Dinka people

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Jieng/Dinka

Jiɛ̈ɛ̈ŋ
Portrait of Dinka man
Regions with significant populations
South Sudan	4.5 million [citation needed]
Languages
Dinka
Religion
Christianity, Dinka religion, Islam
Related ethnic groups
Nuer and other Nilotic peoples

The Dinka people (

They number around 4.5 million, according to the 2008 Sudan census, constituting about 40% of the population[2] of that country and the largest ethnic tribe in South Sudan. The Dinka refer to themselves as Muonyjang (singular) and jieng (plural).

History

The Dinka originated from the

Conflict over pastures and cattle raids has been happening between Dinka and Nuer as they battled for grazing land.^[7]

The Dinka's religions, beliefs, and lifestyle have led to conflict with the

Forces led by the breakaway Riek Machar faction deliberately killed an estimated 2,000 Dinka Bor civilians that included Hol, Nyarweng, Twic east and Bor,^[1][13] and wounded several thousand more over two months. Much of their wealth was destroyed, which led to mass starvation deaths. It is estimated that 100,000 people left the area following the attack.^[14][15]

Physique

Dinka are noted for their height, and, along with the Tutsi of Rwanda, they are the tallest group in Africa.^[16] Roberts and Bainbridge reported an average height of 182.6 cm (5 ft 11.9 in) in a sample of 52 Dinka Agaar and 181.3 cm (5 ft 11.4 in) in 227 Dinka Ruweng measured in 1953–1954.^[17] However, the stature of Dinka males later declined, possibly as a consequence of undernutrition and conflicts. An anthropometric survey of Dinka men, war refugees in Ethiopia, published in 1995, found a mean height of 176.4 cm (5 ft 9.4 in).^[18]

Agriculture and Pastoral strategies

Southern Sudan is "a large basin gently sloping northward",

• Highlands
  : higher than the surrounding plains by a few centimetres; there host permanent settlements. Vegetation consists of open thorn woodland and/or open mixed woodland with grasses.
• Intermediate Lands: slightly below the highlands, commonly subject to flooding from rainfall in the Ethiopian and East/Central African highlands. Vegetation is mostly open perennial grassland with some acacia woodland and other sparsely distributed trees.
• Toic: land seasonally inundated by rivers and inland water courses, retaining enough moisture throughout the dry season to support cattle grazing.
• Sudd: permanent swampland below the level of the toic; covers a substantial part of the floodplain; provides good fishing but not grazing; historically a physical barrier to outsiders.

The ecology of the large basin is unique; until recently, wild animals and birds flourished, rarely hunted by the agro-pastoralists.^[19]

The climate determines the Dinka's migration patterns, responding to the periodic flooding and dryness of their surroundings. They begin moving around May–June, at the onset of the rainy season, migrating to their settlements of mud and thatch housing situated above flood level, where they plant their crops of millet and other grains. These rainy season settlements feature other permanent structures such as cattle

While the Dinka are often seen as only pastoralists, they are actually agro-pastoralists. Agriculture plays a very big part in their livelihood, with Sorghum being their most important crop grown. The Dinka also grow okra, sesame, pumpkin, cow peas, maize, cassava ground nuts, different types of beans, water melons, tobacco and millet. In Dinka society, both genders engage in cultivation, and on big farms the women brew beer and everyone is involved. Before the sudanese civil wars each household cultivated an average of two acres of sorghum around their homestead along with other crops. An estimated 87% of total calories and 76% of protein by weight are provided by crop production compared with 13% of calories and 24% of protein derived from livestock produce. Today, 83% of all available labor is estimated to be employed in agricultural activities compared with only 17% in livestock husbandry. In recent times poor or cattleless Dinka have farmed the land of their non dinka neighbors. According to the

