While Sungusungu is often referred to as a community army or “the army of ancestors,”
Dagashida is a local village assembly or “a village parliament.” It is a powerful customary
27 Although Sungusungu is legally recognized by the government, most of its activities must be approved by the
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institution that regulates access to and control of natural resources. As a very important and respected village assembly (Ibanza lya jadi), it is in charge of enacting and enforcing customary laws including those addressing environmental protection, adultery, gossip, and behavioral norms. The following is a list of some of Dagashida’s responsibilities as explained by
Dagashida members in focus group discussions:
1. Mobilizing development activities in the villages, such as digging wells and cleaning up dams;
2. Supervising environmental protection activities such as planting trees; 3. Working with Sungusungu to provide security in the village;
4. Punishing those who go against traditional norms;
5. Solving different types of conflicts e.g. marriage, water, land, etc. 6. Enacting and enforcing customary laws.
One Dagashida chairman said in an interview that Dagashida is open to all men in the village. As with Sungusungu, women are not allowed to join Dagashida. Dagashida’s hierarchy of authority is organized according to the age-set of village men (Figure 5.12).The Gedabouka, is held by the oldest man, 80 years and older. He is regarded as a man of wisdom because he has lots of experience. The Gedabouka does not always attend Dagashida meeting because of his age, but he is consulted for advice by other members of Dagashida whenever there is a problem or issue they can’t resolve. The advice given by the Gedabouka is taken to be the right one and is always followed. The chairman (Nyangogo), is usually between the ages of 70 to 80 years.28
28 This is approximate ages of members of each age-set as reported by Dagashida members. The average age in each
age-set depends on the availability of people in that particular age set. In some cases, one age set may need to get members from a lower age set.
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His primary function is to make democratic decisions, chair Dagashida meetings and supervise all Dagashida activities in the village.
The position of Basumba batale and Lutala are held by men ranging from 60 to 70 years old. The Lutala is chosen from Basumba batale, and he is a facilitator during Dagashida
meetings. He starts the meeting by announcing the agenda to Dagashida members. Then
discussion starts where each member is free to contribute to discussions so long as he follows the rules. The Lutala makes sure that meeting rules are followed by all the members. For example, every member is required to focus on the subject of the meeting for that day, and deviations from the subjects are not allowed. Basumba batale are regarded as the police of the whole group. They are the one who read cases and work with the Lutala to make sure that the meeting goes on smoothly and everyone has a chance to contribute. They take lead in the implementation of
Dagashida resolutions and decisions. The group of junior elders (Banamhala) range in age from
50 to 60 years old. Junior elders act as consultants on what and when to meet, and they give directions to the youngest age-set, adult (Bayanda) with ages ranging from 18 to 50 years old. The youngest age set implements Dagashida resolutions and enforces customary laws because they are younger and energetic.
Dagashida meetings are normally conducted in an open area or in a partially enclosed
area. The village elder or chief calls the Dagashida meeting (Mlenge 2002). Members of
Dagashida said that all male village members are allowed to attend and discuss important village
affairs. Everyone is allowed to speak and give his views before a final decision is made by the senior elder based on the views of the majority. This is an opportunity for villagers to express their views and formulate rules for managing their water resource such as banning people from
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doing laundry by the boreholes. During a time of water scarcity, communities reinvigorate rules that regulate the amount of water collected and people are not allowed to use the water for their gardens.
Figure 5. 12: Dagashida Hierarchy of Leadership
. Decision making within Dagashida starts with the youngest age-set (Bayanda) who discuss an issue until they reach a consensus about what to do and give their joint
recommendation to junior elders. Junior elders then discuss the issue and pass their
recommendation to the upper age-set. The same procedure continues to elders. Then the elder coordinator will pass the issue to senior elders to who will analyze the different views and
Most senior elder (Gedabouka)
Elders (Basumba batale)
Junior Elders (Banamhala)
Adults (Bayanda) Senior elders (Nyangogo)
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recommendations from different age sets and give their final conclusion based on the view of the majority. If the decision is about a new law, then the elders (Basumba batale) are responsible for informing villagers about the new law. They can do so through a village meeting where all villagers are required to attend, or they can blow a gourd-stem whistle (kalulu) early in the morning so everyone in the village can hear about the new law.
Villagers said that most people in the community cooperate with their elders to monitor those who break the rules. The Dagashida is also responsible for enforcing customary laws and ruling the cases for offenders. Moreover, the Dagashida plays a crucial role in organizing communal work for water management. One example is cleaning of the water source, an
obligation for all the water users. Each user is expected to take help clean once or several times a year, depending on the number of users per water source. Those who don’t take part are fined. In some villages, the village council appoints a person to look after peoples’ behavior at the water source and report any wrong doing (Drangert 1993).
Dagashida members said in focus group discussions that they have enacted a number of
laws to protect the environment. For example, Dagashida forbids people from cutting down trees near water sources, prohibits agricultural activities close to sources of water, and prohibits burning. Offenders pay a fine of one cow for breaking these rules. Dagashida allocates specific areas to be used for grazing and watering livestock.
Laws for managing common water sources are made by both Sungusungu and
Dagashida. These laws ban people from bathing or washing clothes by a water source, having
sexual activities near water sources, or send the livestock to drink water in the water source used for home consumption (Dungumaro and Madulu 2002). These laws are closely monitored. Violations are regarded as serious offences that are severely punished by a beating or a fine. In
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the dry season, when water is scarce, communities practice water rationing for each household.
Dagashida make the decisions regarding water management rules and then the villagers or the
owners of private wells are in charged with monitoring the water source and making sure that the applicable rules are followed. Dagashida may restrict the hours when drawing water from common sources is permitted. The rules for managing private water sources are made by private water owners. But these rules are supposed to be in line with customary laws. Private well owners report people to customary institutions for punishment if they fail to follow their rules.