Issuu

Anyuak Histories

The monograph on the history and culture of the Anyuak is the result of more than five years of fieldwork (1976–1983). It is a well-documented, detailed and passionate description of an African people’s spiritual and material world, their culture and history. Myths, oral traditions, stories, maps, genealogies, recordings of tales, songs and music as well as a great number of photographs invite the reader to join in the journey through the universe of the Anyuak in order to make their own discoveries or simply to participate in the spiritual adventure. The Anyuak live on both sides of the border between South Sudan and South-western Ethiopia. They are relatives of the better known Shilluk, Dinka and Nuer, but have turned from cattle herders into fervent agriculturalists. The Anyuak are a highly intellectual, strong-minded and well-organised people who have created, in the middle of so-called wilderness, a centre of human civilisation. If their socio-political system is of a particular interest, their philosophy is equally fascinating: it centres on the human person and governs his or her relationship not only within human society but also with animals, earthly matters and spiritual forces. Thanks to their stubborn, almost desperate belief in the essential goodness of existence and the positive forces of life, the Anyuak have – in spite of all pressures from outside – up to now succeeded in preserving their cultural identity and maintaining their pride of being “pure human beings”. The first four volumes of the monograph describe the sphere of the above (the sphere of transparency), the sphere of the below (the sphere of material existence, the earth) and the space between them (the sphere of human self-awareness and the period of personal existence). Volumes V and VI focus on the Anyuak village and its physical, social, judicial and political structures, and examine the lively sphere of collective experience under a forceful leadership, which embodies the community’s self-awareness. Volume VII focuses on the daily or seasonal activities of the Anyuak and investigates their economic and material values, in particular the social aspects of labour, such as solidarity, sharing within the community and cooperation. The book ends with a chapter on art which illustrates the Anyuak artistic selfawareness in all aspects of life. Volume VIII on the Anyuak History is the last part of the monograph. The narrative in this volume moves from mythological times to the times of migration. It explains reasons for the separation from relatives and explores the process of settlement. The modern part of history starts with the stories related by early travellers, describes the times of slavery, the relationship between the Anyuak and their neighbours and provides documents on the impact of foreign governments and the consequences of the first and the second civil wars in the Sudan. Myths, oral information and official records are significant documents for understanding the Anyuak historically as well as their relatives and indeed the colonial powers of the time. An extensive bibliography on the entire monograph concludes the information provided in this volume.

Volume VIII

The Anyuak Vol. VIII

The Anyuak – Living on Earth in the Sky

Conradin Perner

Conradin Perner is a Swiss scholar with professional experience in the fields of literature, ethnography, peacebuilding and humanitarian work. He has lectured at a number of African and European universities and has worked as a delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Africa, the Indian sub-continent, Afghanistan and Central Asia, as an advisor and consultant for the ICRC, UNICEF and UNESCO and as a peace advisor for the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs. In recognition of his scientific and humanitarian work, Perner was awarded with the first honorary citizenship of South Sudan on the day of independence in July 2011.

Perner

The Author

Anyuak Histories

I S B N 978-3-7965-3552-9

Schwabe Verlag Basel www.schwabeverlag.ch

783796 535529

Schwabe

Living on Earth in the Sky: The Anyuak An Analytic Account of the History and the Culture of a Nilotic People

Volume VIII

Anyuak Histories Conradin Perner

Schwabe Verlag Basel

Conradin Perner (“Kwacakworo”) Haus Perner, Mattastrasse 1, CH-7270 Davos-Platz, Switzerland

Published with support of Dr. Hans Vontobel, Financier, Zurich, and of SWISSLOS/Kulturförderung, Kanton Graubünden Since 1992, the monograph on the Anyuak has been supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation.

