decorate themselves with blood from their cattle.
The blood could also be used as a tooth cleaner.
The cattle hide becomes mats in the homes of
the Dinka as well as drum skins, ropes, and belts.
The horns and bones of the cattle are used
for musical instruments as well as utensils. Few
people have invented as many uses of a single
material as the Dinka. In much the manner of
George Washington Carver, the great African
American scientist, who invented three hundred
products from the peanut, the Dinka have shown
that their ingenuity and genius at creativity equal
that of any people in the world. This entry looks
at their social structure and lifestyle and their reli-
gious practice related to marriage and initiation.
Social Structure and LifestyleThe Dinka divide their year according to the
seasons. There are two seasons that matter to
the Dinka: the dry season and the wet season. In
the wet season, the people live in their tradi-
tional houses, often scattered among palm trees
and fruit trees. They remain in these houses until
the dry season, when they can take their herds
out to the grasslands. It is impossible during the
wet season for the Dinka to take the herds to
camps near the river. They wait patiently for the
proper time, and when that time comes the
people move to the new area.
Only the infirm and the nursing mothers and
small children remain in the homestead. Of
course, when the rains return, the homesteads
are again happy that the Dinka people and their
cattle are united with the people who were left
behind. There are stories to be told, incidents to
report, exploits to be revealed, and narratives of
the growing of the cattle. Everything seems to
depend on the spirits of the cattle, the grass, the
rain, the pastures, and the rivers.
The Dinka do not have a hierarchical authority.
Although the Islamic government of Sudan has
attempted to influence them to change to a hierar-
chical structure, the people have rejected it.
Imposition of structured authority by selecting
high-status elders has not worked effectively among
the Dinka. Although major leaders of clans often
settle disputes, most of these courts are held in
informal ways. These meetings are not structured
in a manner that would imply established courts.
Each person is allowed to talk to the listeners, giv-
ing his opinion, reacting to the arguments of others,
and persuading the listeners that his position is
valid. Anyone can listen in to the dialogue or
monologue given to the special listeners. The elders
of the Dinkas are considered with high regard
because they are closer to the ancestors. They are
listened to with deference.Marriage and Family
Because families are very important to the Dinka,
each family has its cattle tethered nearby to the
homestead, which usually has a cooking area in
the center. Kinship among the Dinka also suggests
linkages, traditions, and respect. The Dinka honor
those who have contributed to the life of the
people. But blood lineage is also important because
it assists the people in determining initiation rites
as well as who should marry whom. One is not
permitted to marry from within the direct lineage.
The man who is going to marry must provide
cattle to the future wife’s family because this is
how wealth is accumulated and is an expression
of the man’s respect for the woman and her
family. In the Dinka society, family is important
because children are keys to the continuation of
the society even in the sense of the ancestral
world. If a person does not produce a child, then
there is no way to become an ancestor. One then
would wander in a state of total oblivion because
there would be no child to remember the person.
No one wants this type of nonexistence.
Therefore, the Dinka prevent this from happen-
ing by creating various ways to answer the coinci-
dents and incidents of life. For example, if a young
child dies before he or she can marry, then a rela-
tive takes a wife or husband in the name of the
dead child to ensure that they will have children.
The children born will be the dead child’s children
as well as those of the biological father and
mother. A man whose wife dies may also take her
sister and have children with her to ensure that
there will be those who will remember the parents.
All female infants are looked on with a special
joy for two reasons: They will become the source
of a family’s wealth, and they are the source of
children who will provide the basis for eternal life.
However, the young girl will not be able to con-
tinue the name of the family; the name of the202 Dinka