Equatoria

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Equatoria
Region
Motto:  God Is Our Strength
UTC+2 (CAT)
Area code	211

Equatoria is the southernmost region of South Sudan, along the upper reaches of the White Nile and the border between South Sudan and Uganda. Juba, the national capital and the largest city in South Sudan, is located in Equatoria. Originally a province of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, it also contained most of northern parts of present-day Uganda, including Lake Albert and West Nile. It was an idealistic effort to create a model state in the interior of Africa that never consisted of more than a handful of adventurers and soldiers in isolated outposts.^[1]

Equatoria was established by

. The last two former areas of Equatoria, Lake Albert and West Nile are now situated in Uganda.

Under

.

Geography

Administrative divisions

Equatoria consists of the following states:

• Central Equatoria
• Eastern Equatoria
• Western Equatoria

Between October 2015 and February 2020, Equatoria consisted of the following states:

• Amadi State
• Gbudwe State
• Maridi State
• Tambura State
• Imatong State
• Torit State
• Kapoeta State
• Jubek State
• Terekeka State
• Yei River State

People

The people of Equatoria are traditionally peasants or nomads belonging to numerous ethnic groups. They live in the counties of

. Some of these tribes like Bari, Pojulu, Kuku, Kakwa, Mundari and Nyangwara share a common language, but their accents, and some adjectives and nouns do vary; the same applies to Keliko, Moru and Madi.

Languages

Other than Arabic or (Arabi Juba) and English, the following languages are spoken in Equatoria according to Ethnologue.^[2]

Culture

Due to the many years of the civil war, the Equatorian culture is heavily influenced by the countries neighboring Equatoria and hosting Equatorians. Many Equatorians fled to Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Sudan, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and Europe, where they interacted with the nationals and learnt their languages and culture. For most of those who remained in the country, or went North to Sudan and Egypt, they greatly assimilated Arabic culture.

Most Equatorians kept the core of their

.

History

Early history

In the 19th century,

Juba

in Equatoria.

Baker's attempt to create additional trading posts and control Equatoria was unsuccessful because villages surrounding Gondokoro were frequently bypassed by

.

At the end of Baker's service as governor, British general Charles George Gordon was appointed governor of Sudan. Gordon took over in 1874 and administered the region until 1876. He was more successful in creating additional trading posts in the area. In 1876, Gordon's views clashed with those of the Egyptian governor of Khartoum forcing him to go back to London.

In 1878 Gordon was succeeded by the Chief Medical Officer of the Equatoria province,

, popularly known as Emin Pasha. Emin made his headquarters at Lado (now in South Sudan). Emin Pasha had little influence over the area because the Khartoum governor was uninterested in his development proposals for the Equatoria region.

In 1881,

, one of the most difficult forest routes in Africa, resulting in the loss of two-thirds of the expedition's personnel. While the Advance succeeded in reaching Emin Pasha by February of the following year, the Mahdists had already overrun the bulk of the province, and Emin had already been deposed as governor by his officers in August 1887. The Advance reached the coast, with Emin, by the end of the year, by which point the Mahdists were firmly in control of Equatoria.

In 1898, the

under British-Egyptian administration with Equatoria being administered by the British.

British policy

Equatoria received little attention from the British prior to World War I. Equatoria was closed to outside influences and developed along indigenous lines. As a result, the region remained isolated and underdeveloped. Limited social services to the region were provided by Christian missionaries who opened schools and medical clinics. The education provided by the missionaries was mainly limited to learning English language and arithmetic.

Sudanese independence

In February 1953, the United Kingdom and Egypt reached an agreement providing for Sudanese self-government and self-determination. On January 1, 1956 Sudan gained independence from the British and Egyptian governments. The new state was under the control of the Arab led Khartoum government. The Arab Khartoum government had promised Southerners full participation in the political system, however, after independence the Khartoum government reneged on its promises. Southerners were denied participation in free elections and marginalized from political power. The government actions created resentment in the south that led to a mutiny by a group of Equatorians sparking the 21 year civil war (1955–1972 and 1983–2004).

Equatoria Corps

Equatorians played an instrumental role in the struggle for autonomy in South Sudan. The origins of Sudan's civil war dates back to 1955, a year before independence, when it became clear the Arabs were going to take over the national government in Khartoum. Equatoria gave its name to the southernmost unit of the British Sudan Defence Force, formed during the Anglo-Egyptian administration. This was the Equatoria or Southern Corps.

On August 18, 1955, No. 2 Company of the Equatoria Corps

, from Pojulu Elia Lupe, from Kakwa Elia Kuzee, from ZandeTimon Boro, from Moru Dominic Dabi Manango, from Zande Alison Monani Magaya, from Zande Isaiah Paul, from Zande Dominic Kassiano Dombo, from Zande and many others.