Copyright © 2016 Schwabe AG, Verlag, Basel No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photopying, recording, or otherwise, or translated, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Photographs: Conradin Perner Editorial work: Ursula Erikli, Berlin Graphic design: Thomas Lutz Production: Schwabe AG, Muttenz/Basel, Schweiz Printed in Switzerland ISBN 978-3-7965-3552-9 rights@schwabe.ch www.schwabeverlag.ch

Contents

IXI

Foreword: The Long History

111

1904: Bulpett’s “Picnic Party”, McMillan’s

of the Anyuak Ethnography and its Publication

Hunting Expedition and Jessen’s Explorations

IXV Outline of the Monograph

119

1906: The “Human Scale” of Savage Landor

XIX Contents of the Monograph

123

1909: Bieber on the Openo (Baro)

Anyuak Histories

125

Slavery

128

Anyuak Slavery

3 Ancient History

134

Anyuak Slave Trade

Oral Traditions and Anyuak History

137

Foreign Slavers

The Country of Origin

137 Debono

The Myth of Ocudho, the Stranger

138

Who Came from the River

139

Anyuakland as One of Ethiopia’s last “Slave-Producing Areas”

145

Tribal History

149

Anyuak and the Jò-Ponyua

150

Anyuak and the Shilluk

157

Anyuak and the Dinka

160

Anyuak and the Nuer

175

Anyuak and the Murle

180

Anyuak and the Burun

181

Anyuak and the Masango

182

Anyuak and the Kichepo

185

Fighting

205

Foreign Powers

257

Missionaries

265

Modern Times

The Myth of Ocudho

Chief Cwai and Gilo o Köri

The Myth of Othienho wa Ngic, the Stranger

Who Came from the South

27 35

The Myth of Othienho wa Ngic

Myths about Separations

The Visit of the Dervishes in 1890

Anyuak Explanations for Separations

Discussion and Outlines of Anyuak Migrations

The Luo and Anyuak Name

The Wave of People led by Gilo into Anyuakland

Gilo war Akango and Othienho wa Ngic

Ocudho and Gilo o Köri winy Nyi Cwai

74 Summary of Arguments and of Hypothetical Conclusions 79 Chronology 80

Final Remarks

83 Early History 87 Travellers 89

1855: The Ivory Traders Terranuova and Debono

1863: John Petherick

272

The First Civil War (1963–1972)

