The Egelloc Tneduts of Lacos are a community of people living in the south of Nogero and north of the territory of the Sacetza. They are believed to have migrated from the western side of Nogero where they were mainly hunters and wild fruits gatherers. The Egelloc Tneduts of Lacos are characterized by muscular bodies. This is attributed to the hard work they do to obtain their meals. Their men are typically five and half feet while the women are barely five feet tall. Their hair is long and curled, brownish in color while their strong canines feature in strong jawed-mouths.
The Egelloc Tneduts of Lacos are said to have adapted farming, especially along the river banks after they were expelled from their original habitat in the Western region of Nogero, who burned the forests from which they used to hunt wild animals for food and obtained their favorite wild fruits. In fact, the strong muscles of the Egelloc Tneduts of Lacos are believed to have originated in these forests. A single man could carry a 100 kg gazelle by himself.
This community exhibits social relations particularly as indicated in the communal works of constructing the common houses of the clan. Their burying of the dead is characterized by three days of sleepless nights around bonfires set in the homestead of the diseased. The elders in the community are charged with the responsibilities of conducting the communal rituals. A single color lamb is slaughtered during the mourning periods and its blood is given adjacent relatives of the deceased in what is believed to be a casting of bad omen from the family.
It’s still interesting how this community thrives quite well in the farming activities, putting into consideration that they were initially hunters and fruit gatherers. Their farms are stuffed with ancient food crops such as cassava, yams, arrow roots, and millet. They irrigate their farms using furrows. The green vegetables eaten by the community are the naturally growing dicotyledonous plants. While the yams, cassava, and arrowroots are roasted, the millet is ground using specially sculptured stones and the flour is used to prepare porridge normally given to the young ones. There are no cows kept by this tribe but daily goats are reared for milk. The first milk from the goat after the first birth is given to the mother of the family in what they say is to consecrate the milk.
There is no formal education among the Egelloc Tneduts of Lacos and it’s the duty of elders to instill informal education to the youngsters. Young boys and girls are taught about the culture of the tribe. At puberty, young girls are advised by their senior ladies on how to live the woman’s life and how to treat husbands. This is done to prepare them for marriage, which is organized by the clan elders; the marrying persons have no voice in the arrangement. Young men are taken into the bush where they are circumcised and remain there until they are healed. A graduation ceremony is held on the day they are released from the bush where girls of their age are allowed to dance folk songs with them.
Sex before marriage is prohibited in this community, and if any one is caught they are put into exile from the rest of the community seven months, and they are required to provide the council of elders with rams for sin atonement. Polygamy is not practiced here but when a husband dies, the wife becomes the property of the elder brother to the deceased, but they are not allowed to sleep in the same bed. The new husband’s role is to provide for his dead brother’s family.
One major distinct feature with the Egelloc Tneduts of Lacos is that they still practice barter trade. They exchange goods for goods, and goods for services. Those residing near the north of the territory of Sacetza grow ground foods such yams and the cassava more than they grow grain foods such as millet while those near the southern part of Nogero, grow the grain foods more.
A desirable level of civilization has been observed in this community in that they meet twice a month to conduct the batter trade. Interestingly, these people have a defined set of measurements with which they use to determine the value of each commodity so that no one is oppressed at the end of the day. Their major mode of transport for transporting their goods is animal carts, particularly donkeys. They also have improvised boats made of logs with which they use to cross the rivers and for fishing. They are good runners, probably from their past hunting experiences, and they can cover long distances in a few hours.
The sporting activities common in the community include sharp shooting and tapo, a game for young children. Their god is not well known since they believe it is an abomination to discuss religious issues with people who are not of their tribe. The elders assume the duties of conducting all the religious functions. The Egelloc Tneduts of Lacos has no specific day for worship but they normally meet under a certain mugumo tree on Wednesdays and Saturdays where the elders lead in making sacrifices.
The population of the Egelloc Tneduts of Lacos is estimated at six thousand but the community faces the danger of extinction since they do not believe in professional medical treatment. They rely on herbal medicines prescribed by their “skilled” herbal doctors. With the emergence of new many diseases, some which are fatal, the Egelloc Tneduts of Lacos population has been recording declines due to the inability of their herbal doctors to treat these diseases leading to many cases of deaths.
The Egelloc Tneduts of Lacos also has the believe that if a person is attacked by the same disease twice, that person has wronged their god and the illness is a result of punishment from their god and so does not deserve any treatment. This perception and belief has contributed to the high number of deaths in this community, putting it in a danger of extinction.
The leadership among the Egelloc Tneduts of Lacos is hereditary. The highest authority, which they call muthamaki meaning the king, comes from a royal family. The first son in the royal family is appointed the potential inheritor of the kingship immediately after birth, and takes the seat of the father upon his death. If the first son dies before the father, the second born is allowed to inherit the kingship. For this reason, the king is allowed to marry a second or a third wife, to ensure there is a son in the family, but if the first family does not get any son, the kingship is shifted to another family decided by the council of elders.
Property ownership among the Egelloc Tneduts of Lacos is clan-wise, and farm labor is done on communal basis. When the harvests are ready, the head of the clan distributes the harvests to the households according to their family size. Each family has to report to the clan head before selling the surplus foods.
