Dinka Tribe/People Cattle Camp Tour and Travel Guide, South Sudan Cultural and Wildlife Safari Tours
Best Travel Activities and Attractions in the Dinka Cattle Camp: It’s undoubtedly impossible to get into South Sudan and miss interacting with the bucolicDinka Tribe/People and their cattle camp as they are famous for their extraordinary height as though they are aiming for the sky. The Dinka Tribe/People group of South Sudanese is nomadic. Central to their society are cattle, which form the basis of livelihood and the economy of the Dinka Tribe/People. In the Dinka Tribe/People Community Farming and agriculture also play an integral role. Dinka Tribe/People also known as Jieng mostly live along the Nile, from Bor to Renk, in the region of Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile (two out of three Provinces which were formerly located in southern Sudan), and the Abyei Area of the Ngok Dinka in South Sudan. Along with the Tutsi tribe of Rwanda, this nomadic ethnic group is the tallest tribe in the world, with an average height of approximately 5 feet, and 11.9 in.
According to oral traditions, the Dinka Tribe/People originated from the Gezira in what is now Sudan. In medieval times this region was ruled by the kingdom of Alodia, a Christian, multi-ethnic empire dominated by Nubians. Living in its southern periphery and interacting with the Nubians, the Dinka absorbed a sizable amount of the Nubian vocabulary. From the 13th century, with the disintegration of Alodia, the Dinka began to migrate out of the Gezira, fleeing slave raids and other military conflicts as well as droughts.
The Dinka are one of the largest ethnic groups living in South Sudan. They are part of a group of cultures known as the Nilotic peoples. Labor has traditionally been distinctly divided along gender lines, with men traditionally in the role of cattle herders and women holding the responsibility for growing crops, cooking, and drawing water. However, in recent years, the division of work has become more shared across families.
Cultural traditions around becoming an adult focus more on young men than young women and involve boys receiving marks on their foreheads, created by the scarring from large gashes that they submit to in silence to prove their manhood. They also take a new name, or a “cattle name”, which can be the name of their favorite bull a characteristic of an animal, or their favorite thing about cattle herding. Boys often have favorite animals in the herd from spending long hours with them in cattle camps.
They will apply ash from burnt cow dung over their bodies to protect them from insects while using cow urine to bleach their hair. They train the horns of their bulls from a young age to give them their shape, and boys will often walk with their arms in the same shape as their favorite animal’s horns. Cattle also are used as a dowry in traditional Dinka marriages.
Traditional Dinka baai (homes) are constructed with wooden poles and thatched roofs. Men traditionally lash the foundational poles together and then women complete the roofs with dried grass and reeds. The walls are constructed of mud.
The majority of Dinka are still nomadic pastoralists and their cattle camps, which often contain 1000s head or more of cattle, offer a fascinating insight into their traditional way of life. Much of South Sudan’s culture and history is derived from the importance of cattle: they’re the principal source of wealth and prestige, and, when pastures are scarce, the reason for so much conflict.
The Dinka are one of the most prominent cattle herding tribes and a visit to one of their cattle camps, where young boys and cattle live side by side, is to see into the heart of their community and learn about the central role these animals play. And, it is in the camps of the bush where the Dinka boys will take their lessons to become men. They will care for the clan's sacred cattle and learn to behave like adults.
A typical Dinka marriage can attract a bride price of over 400 heads of cattle. Their camps and cattle markets possess glorious long-horned white bulls. Conflict over pastures and cattle raids has been happening between Dinka and Nuer as they battled for grazing their animals
The Dinka people have no centralized political authority, instead comprising many independent but interlinked clans. Some of those clans traditionally provide ritual chiefs, known as the "masters of the fishing spear" or beny bith, who provide leadership for the entire people and appear to be at least in part hereditary.
During the dry season, the Dinka regularly move camp in search of pasture and water. They have few material possessions and must carry with them everything they need for survival.
During the rainy season from April to October, when the rivers flood and the grasslands become marsh, the Dinka move back to their permanent settlements on the high wooded ground. Here, crops are cultivated in well-drained sandy soil while the cattle are kept in nearby camps.
The Dinka build their homes in several different styles and are renowned for the thatching of their two-story conical houses with living quarters on the ground floor and granaries above to store their crops of sorghum, millet, and groundnuts.
At the end of the harvest, celebrations of dance and drumming take place. Evocative courtship dances emphasize the long limbs and agile bodies of healthy young men and women.
The Dinka call themselves “ Monyang” meaning the men of men, and pride themselves on their immense height and magnificent physiques. Wrestling is a favorite sport and a great wrestler is renowned amongst all men and admired greatly by women.
The wrestlers warm up with vigorous dance and song. Up to 30 men participate, two wrestling at a time. The bouts are short and intense and end with the victor seated astride his opponent enjoying the wild cheering cries of the crowd.
Their religious beliefs and practices also reflect the Dinkas' pastoral lifestyle. The Dinka religion, just like most other Nilotic faiths, is Polytheistic but has one creator, God, Nhialic, who leads the Dinka pantheon of gods and spirits. He is generally distant from humans and does not directly interact with them.
The sacrificing of oxen by the "masters of the fishing spear" is a central component of Dinka's religious practice. Age is an important factor in Dinka culture, with young men being inducted into adulthood through an initiation ordeal that includes marking the forehead with a sharp object.
Also, during this ceremony, they acquire a second cow-color name. The Dinka believe they derive religious power from nature and the world around them rather than from a religious tome.
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