AZANDE, THE, are the least unknown of the comparatively short-statured (medium breadth of head) group of the Southern Sudan population (see SUDAN : Ethnology), but whether the Azande proper stand in any close relationship to other tribes of the Bahr el-Ghazal provisionally attributed to this group is quite uncertain, though a number of the latter have undoubtedly been subjected to their influence. Schweinfurth wrote of the Azande as attaining the lowest grade of brachycephaly; measurements (unpublished) taken by E. E. Evans-Pritchard in the Sudan give an average cephalic index of 79, with a stature of about 65in. but Czekanowski's long series (Forscliungen im Nil-Kongo-Zwischen gebiet, vol. 4, Anthropologie, Leipzig, 192 2) of Azande measure ments from the Congo suggest an average cephalic index of 77 to 78 and a stature varying from group to group up to 69in., the higher figures no doubt being due to admixture. The Azande are expert agriculturists. The lower incisors are not removed, but a central v-shaped notch is filed between the upper central in cisors.
The Azande, unlike other tribes of the Sudan (with the possible exception of the Shilluk), may be fairly regarded as a nation, for they are really a federation of tribes, each with its territorial sec tions, having a supreme head or sultan belonging to a special ruling class. This class, the Avongara, is often, but with doubtful accu racy, stated to be the descendants of one Gura, apparently the ruler of a dominant people who some 200 years ago began a process of conquering and absorbing the neighbouring tribes which has lasted to the present day. The territory of the Azande has been estimated at 48,000sq.m. and their numbers at from two to four millions, the small portion falling within Sudan territory being divided into two districts, Yei and Meridi, each administered by a paramount chief. Evans-Pritchard's unpublished notes indicate that the Azande are patri!ineal and patrilocal, with descent of property and rank in the male line. There is a clan organization described as totemic, but all chiefs (gbia or vongara) belong to one class, constituting the Avongara, to whom both endogamous and exogamous is permitted. The political organization con sists of a paramount chief ruling over a group or tribe, whose territory is defined by river boundaries. Under him are his brothers and sons, who administer provinces directly from pro vincial centres, these provincial governors appointing commoners to act as deputies (abakamba). The Azande live in homesteads widely scattered in bush-clearings, consisting—where the house father is polygamous—of a number of huts, surrounded by culti vation, each occupied by a wife and her children.
A supreme being named Mboli is recognized, but his relation to the everyday affairs of man is by no means clear, though it is certain that offerings are made to him during periods of drought. The ancestral spirits possess a shrine in every homestead, and to them conduct is explained and offerings made. (C. G. S.) See C. R. Lagae, Les Azande ou Niam-Niam (1926) .