Next Door: Neighbors to the Nuer

    The Nuer lived in the landlocked nation of South Sudan. In that, they are surrounded by other tribes and cultures. Some may be passive and worthy of trading or agreement, others may be aggressive and conflict with each other. Especially when South Sudan shares a border with Eastern Ethiopia. Some of the Nuer may have never crossed a countries border just like if a citizen from the United States never left the country. We never know whats on the other side.

    To the west of the Nuer's territory resides the Dinka tribe. The Dinka people are an ethnic group inhabiting the Bahr el Ghazal region of the Nile basin, Jonglei and parts of southern Kordufan and Upper Sudan  regions. They are mainly agripastoral people, relying on cattle herding at riverside camps in the dry season and growing millet and other varieties of grains in fixed settlements during the rainy season.The Dinkas' pastoral lifestyle is also reflected in their religious beliefs and practices. They have one God, Nhialic, who speaks through spirits that take temporary possession of individuals in order to speak through them. The Nuer and Dinka are very hostile toward each other for differences in cultural beliefs and territorial conflict.

Territorial Divisions of South Sudan and Sudan

    

     To the north of Nuer lives the Nuba. Nuba is a collective term used here for the peoples who inhabit the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan state, in Sudan. Although the term is used to describe them as if they composed a single group, the Nuba are multiple distinct peoples and speak different languages.The Nuba people are primarily farmers, as well as herders who keep cattle, goats, chickens, and other domestic animals. The primary religion of many Nuba peoples is Islam, with some Christians, and traditional shamanistic beliefs also prevailing. Although the Nuba and the Nuer have little to no connection besides rare occasions of drifters, they relate in their agricultural, breeding, and farming techniques.

    We must always be concerned with who surrounds us, explore the unexplored. Many things could be in comparison. Stay tuned for my next post concerning the migrations of Nuer people.