Dinkas are people of Southern Sudan, inhabiting the swampland and are the largest ethnic tribe region of the Nile basin. They are well-known in Sudan. This is a largest country in Africa. Sudan’s area encompasses nearly more than one million square miles. It lies in the northern part of the continent and is a land of widely differing geography. The North, it is covered with vast deserts, grassy palms fill the central region, and steamy jungles and swamps lie in the south of Sudan. The Dinkas are chiefly pastoral people, relying on cattle herding at riverside homes in the dry season and growing wheat in fixed settlements during the rainy season. The population of Dinka is around 4-5 million people, constituting about 55% of the population of the entire nation. Dinkas are Black Africa people in origin, differing markedly from the Arab tribes inhabiting the Northern part of Sudan and they’re noted for their height often reaching as much as seven feet.

In Dinka community people practice a tradition which allows for a family to maintain its name from generation to generation through what has been described as ghost marriage. If you rich in Dinka tribe you can marriage more than ten wives you like. If one of the family member die without marriage the members of family take over and marriage wife of late one and name the children to him. It is common in the Dinka tradition of ghost marriage that when a man die the family takes upon itself the responsibility to ensure that it is name and thus the name of his forefathers or parents should be maintained. Every community has important values that are different from other culture. The important values and morals that are taught to every generation in any culture may not be same to other culture all over the world. The beliefs of Dinka community culture in southern Sudan and the moral values of the women and men are all same. It is most respected by other tribes. The Dinka belief system involved stories, or myths, whose interpretation can give to the people insight into how they should feel and believes. The Dinka believe in their cultural system because of grow out of their religion. Most Dinkas believe that keeping cultural tradition in our modern society is a valuable thing that keeps every generation moving successfully in one direction. The Dinka community believed the way of maintaining the cultural tradition is the road for every young generation’s success.

However, in Dinka culture girls are valuable to the family as wealth. If the family finds her a man to marry her family gets dowry. It is normal in Dinka tribe for people to practice to marry lady within same tribe. It is a decision the family make to marry a lady or not. Also, woman is married and offered to a brother or relative to bear children in the name of the descendents. According to their culture is tradition maintained and every generation must follow the same footsteps as their forefathers.  In Dinka tribe it is important for them; if a man needs to marry they respect the  ages of 18-20 and above to make sure he/she care his/her own life. According to the ideology underpinning this practice, marriage is arranged by the older, experienced members of the family group for the younger members. The ideology of arranged marriage stresses the role of the elder members of the family, especially mothers or father, in arranging marriages for their children. The arranged marriage system, however, takes little account of the personal desires of those who are being married.

On the other hand, in Dinka tribe has a most important thing that reflects their religion their language called Dinka-Jieng. Jieng means people in the Dinka language and their culture believe. The Dinka community in Southern Sudan is one community in Sudan who promoted their own language to the entire nation. Communities in Sudan become aware of Dinka culture as a moral interest to Dinka culture lifestyle and adopted Dinka culture. The people Dinka community manage their economy by growing a variety of agricultural crops, raising great numbers of livestock, fishing, hunting and gathering wild fruits when necessary. They have grossly fertile soil and this helps them to grow enough food for consumption. There is plenty of rainfall throughout the entire year that enables them to plant as much as they need. At the time of harvesting, they always have good harvests and are able to keep vast amounts in their homes for the next season. The Nile River is the second largest river in the world and supplies water in Southern Sudan and some of the Africa countries. The Nile River offers good source of fish and water for domestic use in so many purpose in Dinka community area.

Also, Pastors claim Christianity was introduced to the Dinka society in South Sudan in 1905 by Shaw, a missionary of the Church of England. Shaw spent many years in Dinka tribe, which was the site of the main training field in the Dinka tribe along the Nile River called Malek in Bor along Great Nile. There were many things that influenced the people such as language, customs, beliefs, and traditional values kept people from understanding the word of God. People were also reluctant to allow their children to stay near Shaw’s Leper camp, and kept them at home to help cultivate the fields and guard the cattle. Christianity came to the Dinka people as a great gift from the Holy Spirit. It spread primarily through the cities and did not reach the villages until the 1980's, because the Dinka people who lived in the cities were not able to convince the villagers.

After the Civil war broke out in 1983, the people who lived in the cities were forced to move to the villages, and were able to convince the village people to accept Christianity. There was a sixty year gap before Mark Nickel of then Episcopalian church from the USA who arrived in 1980's. Nickel was famous for communicating with the Dinka people in their own dialect. In his teaching as a joke he named people according to their character. He was called, for instance Elephant Bull because he was huge. Nickel was very popular and to many Dinka babies were named for him. In the beginning, people gathered under the trees for services, sitting on mats or plastic sheets.

The Dinka believe that it is God who sends the rain, which irrigates their crops and it is God who provides the power of lights: the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars which provide their foods. Thunderstorms and lightening were also revered by the Dinka people as signs of God and they gave thanks to God for the rain for their crops and cattle for protection against wild animals. The majority of Dinka tribe believes in God since late 60s, when missionaries arrived to Dinka area. Many people around the world believe that the communities are more important in every corner that keeps generations moving in the same direction.

The Dinka tribe defined the culture as the important thing that made them strong and succeed in everyday life. We believe the Dinka tribe in South Sudan will change their lifestyle later in some years coming. We strongly believe the communities are important to all of us across the world. Dinka community lifestyle of culture and tradition is important to them and they all value it.

Please reach the members of Dinka community here borcommunity@madingbor.com

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