JOURNEY INTO THE DINKA TRIBE: DISCOVERING SOUTH SUDAN’S TIMELESS TRIBE
A Dinka man is not only famed by the deeds he has done in life but also the beauty of massive bulls that move alongside him. The indigenous individuals residing in unmatched beauty of low-lying plains of South Sudan are predominantly Christians but rather prefer their affiliation to respective tribal and ethnic groups than their loyalty to the nation as a whole.
The largest ethnic group is the renown Dinka tribe comprising of around two-fifth of the population and only succeeded by Nuer that constitutes about 1/5 of country’s total population.
The famous Dinka cattle camps.
Identified by their shining dark melanin and towering height as though they are aiming for the sky, the Dinka tribe proves beyond reasonable doubt to be that ethnicity comprised of individuals that are as strong, heroic and unchallenged as evidenced by fun activities they engage in. These activities definitely are not for the weak-hearted like wrestling, various ear piercings, smearing white ash over their faces among others.
Cows are sacred to the Dinka people and they live close to their herds by sharing camps and they benefit from their cattle all round through utilizing milk, skin, blood and their waste as paramount to them.
The dry seasons prompt Dinkas to leave dry lowlands and migrate to the riverine in favor of their beloved animals. Setting up small tents on the shores of less exploited oases and blazing hot and bright camp fires with their precious long horned cows is a fascinatingly ancient activity that is unique only to the Dinka people of South Sudan.
Most of their names are attributed to different colors and shades of their cows. It’s estimated that they have over 400 words to describe the names, movements, color, form and diseases of their dearest cows. They praise their cows and hold them in high esteem because they literally solve all their problems ranging from providing meat, milk, hides, horns for decoration and payment of bride price.
Every individual has a different role played in grazing cows while in the camps. The men are supposed to take their beloved herds for grazing and drinking water helped by juvenile males while ladies stay in temporary shelters to look after homes and welcome their men from long and tiring day of grazing.
Smearing white ash and assuming the ghost - like shape keeps away flies that swarm around their kraals and the blazing fires at night render smoke that keys away mosquitoes and other animals. Dinka people are uniquely identified by their ghost- like faces due to ash, waist bands in various colors of red, blue and white, ivory necklaces, anklets, bracelets and earrings for both men and women.
The unique traditions of Dinka people.
Traditions are sacred to a variety of tribes but the Dinka people’s connection and love for their cattle as part of the family is a tradition that is uniquely famed to them. Every culture has their peculiar virtues that differentiate them from others but the culture of Dinka people is worth learning because of its wondrous ancient practices that are fascinating and jaw-dropping.
Just like most tribes in the good olden days, majority of Dinka are still locked up to believing in their ancestral gods and praising ancestral spirits with most respected of the gods called Nhiali who temporary possesses an individual in scenarios when they want to communicate to them.
Marriage traditions.
Dinka people take pride in the beauty of their women as they are considered the enchantresses of beauty among all other tribes in South Sudan hence men tend to choose from amongst them. Dowry among African traditions is a longtime practice and it is also unquestionably done by the Dinka people and their beloved cows are always royal to role play the dowry part of the marriage. However, it’s fascinating how a man can collect over 100-500 cattle just to get a hand in marriage for a lady.
Dinka people excuse newlywed bride with a period of up to four years from performing any house chores and this is traditionally called “Anyuuc". Anyuuc is provided for the bride to comfortably feel at home while studying and clearly understanding her husband. As the bride rests for all this time, the husband’s sister has the responsibility to take care of all house chores.
“Thaat" is a ceremony that marks the end of this peace-giving ceremony and entitles the wife to all her marital responsibilities, especially cooking and other outdoor activities. Three cows and five goats are slaughtered to officially welcome the wife into the family.
Childhood upbringing.