1876: Dr. Wilhelm Junker

273

The Anyanya Movement in the Upper Nile Province

1897: The Second Expedition Bòttego

283

Consequences of the First Civil War for the Anyuak

1897: The Mission of de Bonchamps

285

Between the Civil Wars: a Struggle for Survival

102

1898: An Ethiopian Military Expedition to the Nile

294

104

1898/99: Captain Marchand’s Return

107

Footprints of a new Era

107

1899: Captain Wellby’s Expedition

109

1900: Major Austin Maps an Important Part

of Anyuak Country

110

1900: Neumann’s Trip from the Somali Coast

to Anyuakland

Modern Times are threatening…

307 Endnotes 321

List of Stories

322

List of Songs

323

Epilogue: A Personal Review of the Past Thirty Years in South Sudan

VIII

A N Y U A K

Bibliography 347

Preliminary Note

347

Abbreviations

349

Anyuak Bibliography

349

Reports in Governmental Files

350

Anonymous Reports

350

Articles and Books by Known Authors

355

Publications by Missionaries

355

Unpublished or Untraceable Material

355

Recorded Anyuak Music

355

Collections of Anyuak Utensils in Europe

355

Entomological Collection

357

General Bibliography on the Sudan,

the Nilotes and Cognated Subjects

357

Articles and Books

372

Index of Bibliographies

372

Index of Journals and Periodical Publications

375

Bibliography on African Languages

375

Articles and Books

378

Index of Journals and Periodicals Publications

379

Other Publications on South Sudan by Conradin Perner

H I S T O R I E S

A final word of thanks to Prof. Beckry Abdel Magid The work on the ethnography on the Anyuak was hampered by financial constraints, during the time of my fieldwork in South Sudan but even more during the struggle for the monograph’s publication. I have already expressed my gratitude to the many personalities which have sup ported me either as sponsors or as advocates for the scientific relevance of my research. Material aspects were certainly of decisive importance for the outcome of my work, but of an even more substantial significance was the spiritual support I received from friends and of course from the Anyuak themselves. Among these numerous friends supporting me, practically as much as spiri tually, one person played such a crucial role for the final outcome of my research that I would like to donate my entire lifework to him, the monograph as well as the memoir of my explorations in the Sudan! Thinking of the fire which kindles light and provides energy, I call this person “Kibrit”, but his family name is Beckry Mohammed Abdel Magid. Beckry was born in Atbara in northern Sudan and studied engineering at the University of Khartoum at the time when I was lecturing in the Faculty of Arts. Being the friend of some of my students, Beckry used to visit my home regularly during the years when I was preparing my eth nographic studies in the Sudan Archives or at the Institute for Afro-Asian Studies in Khartoum. During the next thirty years (!), Beckry spiri tually accompanied my research from afar but also provided me shelter whenever I returned to Khartoum and helped me to obtain the official permission to conduct my research in the South. Later on, Beckry went to the United States where he eventually became a Professor in Com posite Materials at the State University of Winona in Minnesota, married Margaret Trott and has two gorgeous children, Miska and Nyle. While I was among the Anyuak in South Sudan, communication was difficult and therefore rather rare, but after the conclusion of my fieldwork, Prof. Beckry Abdel Magid turned into the key person for my homework and the ensuing search for a publisher, correcting the language of the manu script while transforming the text into a computerized version, providing me with advice and giving me hope and courage whenever I doubted the final outcome of my work. Without the per manent spiritual support of Beckry, without his kindness, his joyful character and his deep humanity I would never have been able to complete my work, to publish my books and to bring my lifework to a conclusion. More than thirty years of a highly productive friendship and more than thirty years of generous support and a tireless commitment to the peoples of the Sudan at home or in the American diaspora, – there are indeed many very strong reasons to thank and to praise such an extraordinary personality. Prof. Beckry has been a true blessing, for my research, for the Anyuak and for my personal life, he has been a source of inspiration and wisdom, a solid shelter when I was in need of protection and a glowing hearth, offering me the spiritual comfort which only true friendship can provide.

Conradin Perner Davos, December 2016

Foreword: The Long History of the Anyuak Ethnography and its Publication

The present book is the final chapter of the Anyuak history and ethnography. The completion of the monograph provides me with the opportunity to relate the process of publication and to thank everyone who has contributed to its final outcome. My fieldwork had started in 1975 and ended in 1984, one year after the beginning of the second civil war in the Sudan. Four years later, the dictionary on Anyuak language and the Anyuak ethnography were ready for publication. The reader of a book can not imagine the difficulties one may face when trying to find a publisher for a book which is not likely to become a bestseller. Indeed, if my fieldwork was long, physically demanding and often dangerous, the process of publication was even more tedious and adventurous, demanding a lot of tenacity and patience. First, it was crucial to find a competent and careful publisher. I asked a great number of potential publishers in the field of anthropology about their possible interest, even travelled to Oxford and Cambridge for that purpose. Naturally, I expected the most famous publishers in anthropology to feel concerned, but they all rejected my request, arguing that nobody would print a book of 4000 pages; however, they said that they were prepared to publish a summary of my work. I refused that proposal, explaining that the Anyuak monograph actually represented a summary of my research. In contrast to the monograph, it was easy to find a publisher for my dictionary on the Anyuak language.i Twenty-two well-known universities in the US, France, Korea and Japan had decided to create a common program in order “to provide economical means of publishing large quantities of social science data that might not otherwise be made available to the scholarly community” and to process such material through photo-reproduction. The Human Relations Area Files (HRAF), as this program was called, produced my dictionary within a short time, in 1990. HRAF even proposed to publish the monograph, but I wanted the book to be available to a larger public and therefore declined the offer. My search for a publisher continued. Eventually, Andreas Auer, an old friend of mine, introduced me to his own publisher, Helbing & Lichtenhahn in Basel. This printing house was specialised in publishing books on law, but fortunately its editor-in-chief, Mrs. Inge Hochreutener, had a background in ethnology; after having seen the manuscript, she became so excited that she immediately agreed to publish it. She proposed to print the book in a large format and to include most of the illustrations. Having found a publisher, I had to look for financial support. Since the Swiss National Fund SNF had been one of the sponsors of my fieldwork, I submitted a request to the Fund to contribute to the printing costs. Based on the recommendations of some well-known professors in ethnology, the SNFSR decided in 1990 to contribute substantially to the publication costs of the entire monograph! This was a decision of fundamental importance. The next problem concerned the ethnography’s manuscript. Since I had written everything on my manual typewriter, it was necessary to produce an electronic version of the text. An old Sudanese friend of mine, Beckry Abdel Magid, volunteered to take charge of this tremendous work, retyping (and correcting) the ethnography’s four thousand pages! This was an extraordinary personal investment and the last formal step towards a publication. Now, the process of editing could take off. The editorial work for the monograph proved to be extremely demanding and therefore time consuming. Because the ethnography did not consist merely of text but included tables, complicated genealogies, graphics, charts, drawings, a lot of photos (to be scanned from slides) and even a large-scale map on Anyuak country, its editing was a professional challenge to all those involved in the process.

