Benjamin Ajak Benson Deng Alephonsion De Popular Books

Benjamin Ajak Benson Deng Alephonsion De Biography & Facts

The Dinka people (Dinka: Jiɛ̈ɛ̈ŋ) are a Nilotic ethnic group native to South Sudan. The Dinka mostly live along the Nile, from Mangalla-Jonglei to Renk, in the region of Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile (two out of three Provinces that were formerly part of southern Sudan), and the Abyei Area of the Ngok Dinka in South Sudan. They number around 4.5 million, according to the 2008 Sudan census, constituting about 40% of the population of that country and the largest ethnic tribe in South Sudan. The Dinka refer to themselves as Muonyjang (singular) and jieng (plural). History The Dinka originated from the Gezira in what became Sudan. In medieval times this region was ruled by the kingdom of Alodia, a Christian, multi-ethnic empire in Nubia. Living in its southern periphery and interacting with the Nubians, the Dinka absorbed a sizable amount of Nubian vocabulary. From the 13th century, with the disintegration of Alodia, the Dinka began to migrate out of Gezira, fleeing slave raids, military conflict, and droughts. Conflict over pastures and cattle raids has been happening between Dinka and Nuer as they battled for grazing land. The Dinka's religions, beliefs, and lifestyle have led to conflict with the Arab Islamic government in Khartoum. The Sudan People's Liberation Army, led by Dinka Dr. John Garang De Mabior, took arms against the government in 1983. During the subsequent 21-year civil war, many thousands of Dinka, along with non-Dinka southerners, were massacred by government forces. Since the independence of South Sudan, the Dinka, led by Salva Kiir Mayardit, engaged in a civil war with the Nuer and other groups, who accuse them of monopolising power. Christianity In 1983, due to Sudan's second civil war, many educated Dinka were forced to flee the cities to rural areas. Some were Christians who had been converted by the Church Missionary Society. Among them were ordained clergymen who began preaching in the villages. Songs and praise were used to teach the mostly illiterate Dinka about the faith. Most Dinka converted to Christianity and are learning to adapt traditional religious practices to Christian teachings. The conversion took place in rural villages and among Dinka refugees country. The Lost Boys of Sudan were converted in significant numbers in the refugee camps of Ethiopia. Dinka massacre Forces led by the breakaway Riek Machar faction deliberately killed an estimated 2,000 Dinka Bor civilians that included Hol, Nyarweng, Twic east and Bor, and wounded several thousand more over two months. Much of their wealth was destroyed, which led to mass starvation deaths. It is estimated that 100,000 people left the area following the attack. Physique Dinka are noted for their height, and, along with the Tutsi of Rwanda, they are the tallest group in Africa. Roberts and Bainbridge reported an average height of 182.6 cm (5 ft 11.9 in) in a sample of 52 Dinka Agaar and 181.3 cm (5 ft 11.4 in) in 227 Dinka Ruweng measured in 1953–1954. However, the stature of Dinka males later declined, possibly as a consequence of undernutrition and conflicts. An anthropometric survey of Dinka men, war refugees in Ethiopia, published in 1995, found a mean height of 176.4 cm (5 ft 9.4 in). Agriculture and pastoral strategies Southern Sudan is "a large basin gently sloping northward", through which flow the Bahr el Jebel River, the White Nile, the Bahr el Ghazal (Nam) River and its tributaries, and the Sobat, all merging into a vast barrier swamp. Vast oil areas are present to the south and east on the flood plain, a basin in southern Sudan into which the rivers of Congo, Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia drain from an ironstone plateau that belts the regions of Bahr El Ghazal and Upper Nile. The terrain can be divided into four land classes: Highlands: higher than the surrounding plains by a few centimetres; there host permanent settlements. Vegetation consists of open thorn woodland and/or open mixed woodland with grasses. Intermediate Lands: slightly below the highlands, commonly subject to flooding from rainfall in the Ethiopian and East/Central African highlands. Vegetation is mostly open perennial grassland with some acacia woodland and other sparsely distributed trees. Toic: land seasonally inundated by rivers and inland water courses, retaining enough moisture throughout the dry season to support cattle grazing. Sudd: permanent swampland below the level of the toic; covers a substantial part of the floodplain; provides good fishing but not grazing; historically a physical barrier to outsiders. The ecology of the large basin is unique; until recently, wild animals and birds flourished, rarely hunted by the agro-pastoralists. The climate determines the Dinka's migration patterns, responding to the periodic flooding and dryness of their surroundings. They begin moving around May–June, at the onset of the rainy season, migrating to their settlements of mud and thatch housing situated above flood level, where they plant their crops of millet and other grains. These rainy season settlements feature other permanent structures such as cattle byres (luak) and granaries. During the dry season (beginning about December–January), everyone except the aged, ill, and nursing mothers migrates to semi-permanent dwellings in the toic for cattle grazing. The cultivation of sorghum, millet, and other crops begins in the highlands in the early rainy season, and the harvest begins when the rains are heavy in June–August. Cattle are driven to the toic in September and November when the rainfall drops off and graze on crop remnants. While the Dinka are often seen as only pastoralists, they are actually agro-pastoralists. Agriculture plays a very big part in their livelihood, with Sorghum being their most important crop grown. The Dinka also grow okra, sesame, pumpkin, cow peas, maize, cassava ground nuts, different types of beans, water melons, tobacco and millet. In Dinka society, both genders engage in cultivation, and on big farms the women brew beer and everyone is involved. Before the sudanese civil wars each household cultivated an average of two acres of sorghum around their homestead along with other crops. An estimated 87% of total calories and 76% of protein by weight are provided by crop production compared with 13% of calories and 24% of protein derived from livestock produce. Today, 83% of all available labor is estimated to be employed in agricultural activities compared with only 17% in livestock husbandry. In recent times poor or cattleless Dinka have farmed the land of their non dinka neighbors. According to the Balanda Bviri politician Bandindi Pascal Uru: “The Dinka are good cultivators; they cultivate slowly but surely for hours. When the Dinka leave the business of cattle they take the hoe very seriously.” In modern times the connection of agriculture and economics to Dinka marriage is important. Grain as well as cattle have been and continue to be used in both bartering and brid.... Discover the Benjamin Ajak Benson Deng Alephonsion De popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Benjamin Ajak Benson Deng Alephonsion De books.