Children are prestigious to any culture in Africa and it applies to the Dinka as well. In this tribe, a man can have up to 20 children and similar to other cultures in Africa, children are definitely assigned to their father’s clan inarguably. Girls have a task of looking up to their mothers and so are the boys.
Dinka boys go through a process of hardships that transition them from boyhood to manhood through an induction ceremony that involves marking their foreheads with sharp objects. This is when they are regarded as men among men.
Clothing / dress code of the Dinka people.
Revealing their shining dark melanin is a dressing attribute that the Dinka people commonly associate with. Men almost move half naked with corsets depending on their age and women wear goat skin skirts. Colorful strings of beads are worn over their long slender necks by both men and women accompanied by bangles that add a glitter to their arms and legs and elaborative jewelry that definitely identifies them as a Dinka people.
Food / Cuisine.
A variety of foods are readily available in addition to the plentiful milk supplies from their beloved cows, especially during rainy seasons. However, millet is like their bread and butter. The dry seasons trigger migrations of Dinka from their semi-permanent homes into camps alongside river Nile. This also prompts them to feed on fish, other fresh water resources supplemented by reserved millet.
Cultural heritage.
Songs and dances are part of the lives of Dinka people depending on the occasion but are usually sang in praise of their relatives the cows. A variety of cultural songs like battle songs, celebration songs and initiations songs that all vary on the kind of dance they accompany their songs with that involve imitating the shape of their cattle horns.
Sports
The dazzling melanin, sky-reaching height and their physique coalesce to build strong and fierce individuals who enjoy engaging in competitions that involve use of spears, sticks and shield and they are all focused on improving their skills and make them better skillful warriors. Wrestling is another game which is not underrated because the activity engages a lot of energy and sounds of thunder are transferred around the area after the victory and loss of two players.
Uniqueness of the Dinka culture.
There are various tribes and cultures that treasure cattle, but the love Dinka people share with their animals is unmatched. They live with their cows as though they are part of the family. There is no place on the globe where one will find cattle keepers talking and communicating to their herds unless it’s in the Dinka persons.
The Dinka people resourcefully utilize their cattle because they consider it as their marriage contract, wealth, health, livelihood, status in the community and their life generally. Besides feeding on the meat and milk, they use their beloved blood for extra strength, they use the cattle waste to keep flies away, and horns also have to show royalty to their masters.
Why we should visit the Dinka people?
Traveling makes tourists story tellers but a visitor who ventures into narrating their expedition to the Dinka Sudanese camp will have interesting and endless stories to give out. One of the hugest pride this tribe has are their pampered cows that are worth traveling for to be up close with the way they are treated like family members and watch their numerous curvy shaped horns that almost rise to 8feet into space just like their Dinka masters who grow up aiming for the sky.
The culture of Dinka people is only unique to them and originate from way back in time but tourists would very much be interested in applying cow dung or white ash, used by these indigenous people to keep flies and other insects away from their bodies. Additionally, these tall slender dark melanin shine brighter with the enormous spree of jewelry that they flourish their bodies with including a variety of colored beads, arm and leg bangles, corsets among other adornments that make them shimmer on the strike of sunlight.
Visiting the Dinka cattle camp.
Visitors can venture into moving with Dinka people from their permanent houses to camp around river Nile banks during dry season to graze their darling and prestigious cows. Visitors can get a fascinating itinerary and engage in cultural practices of Dinka while in their camps and also venture into watching the golden rays ofsun as slowly descends down to rest to release the night and it appears as though it rests on the peaceful glittering waters of the Nile.
Unmatched the beauty of Sudd wetland fascinatingly offers dazzling wonders to visitors in the low-lying Sudan but it also adds to the growth of prestigious Dinka showers. Indigenous individuals have well preserved their ancient culture that is dominated by herds of cattle but civil wars in the country have destroyed the good old memories of Dinka camps and modernization has made some of the ancient Dinka practices slip the minds of current generation but a lot more adventures still exists in regards to their herds of cattle, their adornments and striking body markings.