XII

A N Y U A K

After publication of volumes I (1994) and II (1997), the process of publication happened to be suddenly interrupted. Helbing & Lichtenhahn Publishers were sold to a German company which wanted to concentrate on the publication of law books only; all other projects were sold to Schwabe Publishers, Basel. My fears that Schwabe might hesitate to take over the project were more than justified: they were not keen at all to publish the many volumes of the monograph and did their level best to convince me to write a summary. This time also I refused to give in. After some time of hesitation, Schwabe reluctantly started to work on volume III. It was a difficult task, partly because of the mentioned problems linked to the complexity of the work and partly because Schwabe was, like the previous editor, a German and not an English publishing house and therefore lacked English-speaking personnel. Since the SNFSR insisted on checking the cost estimates for each volume and repeatedly employed new external anthropologists to get additional expert opinions, the process of editing often had to be interrupted for purely financial reasons. Volume III was published in 2003. The publication of volume IV presented a new editorial challenge. Mrs. Christina Scherer, the person in charge of the monograph, had the excellent idea to include a CD on Anyuak music. To realise this new project, I had to listen to more than two hundred hours of recordings which I had made during the fieldwork, to select a small number of songs and pieces of music and eventually to transfer the selected pieces from the very tiny tape recorder Nagra SNN 2 (which I had used when doing my fieldwork) to CDs. A professional music studio in Basel eventually produced the final CD (now attached to volume IV). This volume was finally published in 2011. Volume V was to be published three years later, in 2014. It was edited by Schwabe’s new editor-in-chief herself, Mrs. Marianne Wackernagel, with the assistance of an external copyeditor for the English, Mrs. Ursula Erikli and with the practical support of Mr. Thomas Lutz, the graphic designer, and Mr. Michel Kilchherr, the team’s coordinator. The new team worked together so well that a speedy completion of the publication process was in sight. New obstacles were not to be expected. Waiting for the remaining volumes to be published, I decided to write a memoir on the history of my fieldwork in South Sudan.ii This was an old project of mine, aiming to inform the monograph’s readers about the circumstances of the research as well as about the struggles of the fieldwork. In the ethnography, there had been no space for personal experiences, stories and adventures or for explaining my personal relationships with the people and their king, so this narrative of my life among the Anyuak was meant to be complementary to the monograph. In 2014, however, the process of publication came to a new halt. The Swiss National Fund which had supported my research work since 1990, decided to reverse its decision of 1992 and to stop sponsoring the publication. This was a fatal blow to our hope of ever getting the monograph published. The argument provided was strange indeed: mixing up my person with the monograph, the Swiss National Fund considered that in the meantime I was too old to receive financial assistance for the printing project. This truly amazing attitude was probably due to the fact that the people formerly responsible had retired and been replaced by persons who had no clue about the long history of the project or on the Fund’s long-term engagement in the research. For twenty years, Mr. Michel Droz, who was responsible for the Fund’s subsidies, had been a strong advocate of the monograph, but with his departure all understanding of the ethnography’s cultural significance seemed to have left as well. The National Fund’s plan in 2014 to support only on-line publications had possibly contributed to its bizarre decision. The situation seemed desperate and hopeless. I did not find the energy to ask other institutions or individual persons for help; since the National Fund with its high reputation

H I S T O R I E S

F o r e w o r d : T h e L o n g H i s t o r y o f t h e A n y u a k Et h n o g r a p h y a n d i t s P u b l i c at i o n

