Fon tribe - Fon (English spelling)

Japanese: フォン族 - フォンぞく（英語表記）Fon

The Dahomey people are the inhabitants of southern Benin (formerly Dahomey) and Nigeria. They speak the Mwa language family of the Niger-Congo family. Their population is estimated at about 3 million. Their economy has traditionally depended on agriculture, with maize, cassava, and yams as staple foods, and oil palm as the main cash crop. Plowing is done by men, planting by both men and women, and maintenance and harvesting by women. There are mutual aid associations of adult male groups who do farm work and roofing, and each village has a specialized group of hunters led by a chief. They are skilled in crafts, such as metalwork, weaving, and pottery, and use cowrie shells as currency. The polygamous family is the basic unit of society, and within the compound that includes the husband's residence, the residences of his brothers and adult sons, ancestral shrines, and barns, each wife has her own residence and that of her children. A patrilineal lineage generally has its houses close to each other, and the eldest man becomes the head of the group. In the past, patrilineal clans were powerful, but in recent years the clan structure has collapsed. However, ancestor worship still plays a major role, and there is also belief in nature gods and personal gods, as well as magic and complex divination. The basic political unit is the village organization with a hereditary chief.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

ダオメー族 Dahomeyともいう。ベナン (旧ダオメー) の南部およびナイジェリアの住民。言語はニジェール＝コンゴ語派のクワ諸語に属する。人口約 300万と推定される。経済は伝統的に農業に依存し，とうもろこし，キャッサバ，ヤムいもなどを主食とし，油やしがおもな換金作物である。耕作は男性，植付けは男性と女性，手入れと刈取りは女性の仕事とされる。農作業や屋根ふきをする男子成人組の互助組織があり，ほかに各村落には首長の指導する専門的な狩人集団がある。工芸にもたけており金工，織布，土器製作を行い，またコヤスガイが貨幣として使われる。一夫多妻の複婚家族が社会の基本単位で，夫の住居，その兄弟や成人した息子たちの住居，祖先の祠，納屋などが並ぶ屋敷の中で，それぞれ妻たちは自分と子供の住居をもつ。父系リニージは，一般に近接して屋敷を構え，男の最年長者がその集団の首長となる。以前は父系氏族が強大であったが，近年になって氏族組織は崩壊した。しかし祖先崇拝が依然として主要な機能を果しており，自然神や人格神の信仰，呪術や複雑な占いなどがある。世襲制の首長を戴いた村落組織が政治の基本単位である。

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