FILMING THE MUNDARI TRIBESMEN AND THEIR CATTLE CAMP, SOUTH SUDAN CULTURAL TOURS
Things Tour in the Mundari Cultural Villages and Cattle Camp: Travel with us to some of the most remote Mundari cattle-keeping villages and meet the native Mundari people, ascarified tribal people with amazing horned white cattle in South Sudan. Those who have toured the Mundari cattle camp can consent that the Mundari tribe is known for its unique cultural practices, including body scarification and cattle herding. Visitors can stay in a traditional Mundari village and learn about their way of life.
South Sudan may not be a well-known tourist destination, but it has plenty to offer for those who are willing to venture off the beaten path. South Sudan is a great, virgin destination for adventure lovers and travelers searching for untouched tribal groups. Embark on a once-in-a-lifetime journey to the untouched landscapes of South Sudan, where you’ll experience the mesmerizing culture of the Mundari Tribe. Imagine waking up to tour the golden rays of an African sunrise, sipping freshly brewed coffee as you prepare for a day of unparalleled discovery.
With us, you’ll immerse yourself in the rich traditions of the Mundari people—warriors, cattle herders, and guardians of an ancient way of life. Witness their iconic cattle camps, partake in tribal dances, and learn the art of storytelling under a sky ablaze with stars. This isn’t just a tour; it’s an intimate passage into a world few have ever seen.
Who are the Mundari People?
The Mundari are one of the ethnic groups indigenous to the Nile Valley (Nilotic). Their main homeland is approximately 75 kilometers north of Juba, the capital of South Sudan. Their lands are bounded on the east by the White Nile, an important source of water for livestock.
The Mundari, like other Nilotic tribes, are very cattle-oriented: cattle serves as a form of currency and a mark of status. Marriages are arranged by the prospective groom offering cattle to the bride's family and husbands may take as many wives as they can support.
It might come as a surprise to hear but Mundari tribe people rarely eat their cows. However, they tend to drink milk, and yogurt mixed with cow Urine and sometimes fish from the nearby river Nile.
The Mundari follow a mixture of Christian and animistic beliefs, with symbols playing an important role. As for many people in the area, the Mundari culture is transmitted orally in songs, dance, poems, and other body expressions that reflect good, generosity, and other core values. Ritual scarification is an important part of cultural identity. Men must undergo initiation rites where initiates live together in nature and spend three months with a village elder, away from the community. The rite of passage to adulthood is completed with V scars cut into the forehead.
Friendly and peaceful by nature, the Mundari are nevertheless armed, like most tribes in South Sudan. Decades of war have made guns ubiquitous and easy to obtain. That said, the Mudari seem to have no interest in warfare – weapons are used to protect their herds from cattle rustlers. Mundari men take up wrestling as a serious hobby from a very young age. They regularly organize wrestling competitions, and the best proponents keep going until they are too old to compete.
Mundari Cattle Culture:
The Mundari are agro-pastoralists with an economy centered on agriculture and herding livestock. Their famous, massive-horned Ankole-Watusi cattle are considered the ‘kings of the cattle’. They are part of the Sanga family of African cattle breeds which originated over 2,000 years ago from a combination of the Egyptian longhorn cattle of Africa and Zebu longhorns originally from India.
Sanga cattle spread throughout eastern Africa, and many different breeds developed. Some studies suggest that the big horns of the Ankole-Watusi are an adaptation to hot climates, facilitating the dispersal of excess body heat.
Firstly, cattle is a financial asset – a kind of “mobile bank account”. Most Mundari people keep cattle and sell them to pay for their essential needs, like food or school fees, and – possibly most importantly – the bride price. Secondly, cows produce food. Although very seldom killed for meat, their milk and blood are hugely important parts of the Mundari diet.
While elders (from 38 years old) and maternal relatives settle in villages with beautiful huts, the youngest (young men and women, teens, and children) go to cattle camps to tend livestock, moving according to the rhythm of the rainy seasons. This part of South Sudan is extremely vulnerable to drought with low rainfall and high temperatures.
Sometimes the herds can number as many as 850 animals, and finding enough forage for such large herds in arid areas necessitates constant movement. At the end of the dry season, camps are pitched around the Nile, the only place still sufficiently green to accommodate the appetite of their livestock.
In Mundari culture, like many tribes of the region, cattle play an important role in religion, birth, and marriage. They are symbols of wealth and power. Every life event includes a reference to cows, the lives of which can be sometimes deemed more important than those of humans. A person’s position in society is established through the ownership of cattle – the size and shape of the horns being the most important features.
Traditionally, Ankole-Watusi cows are considered sacred, with an owner’s wealth counted in live animals. Unfortunately, cattle are also the main source of conflict. Clashes seldom arise over common resources such as land but rather over animals and their ownership.
Mundari Cattle Camps:
In a cattle camp, everyone plays their role. The men lead the cows into the fields during the day and regroup them in the camp before sunset. The women clean and prepare food for everyone. The children clean the ground of the camp every morning by collecting the dung and burning it at sunset. The smoke drives away mosquitoes and also creates a unique atmosphere for photographers.
Ashes are then used as a natural antiseptic to protect the skin of people and cows from insects and the sun. The Mundari also use ash as talcum to massage their cattle twice a day and as toothpaste for themselves.
Cattle urine is used to wash hands, faces, teeth, and bleach hair. The Mundari also drink it in the belief that cow urine infuses purity. They also combine urine with ashes to polish the magnificent horns of the cattle.
At night, music played on horns floats through the camp. The people sing close to the heat of fires until they fall asleep under the stars with the cattle just a few feet away. Sleep is not always easy, and the herders must often protect their livestock from jackals, hyenas, and even painted wolves (African wild dogs). The main threat to livestock, however, is from raiders. Indeed, cattle rustling is a common cultural practice among many pastoral communities in East Africa – the Nuer, Dinka, and Murle often participate in cyclical raiding.
We believe that traditional Mundari society will remain relatively unchanged for many years to come. Perhaps we might ask whether their relatively sustainable way of life has lessons more widely applicable – lessons we need to absorb before the tide of modernization changes the Mundari way of life forever.
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