Sudanese Ethnic Groups: The Dinka

Dinka
Figure 1.--the Dinka people live in the southern Sudan along both sides of the White Nile. The Dinka are one of the branches of the Nilotes. The Dinka wear few clothes, particularly in their own village. In fact they tend to have few material possessions of ny kind. The boys tend goats and sheeps and the men care for the cattle.

The Dinka people live in what is now South Sudan along both sides of the White Nile. The Dinka are one of the branches of the Nilotes. They are known for centuries as Dinka, but they actually call themselves Moinjaang, "People of the people." The Dinka are the largest ethnic group in southern Sudan. The Dinka groups retain the traditional pastoral life of the Nilotes, but have added agriculture in some areas, growing grains, peanuts, beans, corn (maize) and other crops. Women do most of the agriculture, but men clear forest for the gardening sites. There are because of the climate usually two plantings per year. Some are fishers. The boys tend goats and sheep while the men are responsible for the cattle. The cattle are central to the Dinka culture Before the coming of the British the Dinka did not live in villages, but travelled in family groups living in temporary homesteads with their cattle. The homesteads might be in clusters of one or two all the way up to 100 families. Small towns grew up around British administrative centres. Each village of one or more extended families is led by a leader chosen by the group. Traditional homes were made of mud walls with thatched conical roofs, which might last about 20 years. Only women and children sleep inside the house, while the men sleep in mud-roofed cattle pens. The homesteads were located to enable movement in a range allowing year-round access to grass and water. Permanent villages are now built on higher ground above the flood plane of the Nile but with good water for irrigation. The Dinka wear few clothes, particularly in their own village. Adult men may be totally nude except for beads around the neck or wrist. The women commonly wear only goatskin skirts, but unmarried adolescent girls are typically nude. Clothes are becoming more common. Some men will be seen in the long Muslim robe or short coat. They own very few material possessions of any kind. The Dinka rub their bodies with oil made by boiling butter. They cut decorative designs into their skin. They remove some teeth for beauty and wear dung ash to repel mosquitoes. Men dye their hair red with cow urine, while women shave their hair and eyebrows, but leave a knot of hair on top of the head.

Location

The Dinka people live in what is now South Sudan along both sides of the White Nile. This is the savanna country surrounding the swamps of the Nile basin. The savana of course offered grazing land for heards, but in some areas has been affected by Saharan desertification.

Ethnicity

The Dinka are one of the branches of the Nilotes. The Dinka are the largest ethnic group in southern Sudan, believed to account for some 4 million people (2000). The Dinka speak a Nilotic language classified within the Eastern Sudanic branch of the Nilo-Saharan language family. Before the development of DNA, linguistics was one of the few tools available to assess etnicity, however imperfectly. The Dinka are believed to be closely associated to the Nuer, although there has been major conflict btween these two groups.

Social Organization

The Dinka are organized into large numbers of independent groups of some 1,000-30,000 people. These groups involve regional, linguistic, and cultural clusters. The most important are the Agar, Aliab, Bor, Malual, and Rek. Each group is divided into smaller political units with substantial autonomy. This and the normally wide range of pastoralists means that the Dinka inhabit a large expanse of trritory. This has led to substantial variation in dialect and cultural expesiion. Despite these differences there is a sence of cultural idenity, especially when confomted by outsiders.

Terminology

The term Dinka has been used for centuries by outsiders. They actually call themselves Moinjaang, "People of the people."

Economy

The Dinka are one of many semi-nomadic African pastoralists with a culture and economy centered on hearding cattle. They retain the traditional pastoral life of the Nilotes, but have added agriculture in some areas, growing grains, peanuts, beans, corn (maize) and other crops. Millet is especially important. Women do most of the agriculture, but men clear forest for the gardening sites. There are because of the warm climate the possibility of two plantings annually. Some fish the rivers and lakes. The boys tend goats and sheep while the men are responsible for the cattle. The cattle are central to the Dinka culture Before the coming of the British the Dinka did not live in villages, but travelled in family groups living in temporary homesteads with their cattle, seeking grazing lands--transhumant pastoralists. They move to well-watered riverine pastures during the dry season (December to April). Then they migrate back to their permanent settlements in the savanna and forests west of the Nile when the rains come.

Settlements

The homesteads might be in clusters of one or two all the way up to 100 families. Small towns grew up around British administrative centres. Each village of one or more extended families is led by a leader chosen by the group. Traditional homes were made of mud walls with thatched conical roofs, which might last about 20 years. Only women and children sleep inside the house, while the men sleep in mud-roofed cattle pens. The homesteads were located to enable movement in a range allowing year-round access to grass and water. Permanent villages are now built on higher ground above the flood plane of the Nile but with good water for irrigation.

Children

An important Dinka tradiyion is the ritual passage of boys to manhood through traditional, centuries old ceremonies. Boys undergo hardship together before abandoning forever the activites assigned to boys, meaning milking cows. This marked their childhood status. Man or boy, however, cattle nonetheless retain central to Dinka life.

Clothing

The Dinka wear few clothes, particularly in their own village. Adult men may be totally nude except for beads around the neck or wrist. The women commonly wear only goatskin skirts, but unmarried adolescent girls are typically nude. Clothes are becoming more common. Some men will be seen in the long Muslim robe or short coat. They own very few material possessions of any kind. The Dinka rub their bodies with oil made by boiling butter. They cut decorative designs into their skin. They remove some teeth for beauty and wear dung ash to repel mosquitoes.

Hair

Men dye their hair red with cow urine, while women shave their hair and eyebrows, but leave a knot of hair on top of the head.

Historical Trends

The Dinka were one of the people savaged by the Arab slave trade. The British from Egypt which had a claim on the Sudan, attepted to supres the Arab slave trade with varying success. One result was the Madist Revolt. The Arab Sudanese supression of the Dinka and other largly Christianized African people of the south was given new empetus with independence (1965). The Arab Khartoum Government no longer had the constraints of Bitish colonial rule. The African, Christoan South has little infljuence on the national government. The Arab Government attempt to impose Islamic law on the country's non-Muslim south. A civil war developed witj Arab militias and the natiomal army attempting to pacify the south. The wel-armed Arab pacification efforts including kidnapping and enslaving Dinka and other children and women from the South. The primary target was the Dinka because they were the largest African tribal group. Even before independence, conflicts escated netween the Dinka and another large tribal group--the Nuer. he Wunlit Dinka-Nuer Covenant was signed (1999). This brough about a cease-fire (1999). The larger civil war between the Arab Khartoum Governmentand the Afriican south. While wreking enormous damage, the Arab Government failed to pacify the South. Eventually the Atab Government in Khartoum was forced to sign a Comprehensive Peace Agreement (2005). The Government granted independence to the South--South Sudan (2011). While conflict with the Arab Government has not stopped, open wardare between the Dinka and Neur broke our (2013).








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Created: 6:42 PM 11/3/2006
Last updated: 1:08 AM 1/2/2014