XIII

had refused to continue its sponsoring, nobody and surely no other institution would be ready to fill in. The prospect of ever seeing the three remaining volumes published had vanished completely. I had hoped that the monograph would become the pride of the Anyuak; now it was doomed to remain forever hidden in some drawers of my private home. The decision of the Swiss National Fund contradicted the opinion of all experts and was in complete disregard of the Fund’s previous financial investments. It was so revolting indeed that two well-known and highly respected Swiss personalities, Dr. Hans Vontobel and Professor Verena Meyer, separately decided to cover the publication costs for the three remaining volumes. The generosity of these two amazing personalities is one of the highlights of the monograph’s history and shall never be forgotten. Thanks to such unexpected help, Schwabe was now sure to get the means to publish volume VI (in 2015) and the two last volumes VII and VIII (in 2016). This time, there would be no more bad surprises! This was the end of the monograph’s odyssey of forty years, the end of a journey through the ebbs and flows of changing fortunes. I am grateful for the support I received from the Swiss National Fund (volumes I, II, III and IV) and the Swisslos cultural fund of the Canton Grisons (volumes V, VI, VII and VIII) and I feel deeply indebted to my private sponsors, my Anyuak informants and my friends all over the world. I am also very grateful to Schwabe Publishers for having shown so much patience and interest in my work. My last and most heartfelt words of thanks goes to the three women who were in charge of the editing process and thus had to carry the heaviest load of the work and who were bravely sharing with me all moments of frustration and hope, Mrs. Inge Hochreutener (volumes I and II), Mrs. Christina Scherer (volumes III and IV) and foremost Mrs. Marianne Wackernagel (volumes V, VI, VII and VIII). Their tireless efforts, their high professional skills, their personal interest and their great kindness were the golden keys to the final success of the publication, the real reason why this seemingly endless story could eventually come to a happy ending. Kwacakworo / Conradin Perner Davos, summer 2016

ii ii

Conradin Perner / Kwacakworo, Anyuak, A Luo-Language of Southern Sudan, Short Grammar and Dictionary, 4 volumes, New Haven, Conn.: Published by Human Relations Area Files, 1990. Conradin Perner, “Why Did You Come if You Leave Again?” – An ethnographer’s footprints among the Anyuak in South Sudan, Bloomington, Indiana: Xlibris, 2016.

Outline of the Monograph

The “Anyuak” are part of the Lwo group of the “Western Nilotes”, closely related to the Shilluk, the Acholi, the Jur and the Luo; the Nuer and the Dinka figure among their more distant relatives. The Anyuak live in the fertile plains which stretch along the rivers Oboth, Agwey, Dikony, Akobo, Gilo, Nyikani and Openo (Baro) in the Eastern part of the Southern Sudan and in Southwest Ethiopia, the present artificial borderline following the course of the Akobo river. The Anyuak moved here either from the land of the Nilotes near the present town of Rumbeck in the centre of the Southern Sudan or perhaps from the southeast region near Lake Rudolph in Kenya. During the long period of migration between the 16th and the 19th century, the Anyuak gradually separated from their fellow kinsmen because of internal power struggles, as a result of foreign aggression or because of changing ecological conditions. The small group of Anyuak known as the “Jo-ponyuaa” or the “Päri” living today at Lafon Hill near Torit are descendants of people who remained behind and of people who rejoined them from Anyuakland. A group of Päri-people settled in Anyuak country in the region of Ojwa, as recently as in the beginning of the 20th century. In the second half of the 19th century, the Anyuak gave up their territories along the Sobat and North of the Openo because of foreign aggressors (the Nuer and the Dervishes); more recently, the regions of Ojwa and Akobo had to be evacuated because of Murle a ttacks. Two very long civil wars in the Sudan and political unrest in Ethiopia brought great suffering to the Anyuak. First the English and then the Sudanese government refrained from bringing even the most elementary facilities to Anyuakland. In addition, the Ethiopian revolution succeeded in destroying practically all traditional Anyuak values within a very short p eriod of time. The Ethiopian policy of resettlement of foreign people inside Anyuakland, the Sudanese project of establishing a wildlife park around the Boma plateau and the i mportant oil discoveries are among the modern cultural transitions that represent the greatest threats to the continuation of Anyuak territorial unity and cultural identity. There are between fifty and eighty thousand adult Anyuak persons. They are an enthu siastically agricultural people, differing in this regard from their Nilotic relatives, the Nuer and Dinka. It has been said that the Anyuak abandoned pastoral life because of the tsetse fly and because of their bellicose neighbours, the Nuer and the Murle, but the seasonal presence of thousands of white-eared Cobe antelopes in their country may well have influenced the Anyuak’s decision to lead a more sedentary existence and to concentrate on agriculture, hunting and fishing. The former importance of cattle is remembered by the social importance of bull names and other traditions. The Anyuak are excellent farmers and can feed themselves quite well; they are generally healthy looking people, in spite of frequent floods and droughts which force them to live upon grass or roots for months or to seek help from r elatives living in less affected areas of the country. The great sense of solidarity among k indred persons a llows people to survive even in times of prolonged starvation and to find active support in all other times of personal or social difficulties. Economically, the Anyuak are completely self-sufficient, even if this successful system of self-reliance is more and more threatened by the progressive introduction of clothes, money and guns. Fortunately, the A nyuak still make just occasionally use of them. The Anyuak character reflects a difficult life constantly threatened by disease, a harsh environment, wild animals and foreign invaders: though essentially mild-tempered, the Anyuak have learnt to be suspicious, cunning and aggressive, their strong self-consciousness and cautious reserve giving the impression of great arrogance. Foreigners have mainly experienced – and therefore stressed – the negative sides of the proud Anyuak character, but besides the fact that all qualities have their positive and negative aspects, the Anyuak also exhibit remarka-