In modern times the connection of agriculture and economics to Dinka marriage is important. Grain as well as cattle have been and continue to be used in both bartering and bridewealth payments. Wealth is acquired when a man and his family produce a small surplus of crops which they convert into a more stable and valuable resource, cattle. In turn, this enables a man to acquire more wives, more children, and thus more economic and political power. In Dinka society cattle acquired by the wealth yielded from agriculture are considered a more stable form of “property.” If a Dinka couple divorce the cows given as bridewealth may be returned to the former husband. However, those Dinka male members of a clan who possess animals bought with grain, rather than acquired by way of marriage payments, are more honored and given more respect because their wealth is perceived as being more stable. Thus: “this cattle is not returnable and does not have external links and cannot be taken back easily, for example, by divorce. It therefore represents ‘pure property’ derived from labor and this kind of man has much more stable wealth and is more honored. However, no one has all cattle that are free of ties.” Because of the link between agriculture, wealth, and marriage the Dinka grow a wide variety of crops. [22]

Caudatum Sorghum

During their migrations, the Dinka introduced a new variety of Sorghum into southern Sudan. Caudatum Sorghum is drought resistant and produces well with very little care. This variety of Sorghum was not grown by tribes in the region and during the 1300s to 1600s great droughts were occurring all over east and southern africa which caused many former tribes of south Sudan like the Luo to migrate southwards (this drought is recorded in Luo oral history as the "Nyarubanga" famine). The tribes that did not migrate had only the option (if their crops completely died) to be in service of their incoming wealthier Agro-pastoral neighbours like the Dinka.^[23]

Humped back cattle

The adoption of Sanga and Zebu Hump backed cattle was invaluable to the expansion of the Dinka throughout South Sudan. Hump backed cattle were considerably stronger than the previous humpless breeds in southern Sudan and are capable of withstanding long-distance transhumance patterns, Even more importantly, they were less affected by drought. The tribes of south Sudan did not possess these cattle, which gave the Dinka a large advantage when they introduced them in their southern migration. There was a long series of droughts that plagued Southern Sudan during this time period intensified the reliance on cattle for the people of the region, since livestock are indispensable in bad years when crop failure occurs. The introduction this new breed by the Dinka was a significant causative factor in the spread of modern patterns of Nilotic pastoralism in Southern Sudan. Eventually these cattle replaced all of the previous humpless breeds. The domestication of caudatum sorghum along with the more durable breeds of cattle introduced into this region of Southern Sudan an economic system of the greatest efficiency in Sudan and East Africa, giving the Dinka a military and political advantage over all other tribes in the region. These integrated systems were able to support population increases in the Bahr el-Ghazal and later expansions towards the west.^[24]

Cultural and religious beliefs

Dinka religious beliefs and practices also reflect their lifestyle. The Dinka religion, like most other Nilotic faiths, is

Men and women eat separately. When milk supply is low, children get priority. Children are fed milk from 9–12 months. After about one year, children start eating solid food (porridge). After children turn three, they eat two meals a day. Adults also eat two meals a day.[27]

In Dinka territory there exist a number of mounds, described by the Dinka as “pyramids,” which have religious significance to those who tend them. These mounds were built in the form of a cone and the material used was cattle ashes, cow dung, cotton soil, clay, and debris. In all cases the history of the origin of each mound is connected to a prominent Dinka priest who ordered its construction by the people as a monument to his name. ^[28]

Pyramid of Alel

A pyramid of stones known as Alel exists in the territory of Western Luaic Dinka in the town of Makuac. This pyramid entombs the body of a prominent Eastern Twic Dinka priest named Kuol Alel who led his people across from the banks of the eastern Nile and in the process of migrating west died in this region. Every year there is a celebration held ar Aled in honor of this prominent leader. The pyramid is located north of the Paliang region in the Bahr el-Ghazal, and local Dinka estimate that it pre-dates the Egyptian colonial period (1821) and hence is at least over 200 years old.^[29]