The Khartoum government sent its forces to arrest the rebels and capture anyone who supported their cause. By the early 1960s civilians believed to be Anya Nya sympathizers were arrested and shipped to Kodok concentration camp where they were tortured and killed. Some of the first detainees and survivors of the horrific torture at Kodok include Emmanuel Lukudu and Philip Lomodong Lako.^{[citation needed]}

By 1969 the Equatorian rebels found support among foreign governments and were able to obtained weapons and supplies. Anya Nya recruits were trained in Israel where they also got some of their weapons. The Anya Nya rebels received financial assistance from Southern Sudanese and Southern exiles from the Middle East, Western Europe, and North America. By the late 1960s, the war had resulted in the deaths of half a million people and several hundred thousand southerners escaped to hide in the forests or to refugee camps in neighboring countries.

Anya Nya controlled the southern countryside while the government forces controlled the major towns in the region. The Anya Nya rebels were small in number and scattered all over the region making their operations ineffective. It is estimated that there were between 5,000 and 10,000 Anya Nya rebels.

On May 25, 1969, Colonel

. The agreement granted autonomy for the South with three provinces: Equatoria, Bar al Ghazal and Upper Nile. The south would have a regional president appointed by the national president to oversee all aspects of government in the region. The national government would maintain authority over defense, foreign affairs, currency, and finance, and economic and social planning, and interregional concerns. The members of the Anya Nya would be incorporated into the Sudanese army and have equal status with the northern forces. The agreement declared Arabic as Sudan's official language and English as the south's principal language for administration and schooling. Despite opposition from SSLM leaders on the terms of the Agreement, Joseph Lagu approved the agreement and both sides agreed to a cease-fire. The Addis Ababa Accords were signed on March 27, 1972 and the Sudanese celebrated that day as National Unity Day. This agreement resulted in a hiatus in the Sudanese civil war from 1972 to 1983.

Recent history

In 1983, President

John Garang de Mabior

, the leader of the Sala, but failed to reach an agreement to end the southern insurgency. Civil war has continued since then, but international pressure led SPLA and the Khartoum government to reach an agreement to end the 21-year civil war.

In January 2020, the National Alliance for Democracy and Freedom Action (NADAFA) sought to join talks in Rome seeking to resolve political rifts within South Sudan.^[4] The group is a coalition of holdout political groups including the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM), which was not signatory to the peace agreement signed by President Salva Kiir’s South Sudanese government in 2018. NADAFA sought a power-sharing arrangement in the new national government, with "People’s Constitutional Conventions" held in Equatoria, Upper Nile and Bahr al Ghazal.^[5] In September 2020, Sudans Post published a message from Dr. Hakim Dario, the leader of NADAFA, expressing concern that the new nation had been named "South Sudan" and proposed that the nation should be called "Equatoria Federal Republic".^[6]

On February 9, 2022, the Azande community in Yambio held a coronation ceremony for King Atoroba Peni Rikito Gbudue. The traditional royal title was last held by King Rikito's great-grandfather King Gbudue, who died in 1905.^[7] Some neighboring cultural groups such as the Maridi and Balanda people wrote letters to the new king, warning him that they would not be subjects to the restored kingdom, with the Maridi letter specifically rejecting any ethnic political divisions, saying "We stand to promote the Republic of South Sudan, not the culture of a specific group.” ^[8] However, Badagbu Daniel Rimbasa, the king's brother, stated that the new king will not participate in politics. “It’s purely promotion of our culture and its preservation and heritage, not political.”^[9]

Notable Equatorians

• Samuel Baker, 1st Governor of Equatoria 1870–1874
• Charles Gordon, 2nd Governor of Equatoria 1874–1876
• King Gbudwe, Azande King 1800's–1905
• King Atoroba Peni Rikito Gbudue, Azande King since February 9 2022
• Saturnino Ohure, allegedly fired the first shot in the First Sudanese Civil War
• Joseph Oduho
• Joseph Lagu
• Elia Kuzee
• Joseph James Tombura
• Aggrey Jaden
• Alison Monani Magaya
• Peter Cirillo
• Isaah Paul
• Oliver Batali Albino
• Samson L. Kwaje
• Cirino Hiteng Ofuho
• Beatrice Wani-Noah
• Elias Taban, Bishop, founder of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Sudan
• Hakim Dario, Founder Equatoria Peoples' Alliance (EPA)

References

• R. Gray, A History of the Southern Sudan, 1839–1889 (London, 1961).
• Iain R. Smith, The Emin Pasha Relief Expedition 1886–1890 (Oxford University Press, 1972).
• Alice Moore-Harell, Egypt's African Empire: Samuel Baker, Charles Gordon and the Creation of Equatoria (Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2010).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Equatoria.

• Equatorians Abroad
• Video of Equatorians Abroad

4°52′N 31°35′E / 4.867°N 31.583°E / 4.867; 31.583