Kinship in Sudan Buth and Mar Among the Nuer essays

Kinship in Sudan Buth and Mar Among the Nuer essays Kinship in Sudan: Buth and Mar Among the Nuer The Nuer people are one of more than one hundred ethnic groups in the northeastern African country of Sudan, which stretches stretches southward from Egypt for 2000 kilometres and westward from the Red Sea for 1500 kilometres. The Nuer are the second largest tribe in southern Sudan, numbering over one million people, according to estimates from the 1980's. Other tribes in the south include the more populous Dinka, the Shilluk, Anuak, Acholi and Lotuho, along with numerous smaller tribes. The Dinka are closely associated with the Nuer, and are often integrated into Nuer society when they reside with, or marry into a Nuer village. Principally the Nuer inhabit the swamps and expansive open grasslands on either side of the upper Nile River, and its tributaries, in the south. The south has an equatorial rainy climate, divided by a very dry season and a very wet one, and Nuer life is regulated entirely by the seasons. In the dry season only a few of the older folk remain in the village, the rest going with the cattle to water-holes or to the river bank, where summer camps are built. The Nuer are pre-emiinentaly pastoral, though they grow more millet and maize than is commonly supposed (Evans-Pritchard, 1940:16). The lives of the Nuer revolve around their herding practices, raising cattle, and the seasonal patterns of the terrain. Like many of his pastoral neighbors, the dearest possession of the Nuer is cattle, and their herds play a significant role in the economy, social structure, and religion of these communities. The Nuer cattle are used as payment for virtually everything and are also the main source o f food; they are used in purchases of land, as payment of bride price, and for milk, blood and meat. Cattle are passed down as part of inheritance, and can stay in the family for several generations. An ox or lactating cow is always a part of any religious ceremony &n...