O u t l i n e

o f

t h e

M o n o g r a p h

XVII

ble intelligence, extraordinary courage, an enthralling artistic skill and – last but not least – great kindness. The high quality of Anyuak work is perhaps the most striking expression of a mind which does not separate inner values from physical existence and practical action. The Anyuak settlements are situated either on steep riverbanks or at some distance from the great rivers. Traditionally of a small size and inhabited by a few clans, they unite only in times of insecurity at one stockaded place. Occasionally, related villages or entire regions join in fighting one common enemy, but otherwise the Anyuak village is a completely independent political unit, ruled over either by a hereditary chief or a king. But while chiefs are frequently removed by means of rebellions, kings cannot abdicate and therefore have to be killed. Even the political power of a popular king has to be periodically “renewed”, the old king being reappointed – in a long and complicated ceremony – as the “new” king. The differences between kingship (dominating an area in the Southeast of the country) and chieftainship are otherwise not significant enough to talk about as two separate political systems. Kings claim to be of a semidivine origin and therefore exercise a particularly strong and often reckless power; their villages are not only larger in size and more sophisticated in appearance but also less dominated by kinship structures than are the villages under a chief. However, neither a chief nor a king can act in the long run against the will of his people; it is in this political field that the fearlessness of the Anyuak character is most dramatically expressed. An Anyuak village has strong social structures where different clans are tied together by age groups and a strong legal system. Sociopolitical and legal consciousness is one of the most striking features of the Anyuak way of behaviour. The Anyuak’s sense of justice g overns not only the relationship between people and between citizens and their rulers but applies also to beings acting outside of a social context (as for example witches), wild animals and birds, elements in nature (earth, rivers, rain) and even to the metaphysical concept of God and spirits. The whole Anyuak universe is a network of legal relationships with the Human Person (not God) as its conscious centre. The Anyuak have no doubts about the existence of Jwòk (a principle of creation) but their belief is in the positive power of justice rather than the nonhuman spiritual entity called Jwòk. The spiritual home of the Anyuak is the sphere of the earth where people pass not only their personal life but even find eternal shelter. The Anyuak view of creation is reflected in the following definitions of the various spheres in which different entities exist. First of all, there is the Human Person who enjoys a fundamental right to exist within the limits of a certain territory (the so-called “Human Territory”, comprising the human person, human society and a certain territory around the habitat); this is the central sphere of existence when seen with human eyes and from a human perspective. Secondly, there is the Sphere of the Earth with its land, its animals, its rivers, its rains, its seasons and its inner life. This sphere is of a spiritual essence like everything in the universe but contrasts with the sphere of pure transcendence by its physical appearance, its material consistency and its tremendous generosity towards the things living with it. Finally, there is the Sphere of Spirituality, a transcendental, moving, impersonal and essentially uncertain sphere, contrasting in its immateriality with all other elements in existence. As it has no limits and no physical form, it is the sphere which is least bound to a specific territory but can easily transcend other territories and beings, infecting other forms of existence with its metaphysical essence. The Anyuak regard themselves as a highly civilized people who have succeeded in creating, in the middle of an inhuman wilderness, a centre of humanity. Their notion of “village” (pac) corresponds to the notion of civilization, i.e. of a conscious organization of human

