The Kwama (also called Gwama and Komo), are a
Nilo-Saharan-speaking community living in the Sudanese-Ethiopian borderland, mainly in the
Mao-Komo special woreda
Mao-Komo is a woreda in Benishangul-Gumuz Region, Ethiopia. Because it is not part of any zones in Benishangul-Gumuz, it is considered a Special woreda, an administrative subdivision which is similar to an autonomous area. The southernmost woreda i ...
of the
Benishangul-Gumuz Region
Benishangul-Gumuz ( am, ቤንሻንጉል ጉሙዝ, Benšangul Gumuz) is a regional state in northwestern Ethiopia to the border of Sudan. It was previously known as Region 6. The region's capital is Assosa. Following the adoption of the 1 ...
in
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
. They belong, culturally and linguistically, to the
Koman groups, which include neighboring communities such as the
Uduk, Koma, and
Opuuo. Although they traditionally occupied a larger territory, they have been forced to move to marginal, lowland areas by the
Oromo from the 18th century onwards. In some villages Kwama, Oromo and
Berta live together. The Kwama are often called "Mao" by other groups, especially by the Oromo. The people who live in the southern area and near the Sudanese borderland often call themselves "Gwama" and use the term "Kwama" to refer to those living further to the south and in Sudan. These other "Kwama" are usually known by anthropologists as Koma or Komo (Theis 1995). In recent years, many people belonging to this ethnic group have been resettled by the Ethiopian state in order to provide them with clinics and schools.
Customs
The Kwama are
swidden cultivators. Their staple food is
sorghum, with which they make beer (called ''shwe'' or ''shul'' depending on the dialect) and porridge (''pwash'' or ''fash''). They also hunt (mostly duiker and warthog), fish, and gather honey. They drink sorghum beer communally with drinking straws from a large pot. Marriage was traditionally by
sister exchange
Sister exchange is a type of marriage agreement where two sets of siblings marry each other. In order to get married, a man needs to persuade his sister to marry the bride's brother. It is practised as a primary method of organising marriages in 3 ...
, although this custom is now receding. The Kwama are divided into clans, some of which are also divided into sub-clans. It is not allowed to marry a woman or a man from one's own clan.
Polygyny
Polygyny (; from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); ) is the most common and accepted form of polygamy around the world, entailing the marriage of a man with several women.
Incidence
Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any ...
is widespread. They have ritual specialists and rainmakers (''sid mumun'' and ''sid bish''), who perform divination and healing ceremonies in huts called ''swal shwomo''. These often have a characteristic bee-hive shape, which is very typical of this ethnic group. For that reason, the Kwama refer to their traditional houses as ''swal kwama'', "swal" meaning "house". Vinigi Grotanelli describes some of them in his study of the Mao (Grottanelli 1940).
The Kwama mainly adhere to Islam and
animist traditional beliefs.
See also
*
Komuz languages
Notes
Bibliography
* Corfield, F.D. (1938): The Koma. ''Sudan Notes and Records'' 21: 123-165.
* Grottanelli, V.L. (1940): ''I Mao. Missione etnografica nel Uollega occidentale''. Rome: Reale Accademia d'Italia.
* Grottanelli, V.L. (1947): Burial among the Koma of Western Abyssinia. ''Primitive Man'' 20(4): 71-84
*
Theis, Joachim: (1995): ''Nach der Razzia. Ethnographie und Geschichte der Koma'', Trickster Verlag, München, Germany
External links
Rosetta projectKwama on the EthnologueKoma on the EthnologueGwama language
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Ethnic groups in Ethiopia