explained in my Tribal History, the latter name is shared by so many peoples that its use would only add to the already great confusion existing in the western B. el G. in connection with tribal names. Kresh languages and dialects Aja is a language apart, though the Aja themselves, owing to their real name, Gbaya, have often been taken as a section of the Kresh tribe, or else just confused with them. Their language stands - as I have stated elsewhere - half-way between Banda and Kresh, being nearer to Banda in vocabulary, but nearer to Kresh in structure. The Dongo have been known so far simply as one of the many unimpor­ tant tribes of the west, belonging to Darfur rather than to the B. el G., and their language has just been ignored. Its relationship to Kresh is so evident that one is tempted to reckon it as one of its dialects. Without entering into details, I think it may be safely stated that Dongo belongs to the Kresh group, but has developed enough characteristics of its own to be reckoned as a separate unit. About Woro I have made elsewhere the same statement; but now, after a more careful examination of the material available, I am inclined to consider it simply a dialect of Kresh, though showing deeper discre­ pancies than those existing between standard Kresh dialects. Possibly its development into a unit apart (parallel to Dongo) was stopped half-way by reasons beyond our present knowledge. In this connection a fact of special interest should be pointed out. Dongo, the northernmost language, and Woro, the southernmost dialect, exhibit certain features in common, too remarkable to be casual: resemblance in pronunciation, and several peculiar words of their own and different from other Kresh dialects. Mo­ reover I succeeded in gathering here and there several hints of evidence as to a close relationship between the two tribes in “very old times”. Woro has not been given in the Vocabulary for it contributes no new — 11 — voice; but, to make up for the loss, whenever worth while I have added to Kresh and Dongo, in brackets, (=W.), viz. the same as in Woro. Now coming to the division of Kresh into dialects, the three main ones are mentioned, corresponding to the main tribal sections: Naka (also called Kpara or Kpara, but this name is taken by some as synonimous of Kresh, generally speaking), Ngbongbo or Kresh-Hofra, and Gbaya, spoken by the so-called Kresh-Ndogo. In connection with Ngbongbo, special mention will be made of Goro (or Goto), the dialect of a clan officially attached to the Ngbongbo, but actually not belonging to the same stock. The notes contained in this study represent mainly Gbaya. It has been suggested that this dialect has strongly degenerated under Ndogo influence, but such a statement is grossly exaggerated. As a matter of fact, Naka and Gbaya, the two most distant dialects, differ very little from each other, the main discrepancies lying in pronunciation. Anyhow real Ndogo infiltrations into Gbaya will be duly noted whenever they occur. Comparative hints between Kresh dialects will be met in the course of these notes. Comparative vocabulary The comparative vocabulary given at the end of this study contains Kresh, Dongo, Aja and Banda. I have already explained why Woro has been excluded. Banda has taken its place, being extremely important in order to show its relationship with A|a. Whenever Banda disagrees with Aja, but Golo agrees with it, Golo has been given instead of Banda, pre­ ceded by G. (=Golo); for, belonging to the same group, it, too, stands as a witness to their mutual relationship. The Baka and their language For the tribe, I beg to refer to my Tribal History (chapter X, The Bongo Group, pp. 309-315), where I gathered all the information available on the Baka, who live in Equatoria around Meridi (= Maridi) and north­ west of Yei, and in the adjoining territory in Congo, near Watsa and Faradje. Baka is well known as a language belonging to the Bongo group, and the Small Comparative Vocabulary at the end of my Bongo Grammar contains also Baka, besides Yulu and Kara. It was therefore thought unnecessary to give it here.