Azande Warrior Profile

Azande Warrior Bio:

The Azande are an ethnic group in central Africa, primarily in what is now South Sudan, the DR of the Congo, and the Central African Republic. The word Azande means 'the people who possess much land' in their native language, which they call Pazande. Azande warriors often grow up hunting, although they have little formal military training, coming off of the tribal nature of the Zandes. This is crucial; the Azandes have hunting experience but no formal training. The Azande are a mix of agricultural and hunting; they mostly grow maize, rice, peanuts, sesame, cassava and sweet potatoes. They are warriors though; they are well known for raiding other tribes to gain resources. To give them a factor of psychological warfare, they would file their teeth and act like cannibals to scare the enemy. They also chant 'nyam-nyam', a phrase meaning 'great eaters'. Azande religion is a mix of Christianity and animism; they also follow the ideas of witchcraft and magic.


Long Range:
Botto & Pima

Pima on the left, Botto on right.

 The Botto is a bow. The Pima is an arrow. Together they formed the backbone of Azande long-range warfare. The Botto was made from polished 'yellowish' wood that was attached to a string made of tightly wrapped sinew. The bow is about 4 feet long, and a straight bow with no significant recurves. This limits the bows power; but the true strength lies with the arrows, not the bow. First of all, the Pima was made from cane shafts and around 2 feet long. They had iron arrowheads, against the obsidian used by Aztecs. However, the arrows were poisoned with Benge, a red powder made from a type of forest creeper. Benge contains strychnine, a lethal poison used today as a pesticide. The poison is lethal; about ten to twenty minutes after injection, the victim starts having spasms in the head and neck. Soon, the spasms spread to the rest of the body and death comes by asphyxiation from msucles needed to breath or get the breath to the brain. Oddly, the death will not be a quick one. Death usually comes in around 2-3 hours. The Aztecs may have already won the fight, but if you get hit with this thing and it hits you are a dead man.

Mid Range:
Makrigga

Makrigga.

This is a pretty special spear. A seven foot iron spear makes your fight already hard, but there is a twist. The spear is barbed; if you get stuck with it the hooks on it will catch your flesh and hook on. If you take the spear out, it will also pull out any organs, muscle, or flesh that it attaches to. That's nasty. Plus, the spear is a whopping 7 feet long which pretty much kills your chances of charging against it. It was also used in a sort of Phalanx formation, with shields covering you and the spear killing your enemies. It would be excruciatingly painful to pull out; that's why the Azande's were so feared. This weapon also was the one that killed the Aztec on the show. In all of it's gut-pulling glory.

If you got impaled with this and someone pulled it out...

Close Range:
Makraka

Makraka.

This is a sickle weapon. It is made of iron on the blade, with a wooden grip covered in hide. It curves along the middle, that catches your head and takes it off. Really, it is designed to cut off limbs and heads. However, the use of this in this exclusive purpose makes it more of a sacrificial weapon; but it was indeed used as a secondary weapon in combat. It's 2 feet long; which is better than the Cuauholilli. It is only sharpened on the inside; no chest shots unless you get it a complex stab with the heavier tip. Also, that same tip weights the blade so it has a third help to cut off limbs and your head. It also bears a resemblance to a certain...body part...

Yes, that was completely intended in the design. The Azande's prized their weapons as part of their manhood and symbolized that on their weapons. 

Special Weapon:

The Kpinga.

Kpinga
What? You thought I would leave out this, of anything? This is, also with the Makrigga, the iconic Azande weapon. This is a large thorwing knife; and it had 3 blades. If you dodged one, you had another 2 hitting you. The handle was mad eout of plant fiber, but could still kill you. The weapon could be thrown overhand to really kill the back or sideways to incapacitate. It was 21 inches long and weighed 3.5 pounds. It was regarded as pretty important in Azande culture; Kpingas were part of marriage prices given to men. Those are basically, I give you stuff and you marry my daughter. It also bears a resemblance to a... body part...

Zande armor.

Again, intended in the design. 

Body Armor:
Oh...So close. The Azande warriors have no body armor. They have a large loinclth, a nice pair of sandals, and a ceremonial headdress. Not exactly battle armor; they will get points for freedom of the senses, but that's it. Except the headdress; that looks like some form of a helmet. Then again, it is a ceremonial headdress for god's sake. This is the Azande's weak point.

Shields:
Ah. Here we go.

The Zande shield, the Kube.

The Azande shield is a wicker shield. It is called the Kube, as that is the shield of the warriors, not the dignitaries. It is highly decorated, to the point that people are distinguished by the wickerwork on their shield. The shield also served as a dispenser, as it held 4 Kpinga in an iron disk in the center of the shield. The shield is mostly used to cover the body, because it is too light to serve as adequate protection for heavy weapons; the wicker will block javelins and swords just fine. It is a nice source of defense, and 

Variables:
Mobility: Azande weapons are rather light, and they are not hindered by armor. However, they are somewhat limited by the Kube. They will be about as fast as the Aztec.

Loyalty: Not as good. While tribesmen are naturally loyal, people can rebel against a lack of central government. It won't happen often though; the situation does not really assist disloyalty. Also. they are bound by religion in the case of some instancesChristianity, so that helps.

Experience: Not bad here. From a lifetime of hunting to a adulthood of warfare they Azande are very experienced. The only thing limiting them is a lack of experience against military professionals.

Training: This is crucial; the Azandes have extremely little formal training. They could be taught by an elder or parent, but they are not organized and therefore have no system of official training. If nothing else, this will hurt them.

Tactics: Most of the time, Azande warriors fought in a way of throwing the knife, and then charging with the spear and shield. It worked; but it's not very adaptable. The two are rather even, but the Aztecs have a big advantage of training.

Psycological Warfare: Azande's are masters of this. First, they sharpened their teeth to look like cannibals. Second, they yelled a battle-cry that scared their opponent, although it is lost on the language barrier. Third, they, when out of formation just charged their opponent head on. This will scare them.