Tribal Stories Of South Sudan

THE FOLLOWING ARE STORIES OF SOME OF THE TRIBES SUPPORTED BY THE ROOTS PROJECT

THE DINKA:

The Dinka are found in Greater Bahr el Ghazal and Greater Upper Nile regions. The Dinka people call themselves Jieng or Muonyjang and speak the Dinka language. They are the largest single tribe in South Sudan. The economy is largely traditional cattle keeping and is a basis of social status; therefore the larger the herd the more prestigious the family. Cattle is the medium of exchange in marriage, payment of debts and blood price or for sacrifices to the spirits and on major occasions and rites. The Dinka are proud and ethnocentric, but hospitable and friendly demonstrating a high moral standard, code of behavior, sense of personal dignity (dheeng) and integrity. 

Dinka Beaded Corset;

Girls wear the Dinka corsets of these designs. They can be worn everyday, although many wear them only during special occasions like weddings, parties, and particularly dancing ceremonies. The corset conveys the girl’s age and her readiness for marriage and the status and wealth of her family therefore the likely dowry for her. The complexity and beauty of the designs, the lengths of the corset as well as the colors distinguish these messages.  

·       Yellow corsets - worn by girls who have just reached puberty;

·       Light blue corsets: worn by young girls around 16-18 years;

·       Red Corsets: worn by older unmarried girls, 18 years and older;

·       Mixed colors: worn by girls of any age for special occasions. 

Black and White beads: 

Known as ‘Ajouh’ these beads form part of family heirlooms and are worn by men, women, girls and boys and passed from one generation to the other. In Yirol, married women are given these beads by members of their families and are then made into one multi-layered necklace worn in many occasions

THE NUER:

The Nuer are believed to have separated - at a certain stage in the past - from the Dinka but in their latter development and migration assimilated many Dinka in their path.
‘Nei ti Naath’ which translates simply into ‘people’, is the second largest nationality in South Sudan.

In the beginning of the 19th century the Naath started to migrate and expand eastwards across the Nile and Zeraf rivers. This was done at the expense of, and more often than not, conquest and assimilation of their neighbours (most the Dinka, Anyuak and Maban).

The Naath now dominate large parts of Upper Nile extending from River Zeraf through Lou to Jikany areas on the River Baro and Pibor rivers. Nuer expansion pushed into western Ethiopia displacing the Anyuak more to the highlands.

Naath arts, music and literature like in most unwritten culture are orally transmitted over generations in songs, stories and folktales. The Naath are rich is songs, and folktales. Naath articles of arts and music include 'thom' and 'bul', which are similar to those of other Nilotics.

THE SHILLUK:

The people are known as ‘Shilluk’, or ‘Chollo’. The Shilluk live mostly on the west bank of the River Nile, with some settled on the east bank. They are a part of the Luo nation.

Their kingdom is divided into north, gar, and south, lwak. Its ceremonial capital is Pachodo or Fashoda, and it has other historical sites. The Shilluk kingdom is a nation in the sense of having a common territory, language and central authority to which citizens pay allegiance. But since the 1830s, it has rarely been independent, its location on a navigable part of the Nile exposing it instead to Arab and European incursions, as well as the impact and influences of slavery, colonialism, Christianity and Islam. 

The King or Reth is believed to be the reincarnation of Nyikango, the Shilluk founder. A Reth reigns for life from Pachodo (Fashoda), which was established around 1700. He is expected to found his own village too, coming to Pachodo only for major decisions. Reth Kwongo Dak Padiet is the reigning sovereign. He was installed as the 34th Shilluk Reth in 1992.

The Shilluk people wear beads for all occasions. During traditional ceremonies and occasions white anklets are given to members of the Shilluk Kingdom by relatives or people significant to them as blessings. As such elders from the tribe would have many singles strands of white beaded around their ankles.  The traditional long Shilluk necklace with the long tassel and yarn (customarily made of fur) is worn by men and women during all occasions worn over a ‘lawaa’, a cloth tied over one shoulder. The various colors in the long necklace represent the various clans of the Shilluk Kingdom.  

THE MURLE:

Most live in Pibor County, the Lotilla Murle on the flood plains, while the mountain Murle or Ngalam live on the Boma Plateau. Murle culture is centred around their cattle. They breed cattle, use them as dowry to marry, eat their meat, drink their blood and milk, and sleep on their hides. They compose songs about cows they captured in battle or in raids on their neighbours. Every important social event involves sacrificing a bull to secure the presence of ancestral spirits, as well as the more practical aspect of providing food for guests and relatives. 

Marriage, or kaavdhet, emphasises respecting parents-in-law. When a young man wants to marry a girl, he looks to his relatives to provide cattle for doing so, and the dowry he pays is divided among her relatives. The Murle speak of relatives as ‘people who have cattle between them’, or atenoc. 

Beads form a significant part of Murle culture. From birth one is given beads whose colors represent the age group of her parents at the time of her birth. She also wears beads whose colors represent her age group.  As she passes through various stations of life, she will wear beads representing her age group until the time of her marriage. Age groups are roughly categorized in decades and each decade has a specific style and/or color. The Murle wear beaded armbands, headbands, necklaces, belts and jewelry over their knees.

BALANDA:

The Balanda Boor speak a Luo dialect very close to Shilluk, differing only in pronunciation. They are divided into two main groups: the river people or Jo Kunam who are closely knit, and the hill people, Jo Ugot, whose kinship is looser and divided into three clans, the Fugaya, Afaranga and Mbene.

The Kunam are believed to have migrated into the region first, the Ugot following. They believe their ancestor, Bwor, was the eldest son of Nyikango– the man who founded of the Shilluk nation

According to the Shilluk, Bwor did not get on well with his cousin, Dak, and was granted his father’s permission to remain behind with his uncles when Nyikango and his entourage decided to migrate. Bwor establishing the Boor lineage by marrying a Bviri woman. The Boor lived closely alongside their Bviri neighbours until the Azande invaded.

Azande domination – which lasted from the 1860s until the Anglo-Egyptian re-conquest of Sudan in 1898 – disrupted the Boor, though their system of clan chiefs and elders continued to exist. 

Though greatly influenced by the Bviri and Azande, like other Luo-speakers, the Boor believe in the existence of a supreme being or Juok and the living spirits of their departed ancestors. Much of their cultural heritage is contained in music and facial markings. Many have converted to Christianity and a few to Islam.