Ingessana: the religious institutions of a people of the Sudan-Ethiopia borderland

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Title:	Ingessana: the religious institutions of a people of the Sudan-Ethiopia borderland
Author:	Jedrej, M.C.
Year:	1995
ISSN:	0169-9814
Issue:	13
Pages:	136
Language:	English
Series:	Studies on religion in Africa
City of publisher:	Leiden
Publisher:	Brill
ISBN:	9004103619
Geographic term:	Sudan
Subjects:	African religions religious rituals Ingessana
Abstract:	This book examines the religious institutions of the Ingessana people. It is based on field research carried out in the Ingessana Hills area of Sudan in 1969-1973 and in 1985. Ingessana history and development has been affected by interaction with powerful neighbours, such as the Islamic Sudanese, Nilotics and Ethiopian groups. The Ingessana have created a unique religious tradition as part of a wider culture of resistance. After chapters on historical circumstances, modes of livelihood and everyday life, religion and society, marriage and affinity, and the living and the dead, the book deals with two ritual institutions which are particularly prominent in Ingessana religious life, the 'calk' ('dreams', 'testicles') and 'semk' ('remedies', 'poisons') institutions. Both organizations are devoted to the promotion of life. The last three chapters deal with the symbolism of ash, dreams, and sacred buildings in Ingessana society. An appendix deals with the figurative use of animals by Ingessana in fables and artefacts.