Pyramid of Yik Ayuong

In Padang territory in northern Dinka territory east of the Nile among the Dunghol Dinka and north of the city of Malakal, the pyramid of a great ancestor and prominent priest, Ayuong Dit, is located at the holy village of Rukcuk. It was constructed on the site of this priest's luak. The mound was built over the body of this priest who, with his wife and eight bulls, was locked up in their cattle byre by his express orders. District Commissioner Ibrahim Bedri who served during the British colonial period noted that the pyramid "was seventy-five paces in circumference and twenty-six paces along the slope. During the harvest season of each year it was cleared of grass, more earth was added to it, and the surface smoothed by women who made stripes along the pyramid with large quantities of durra (flour). This was in preparation for the annual ceremony yairunka baiet, which took place at the pyramid. During the celebrations the people gathered together for communal offerings to the spirit of Ayuong Dit and a “new fire” ceremony was performed in which eight bulls were sacrificed to bring fertility to the women." Today this mound is known as Yik Ayuong.^[30]

Pyramid of Luak Deng

The pyramid of Luak Deng is said to be the "Mecca" of the Dinka and Nuer people and contains the shrine of their deity (and possibly real historical figure) Deng Dit (Deng the Great). It comprises a palisade standing on higher ground near a picturesque pool of water surrounded by ardeiba and suba trees. This pyramid is connected in mythology with a chain of lesser shrines in the former Nyarruweng Dinka region in what has now become the territory of the Gaweir Nuer. Around the shrine and within a few miles of it reside a small section of Rut Dinka who have settled back and live there by agreement with the Nuer to tend the shrine. Luak Deng has become a shrine of great significance for both the Dinka and Nuer people.^[31]

The Pyramid of Pwom Ayuel (or Aiwel)

The pyramid of Pwom Ayuel is said to be the burial place of Ayuel, the culture hero of the Dinka. It is found in what has now become Nuer territory on the southern part of an island formed by the Bahr el-Zeraf and Bahr el-Jebel Rivers (Zeraf Island). Some Dinka myths suggest that Ayuel was killed by external forces beyond his control. Aliab Dinka Parmena Awerial Aluong recounts a different oral history that suggests that the mound was built on the orders of Ayuel Longar himself. According to historical accounts there were many years of toil in the early days during which Ayuel, who had reached the Nile and Sobat Rivers, ordered his people to construct a large monument. Some people died in the building of this structure, their bodies adding to the rising edifice. Some Dinka say this mound was built after Ayued's death. Today the mound remains a center of great sanctity, but is no longer attended with communal gatherings and ritual operations."^[32]

Popular culture

Dinka refugees were portrayed in works such as

Notables

See also: Category:Dinka people

• Hussein Abdelbagi – Vice President of the Republic of South Sudan.
• child soldier
• Adut Akech – model
• Elijah Malok Aleng – former Central Bank Governor
• Abel Alier, known as "Abel Alier Kwai" – the first southerner to serve as president of the High Executive Council of Southern Sudan and Vice President of Sudan (1972-1982).
• Australian Rules Footballer
• Mathiang Yak Anek – 19th-century female chief and escaped slave
• George Athor – Sudan People's Liberation Army lieutenant general and an SPLA dissident
• Francis Bok – author
• Bol Bol – NBA player, son of Manute Bol
• Grace Bol – model
• NBA
  player, one of the two tallest players in league history
• Daniel Deng Bul – former South Sudanese episcopalian archbishop and primate of episcopal church of Sudan, now called Province of the episcopal church of south Sudan.
• WNBA
  player, 2016 draft
• Chok Dau – football player
• John Dau also known as Dhieu Deng Leek – one of the "Lost Boys of Sudan", author of God Grew Tired of Us, and the subject of the eponymous documentary
• Stephen Dhieu Dau – former Minister of Finance and Planning of the Republic of South Sudan and SPLM member
• Australian Rules Footballer
• Aldo Deng – former Sudanese cabinet member and South Sudanese statesman; father of Luol Deng
• Ataui Deng – model and niece of Alek Wek
• Lt. General Dominic Dim Deng – South Sudan's first political officer of SPLA, Minister for SPLA Affairs
• Francis Deng – author and SAIS research professor
• Luol Deng – former NBA player
• Thomas Deng – football player
• Wenyen Gabriel – NBA Player
• Sudan People's Liberation Army and Chairman of Sudan People's Liberation Movement
  .
• Kuol Manyang Juuk – former Commander of the SPLA Forces, Minister in the Government of National Unity, Governor of Jonglei State, former minister of Defence and current Senior Presidential Advisor
• Michael Makuei Lueth – lawyer, spokesman and current minister of Information and Postal Service for South Sudan.
• Awer Mabil – football player
• Rebecca Nyandeng De Mabior – Vice President of South Sudan
• NBA
  player
• NBA
  player
• Bona Malwal – journalist and politician
• Guor Marial – marathon runner
• Mathiang Mathiang
• Soccer player
• Republic of South Sudan
  , Commander in Chief of Sudan People's Liberation Army, and Chairman of Sudan People's Liberation Movement
• Tokmac Nguen
• William Deng Nhial – political leader of Sudan African National Union, SANU and co-founder of Anya Anya military wing
• NBA
  player
• Alek Wek – model
• Yasuke, Samurai to Oda Nobunaga, Japan

