Dyula People - Dyula Culture and Society

Dyula Culture and Society

Dyula society is hierarchical or caste-based, with nobility and vassals. Like numerous other African peoples, they previously held slaves (jonw), who were often war prisoners from lands surrounding their territory. Descendants of former kings and generals had a higher status than their nomadic and more settled compatriots. With time, that difference has eroded, corresponding to the economic fortunes of the groups.

The traditional dyula social structure is further organized into various familial clan groups, and clan affiliation continues to be a dominant aspect of both collective and individual identity. People are fiercely loyal to their clan lineage, often expressing their cultural history and devotion through the oral traditions of dance and storytelling. Descent groups are identified by patronyms (dyamuw; sing. dyamu), many of which are common to other Mande-speaking peoples. In any community, individuals sharing a patronym who consider themselves agnatically (patrilineality) related together form a kabila, with a designated head, the kabila tigi. A large kabila is divided into segments called so, lu, or gba. The precise meanings attached to these latter terms vary from place to place. Many kabilaw are too small to be segmented, and a village or town can include quite a number of unrelated clan wards, some of which might bear the same patronym. Kabilaw - and even segments of them - can be economically specialized. Internal disputes are settled by a council of the clan ward or segment as a whole. Kinship terminology is bifurcate merging in parents' generation, with Iroquois cousin terms in Ego s generation. Relative age is consistently stressed in Ego's and, to a lesser extent, in parents' generation. The dyula are patrilineal and patriarchal, with older males possessing the most power and influence. Men and women commonly reside in separate houses made of mud or cement - men occupying round houses and women in rectangular ones. The father heads the family and inheritances are passed down from fathers to their sons. Despite being illegal, the dyula still practice polygamy and young people are often encouraged to marry within their own clan.

Another hereditary class that was afforded a particularly important status by the dyula social hierarchy was occupied by the tuntigi, or warrior class. The dyula had long been accustomed to surrounding their cities with fortifications and taking up arms when it was deemed necessary in order to defend themselves and maintain the smooth flow of trade caravans. As a result, they became closely associated with the tuntigi warrior class.