African Folklore: An Encyclopedia - Marshalls University

African Americans 275
borders of Najie, a flat land of approximately 1,300 square miles, situated in a dry and
warm high plateau zone. As a distinct ecological zone, Najie has thin wild vegetation and
a dry climate. Sorghum is cultivated as the most important crop in the Jie peoples’ diet
and economy. Varieties of sorghum grow well in the cotton soil of Najie, as do numerous
varieties of fruits, bushes, and thorny plants that are all important to the economy of the
Jie people.
The historical dependence of the Jie on sorghum and cattle for their livelihood plays a
special role in creating a dual and complementary cosmology, which informs social and
political relations. While cattle signifies male food, sorghum signifies female food. In the
Jie culture in general, cattle are the primary source of conflict and resentment within the
family as well as between communities. When conflict over cattle occurs, women offer
their sorghum grain and sorghum beer as a sign of peace. While the cattle brand
(amachar) regulates relationships between fathers and sons and between older and
younger brothers, sorghum regulates relationships between mothers and daughters, and
between older and younger sisters.
The Jie Deities
This dual and complementary nature of cattle and sorghum grain can perhaps be better
understood by learning about the Jie cosmology. A predominant interpretation of the Jie
deities is characterized by the dual and complementary nature of cattle and grain
metaphors. According to the Jie storytellers Rianoro, Logwee, and Lodoch (interviewed
by the author in the village of Jimos in 1996), the Jie people have two deities: Akuj, a
male deity, and his counterpart Ekipe, a female deity, who live in the sacred hills in the
wilderness. While Akuj is associated with the sun, Ekipe is associated with the moon.
Akuj and Ekipe periodically visit the villages from the world that is located behind the
clouds in the deep sky, where there is no death, hunger, or aging.
When Akuj visits the people in the villages, he burns the land and causes the crops to
fail and the cattle to die, thus creating prolonged drought and famine. When Ekipe visits
the people, incessant winds blow and the rains pour, causing people to suffer from the
cold. The Jie world is harmonious when Akuj and Ekipe achieve a balanced relationship.
According to most Jie storytellers’ interpretation, Akuj and Ekipe are the projection of
the sun and the moon, respectively. The dual and complementary qualities of the Jie
deities are attributed to their dual ancestors Orwakol (the male ancestor) and Losilang
(the female ancestor), who gave cattle and grain to the Jie people as gifts.
The dual qualities of the Jie deities are also projected in their staple foods of cattle and
sorghum. It is in this sense that cattle and sorghum occupy a special place in the Jie
people’s diet. Cattle products such as milk, blood, and meat, and sorghum products, such
as sorghum bread, and sorghum beer, are not only staple food in a practical sense, they
are also the food used on ceremonial occasions when ritual performances require their
consumption.
The Jie historical traditions show a gradual development of the symbolic powers of
cattle and sorghum. The development of the supremacy of cattle and sorghum are closely
associated with their symbolic equation with the Jie ancestors and their relationships with
the ancient Jie politico-religious system. In a number of traditions, cattle and sorghum are