Dinka/Jieng tribal groups

This list of

Dinka

tribal grouping by region. Note that these divisions are further divided into several subdivisions; for example, Dinka Rek is subdivided into Aguok, Kuac, and many other things, but they speak the same language; only the pronunciation is slightly different.

• Dinka Agar - (Lakes State), Barh El Ghazal
• Dinka Apaak Lakes State Bahr El Ghazal
• Dinka Gok Lakes State Bahr El Ghazal
• Dinka Ciec/ (Jieng)- (Lakes State), Barh El Ghazal
• Dinka Aliab - (Lakes State), Barh El Ghazal
• Warrap State
  ), Barh El Ghazal
• Warrap State, and parts of NBG
  and Western Barh El Ghazal), Barh El Ghazal
• Dinka Luanyjang -
  Warrap State
  Bahr El Ghazal
• Dinka Malual - (NBG), Barh El Ghazal
• Dinka Ngok - (Abyei, Malakal), Barh El Ghazal
• Dinka Padang - (
  Unity State), Upper Nile
• Dinka Bor - (South Sudan]), Jonglei
• Dinka Nyarweng, Jonglei
• Dinka Hol, Jonglei
• Dinka Twic East Jonglei ^[34]
• Ruweng
  , (Unity State), Upper Nile
• Dongjol , Upper Nile

The number of Dinka sub-divisions is contested, as the border between groups, sub-divisions, and sections is blurred and often difficult to determine. The Atuot people can be divided into Apaak and Reel, Bor, Twic, Nyarweng and Hol^[35][13] and Panaruu into Awet and Kuel and Ciec manyiel (Jieng) into Ador and Lou.^[36][37][38]

The Dinka people have no centralised political authority. Instead their clans are independent but interlinked. Some traditionally provide ritual chiefs, known as the "masters of the fishing spear" or beny bith,^[39] who provide leadership and are at least in part hereditary.

