Culture of South Sudan

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Culture of South Sudan
History
People
Languages
Cuisine
Religion
Art
Literature
Music
Media
Sport
Symbols

The culture of

historical regions of southern Sudan
.

South Sudan historical sites

Boma National Park

Boma National Park Near the Ethiopian border[1]

Location: Eastern Equatoria

While primarily known for its

archaeological
sites that provide insights into the early settlements in the region.

Khartoum-South Sudan Border Area

Location:Upper Nile[2]

This region has ancient

burial mounds and archaeological sites that date back to the pre-colonial era, reflecting the history of the Nilotic peoples
.

Jebel Barkal

Near the northern border with Sudan[3]

Location: Near the border with Sudan, in the

Upper Nile region

Nimule National Park

Location: Eastern Equatoria, near the Ugandan border[4]

Nimule is not only a wildlife reserve but also has historical significance due to its proximity to ancient trade routes and early human settlements.

Wau Western Bahr el Ghazal State

Location: Western Bahr el Ghazal[5]

Wau is one of the oldest towns in South Sudan and has colonial-era architecture, including churches and administrative buildings from the Anglo-Egyptian period.

Ancient Rock Art Sites

Scattered across South Sudan, particularly in the Kapoeta region of Eastern Equatoria[6]

South Sudan is home to numerous rock art sites that depict ancient hunting scenes, animals, and early human life. These sites are evidence of the region's long history of human habitation.

Languages

Main article: Languages of South Sudan

The official language of South Sudan is English.[7]

There are over 60 indigenous languages, most classified under the Nilo-Saharan Language family.[8] Collectively, they represent two of[9] the first order divisions of Nile Sudanic and Central Sudanic.

In the border region between Western Bahr Al Ghazal state and Sudan are an indeterminate number of people from West African countries who settled here on their way back from

nomadic life—that reside either seasonally or permanently. They primarily speak Chadian languages and their traditional territories are in the southern portions of the Sudanese regions of Northern Kordofan and Darfur
.

In the capital Juba, there are several thousand people who use dialect forms of Arabic, usually called Juba Arabic, but South Sudan's ambassador to Kenya said on 2 August 2011 that Swahili will be introduced in South Sudan with the goal of supplanting Arabic as a lingua franca, in keeping with the country's intention of orientation toward the East African Community, rather than toward Sudan and the Arab League.[10]

Religion

Main article: Religion in South Sudan

While the northern parts of

African traditional animist, and a small number of citizens are Muslims.[11]

National holidays

2017 Public holidays[12]

  • January 1, New Year's Day
  • January 9, Peace Agreement Day
  • April 1, Easter Day
  • May 1, May Day
  • May 16, SPLA Day
  • June 15, Eid al-Fitr
  • July 9, Independence Day
  • July 30, Martyrs Day
  • August 11, Eid al-Adha
  • December 25, Christmas Day
  • December 28, Republic Days
  • December 31, New Year's Eve

Ethnic groups

Dinka beaded collar, Sudan Ethnographic Museum 2022

Lulubo, Lokoya, Kichepo, Baka, Lango, Lopit, Nyangwara, Tennet, Jur Mananger, Kuku, Boya, Lugbara and Sere, among others.[13]

Between 1926 and 1936, the British

Moro, Ingessana, Nuer and Bongo peoples are in the collection of the Pitt Rivers Museum, the University of Oxford's museum of anthropology, with many of them published online.[15]

Further, the Pitt Rivers Museum's webpage offers a detailed catalogue of the museum's collections from southern Sudan. These collections comprise more than 1300 artefacts and 5000 photographs. Both the artefacts and photographs serve as a research tool for studying the cultural and visual history of southern Sudan. The site also "provides a map; annotated lists of cultural groups, collectors, photographers, and people portrayed in the photographs; and a set of further resources (relevant literature, websites, and a site bibliography)."[16]

Society

Most South Sudanese keep up the core of their local

Kiswahili to the population to improve the country's relations with its East African neighbors.[citation needed
]

Music

Tribeca Film Festival
in New York 2008.

South Sudan has a rich tradition of folk music that reflects its diverse indigenous cultures. For example, the folk music of the

Azande are especially known for their storytelling. The drummers of the record Wayo[17] combine spiritual chanting with interlocking grooves. The mesmerizing music, centered around the kpaningbo, a large wooden xylophone
played by three people, is completed by the rest of the village, who rotate through a series of bells and percussive instruments.

Due to geographic location and the many years of civil war, the musical

Arabic culture
and language of their neighbors.

Many music artists from South Sudan use English, Kiswahili, Juba Arabic, their local language, or a mix of languages. During the 1970s and 1980s, Juba was home to a thriving nightlife. Top local bands included the

hip hop
artist of international fame. - There are also a few female artists that South Sudan has produced so far.

Literature

Apart from traditional oral literature of its different ethnic groups, there are modern literary writers of South Sudan, such as the short story writer Stella Gaitano, who writes in Arabic since her beginnings as a student at the University of Khartoum.[18]

Taban Lo Liyong, who was born in southern Sudan in 1939 and studied in the United States during the 1960s, is one of Africa's well-known poets and writers of fiction and literary criticism.

Alephonsion Deng and his brother Benson Deng have become known as refugees, who first fled from war and starvation to neighboring Kenya, and later emigrated to the United States. There, they co-wrote their account as the Lost Boys of Sudan.[19]

Sport

Main article:
Sports in South Sudan

See also

References

  1. ^ "Google Search". www.google.com. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  2. ^ "Sudan, South Sudan resolve border dispute". The EastAfrican. 18 August 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  3. ^ "Google Search". www.google.com. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  4. ^ "Nimule National Park| Nimule National Park Tour| South Sudan National Parks| South Sudan Tour & Safaris | visit South Sudan". Ultimate Safaris. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  5. ^ "Wau - csrf-southsudan". www.csrf-southsudan.org. 15 March 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  6. ^ "Sudan". africanrockart.britishmuseum.org. Archived from the original on 2 July 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  7. ^ "The Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan, 2011". Government of South Sudan. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2011. Part One, 6(2). "English shall be the official working language in the Republic of South Sudan".
  8. ^ "The History of Ancient Nubia | Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures". isac.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  9. ^ "Nubia | Definition, History, Map, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 3 January 2025. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  10. ^ "South Sudanese still in Kenya despite new state". Xinhua. 2 August 2011. Archived from the original on 11 April 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  11. ^ "SustainabiliTank: The animist culture of South Sudan (Juba) clashed with Islamic North and the Divide & Rule Brits. Now they prepare for a January 2011 vote for Independence and the first break-away African State will be born. Many more should be allowed to follow. But this particular case is specifically hard as most people are still centuries behind. About 65% of the people are Christians. 32.9% believe in the traditional African religion. About 6.2% are Islam. The last 0.4% believe in another Religion". Sustainabilitank.info. Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  12. ^ "Holidays in South Sudan in 2017". TimeAndDate.com. 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  13. ^ "The World Factbook". Cia.gov. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  14. ^ Mary Douglas (1981). Edward Evans-Pritchard. Kingsport: Penguin Books.
  15. ^ "Biography information for Pritchard at the Southern Sudan Project". southernsudan.prm.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  16. ^ "Southern Sudan Photo and Object Collections at the Pitt Rivers Museum". southernsudan.prm.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  17. ^ Network, World Music. "Trance Percussion Masters of South Sudan". World Music Network. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  18. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  19. ^ "'Lost Boys of Sudan' Finally Find a Home". NPR.org. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
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