XVIII

AN Y UA K

society and the sphere which surrounds it. The Anyuak have provided the inhuman creation of God with a human sense and have made a hostile world habitable for the people, or, in other terms, the Anyuak have created their own spiritual world on earth, a paradise where people will ultimately find their eternal peace. The meaning given to this world is Humanity, and all the Anyuak’s struggle for survival is in fact a fight for their identity as pure human beings. A last note is to explain the outline of the monograph. As my aim was the presentation of the cultural background of Anyuak literature, I could not just deal with one particular field of interest (such as “religion”, “the political system”, “the material culture” etc.), nor did I need to favour one of these different entries to the Anyuak universe; I could decide myself how I wanted the monograph to be structured. I tried to compose my study in such a way that each chapter should make the understanding of the following chapter(s) easier. In reality, the Anyuak’s concepts of existence helped me to organise the monograph, and as a result I started – as the Anyuak would do – with that sphere of Anyuak existence which remains the basic condition of their life, i.e. the Sphere of Spirituality; and because the domain of Sickness and Healing is precisely part of that spiritual sphere, it had to follow the description of Anyuak “religion”. Transparency being only the upper part of the sphere of spirituality, I had to describe – in a second movement – the Sphere of the Earth, the home of human spirituality which I called The Human Territory (the sky being the “inhuman territory” within the sphere of universal existence). This latter also has, of course, more concrete a spects, some of them (such as the description of Anyuak Country or the World of Animals) being included in this second volume. In the centre of creation, “living on Earth in the Sky”, stands the Human Being: it is seen both in its spiritual essence and in its physical appearance. The Sphere of Kinship then widens the concept of individual existence by providing it with the dimensions of eternity and immortality. The long way an individual makes between the instant of birth and the moment of death is outlined in the volume called A Personal Life. The sky, the earth and the human being are the three elements on which the Anyuak life-world is built; it remained to be seen what the practical implications of these categories in daily life within the framework of society were. With the volume The Anyuak Village – the Centre of Civilisation we approach the village sphere through the gate of history and show the various civic elements which bear society. In the volume focusing on Anyuak Justice I discuss the judicial and in the one on Power and Authority the political structures which give society its stability. The volume entitled Spheres of Action shows economical factors in Anyuak existence and introduces more material aspects of Anyuak culture. History stands in the centre of the final volume of the monograph, because history is to a large extent the result of cultural behaviour and, in any case, cannot be understood outside of a cultural context; moreover, history flows from ancient unknown times through the unconscious present to a vague future, and only the disappearance of the Anyuak as a cultural entity could bring the flow of history to an end. In spite of sad prospects, I am confident that the cultural identity of the Anyuak will be strong enough to survive; the last, incomplete, part of the volume relating the modern and the more recent chapters of history may thus be understood as a sign of hope for a long-lasting, bright future for the Anyuak people.

HI S T O RIE S

Contents of the Monograph

The Sphere of Spirituality Creation Spiritual Matters Witchcraft Sickness and Healing Eternity Time and Space

The Human Territory (with Map) Matters of the Earth Anyuak Country Anyuak Settlement A World of Animals An Anyuak Year (Map)

III

The Human Being Purity Sexuality Consciousness The Essence of a Human Being The Human Body Character and Temper Patterns of Behaviour

Kinship Clanship Lineage The Family Marriage and the Relationship with In-laws IV

A Personal Life Childhood Adolescence Adulthood Old Age Death

The Anyuak Village – Centre of Civilisation Physical and Social Structures The Village The Construction of Houses, Shelters etc. Social Structures

The Sphere of Justice

The Political Body: Power and Authority Historical Background Kinship The Individual Existence of Headmen and Kings The Emblems Conferring Political Authority The Investiture with Political Authority and Power Organization of the Political Body Language and Behaviour Protection of Life at Court Wealth Rewards Public Life, Functions and Duties of a Ruler Agèm, the Anyuak Fight for Political Power and Change in Leadership Power and Authority Critique and Prospects

VII

Spheres of Action Economics Material Values Trading Work Handicrafts Agriculture The Preparation of Food Elements, Materials and Beings. A Summary of Their Usage and Significance

Art VIII Anyuak Histories Ancient History Early History Slavery Tribal History Fighting Foreign Powers Modern Times Epilogue: A Personal Review of the Past Thirty Years in South Sudan Bibliography Anyuak Bibliography General Bibliography on the Sudan, the Nilotes and Cognated Subjects Bibliography on African Languages Other Publications on South Sudan by Conradin Perner