See also

• Sudanese nomadic conflicts
• Dinka-Nuer conflict

References

1. ^
   JSTOR 1776256
   .
2. ^ Ancient Historical Society Virtual Museum, 2010
3. ISBN 1580461514
   .
4. ISBN 978-3-643-12196-7
   .
5. ISBN 1580461514
   .
6. ISBN 1580461514
   .
7. ISBN 978-1101606001
   .
8. ^ "As South Sudan implodes, America reconsiders its support for the regime". The Economist. 12 October 2017.
9. doi:10.3366/swc.2017.0170
   .
10. JSTOR 1580785
    .
11. ^ Fancher, Karen (2006). "Ritual and Sacrifice Among the Dinka of Southern Sudan: Implications for Christian Evangelism and Discipleship". Global Missiology English. 3 (3).
12. ^ Snyder, Kathryn (1 January 2010). 'In My Heart I Had a Feeling of Doing It': A Case Study of the Lost Boys of Sudan and Christianity (Thesis).
13. ^ ^{a b} Sudan (1912). Reports on the Finance, Administration, and Condition of Sudan. F. In villages, Nimr.
14. ISBN 9781841621142
    . Retrieved 22 March 2011.
15. ISBN 1-58046-151-4
    . Retrieved 4 March 2020.
16. ^ "The Tutsi". In and Out of Focus: Images from Central Africa 1885-1960. National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution.
17. PMID 14159970
    .
18. PMID 8674486
    .
19. ^ ^{a b} Roth 2003^{[full citation needed]}
20. ^ Deng, Francis Mading. The Dinka of Sudan. Prospect Heights: Waveland Press, 1972.^{[page needed]}
21. ^ Sudan's Blood Memory. The Legacy of War, Ethnicity, and Slavery in South Sudan. p. 93,95.
22. ^ Sudan's Blood Memory. The Legacy of War, Ethnicity, and Slavery in South Sudan. p. 94.
23. ^ Sudan's Blood Memory. The Legacy of War, Ethnicity, and Slavery in South Sudan. p. 92.
24. ^ Sudan's Blood Memory. The Legacy of War, Ethnicity, and Slavery in South Sudan. p. 96.
25. ISBN 978-0-19-159185-3
    .
26. S2CID 143445534
    .
27. ^ Ogilvy, Susan M. (11 March 1981). "Food habits of the Dinka in the Jonglei area of Sudan--a preliminary study". Journal of Human Nutrition. Retrieved 11 March 2023 – via agris.fao.org.
28. ^ Sudan's Blood Memory. The Legacy of War, Ethnicity, and Slavery in South Sudan. p. 114.
29. ^ Sudan's Blood Memory. The Legacy of War, Ethnicity, and Slavery in South Sudan. p. 116.
30. ^ Sudan's Blood Memory. The Legacy of War, Ethnicity, and Slavery in South Sudan. p. 114-115.
31. ^ Sudan's Blood Memory. The Legacy of War, Ethnicity, and Slavery in South Sudan. p. 115-116.
32. ^ Sudan's Blood Memory. The Legacy of War, Ethnicity, and Slavery in South Sudan. p. 115.
33. ^ Cuellar, Catherine (June 28, 2004). "'Echoes of the Lost Boys of Sudan': Comic Book Tells Harrowing Tale of Refugee Children". NPR News. NPR.
34. ^ Sudan (1912). Reports on the Finance, Administration, and Condition of the Sudan. F. Nimr.
35. ^ Sudan (1912). "Reports on the Finance, Administration, and Condition of the Sudan".
36. ^ "TECOSS". Twic East Community of South Sudan. Archived from the original on 2011-06-19.
37. ^ "Sudanese Twic Association of Michigan". Archived from the original on 2018-03-19. Retrieved 2019-07-26.
38. ^ "The UN Refugee Agency". UNHCR.^{[not specific enough to verify]}
39. ^ Lienhardt, G. (1961). Divinity and Experience: the Religion of the Dinka. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Further reading

• Garang de Mabior, John (June 2011). The Undiscovered Stories About Man Behind South Sudanese' Freedom.
  ISBN 978-0-9837134-1-8
  .
• Stubbs, J. M.; Morison, C. G. T. (1940). The Western Dinkas: Their Land and Their Agriculture. Sudan Notes and Records XXI. pp. 251–266.
• Deng, Francis Mading (1973). The Dinka and their songs. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  OCLC 790944
  .
• "Dinka (Thuɔŋjäŋ)". Open Road. Vicnet, a division of the State Library of Victoria. Archived from the original on 2004-09-26.
• The Power of Creative Reasoning: The Ideas and Vision of Dr John Garang by Lual A Den

External links

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Dinka".

• Media related to Dinka at Wikimedia Commons
• "Dinka" .
  New International Encyclopedia
  . 1905.