Dinka

“ The territory of the Dinka includes nearly the whole low ground, extending right away to the Gazelle. It is a vast plain of dark alluvial clay, of which the uniformity is not broken by a single hill or mass of rock, any tracts of forest being of very limited extent. As they approach the districts of the Bongo and the Dyoor, the Dinka steppes lose much of that park-like aspect which they here present. ”

“ Dinkas.The Dinka tribe thence occupy both banks of the river Sobat to about 32° 16′ east, villages of first Shilluks and then Dinkas being very numerous from the Sobat mouth up to this point, which is near the village of Lajak. They are shy and suspicious, but amenable to kindness and trade.
The Dinkas of the Sobat have been worsted in the frequent forays of the more powerful Nuers into their district. ”

“ DINKA CHARACTER.
Before we leave the Dinka we must not omit to recall their virtues, in order that we may fairly estimate the charge that has been laid against them of cruelty in war. It is affirmed that they are pitiless and unrelenting in fight, that they are never known to give quarter, and revel in wild [Pg 169] dances around the bodies of their slaughtered foes: a whole village will take their share in the orgies which one of the community will start, whenever, either by lance or club, he has prostrated an antagonist. ”

“ By their continual cattle-stealing, the Nubians have caused all the Dinka tribes to consider foreign interlopers as their bitter enemies; the intercourse, therefore, with the settlements in the Bongo and Dyoor countries, which are separated from the river by the Dinka district, can only be maintained at the expense of keeping an adequate number of armed men to protect the porters. Agriculture, although it is carried on to a certain extent, is quite a secondary consideration. The Dinka often possess large quantities of sheep and goats, but principally they are breeders of cattle. ”

“ Some points in this explanation of the custom of putting divine kings to death, particularly the method of transmitting their divine souls to their successors, will be dealt with more fully in the sequel. Meantime we pass to other examples of the general practice.
The Dinka are a congeries of independent tribes in the valley of the White Nile. They are essentially a pastoral people, passionately devoted to the care of their numerous herds of oxen, though they also keep sheep and goats, and the women cultivate small quantities of millet and sesame. ”

“ Of a reddish black colour, fairer than the Dinka, they are well proportioned, with the hair short. Tattooing is not common, but when found is similar to that of the Dinka; they pierce the ears and nose, and in addition to the ornaments found among the Dinka (q.v.) wear a series of iron rings on the forearm covering it from wrist to elbow. They are mainly agricultural, but hunt and fish to a considerable extent; they are also skilful smiths, smelting their own iron, of which they supply quantities to the Dinka. They are a prosperous tribe and in consequence spinsters are unknown among them. ”

“ The Dinkas are very inexpert smiths, and so generally have their lances made by the Jurs and Aliab of the west bank in exchange for sheep or goats.
In addition to their bows and spears they usually carry an ebony club.
Ornaments.Iron bracelets (Lung Kok) are made locally. These are about the only things a Dinka smith can make. A Dinka receives his bracelets on coming of age and is then not allowed to part with them.
Ivory bracelets (Gong) are only occasionally seen, as these people are not great hunters, though elephants are very numerous in their country. ”

“ Every one in Dinka-land carries a long-bladed spear, a pointed fish-spear, and a club made of a heavy purple wood, while the important gentlemen wear enormous ivory bracelets round their upper arm; strict nudity is the fashion, and a marabout feather in the hair is the essence of chic. ”

“ At that time these Dyoor seem to have been brought by the Dinka to a similar state of vassalage as that in which they themselves now stand to the Nubians. The Bongo, although their land produces iron, were far too hostile to their neighbours to furnish them with a supply of iron in the way of commerce. The Dinka themselves, being exclusively occupied with their cattle-breeding, have no taste and find little time for any arduous work of the smithy; hence it happens that although their iron ornaments are numerous, the workmanship of them all is of the most primitive character. ”

“ The observation of Barth, [14] that many heathen tribes consider clothing more necessary for men than for women is not applicable to the Dinka or any of the natives of the river plains. According to Dinka notions of propriety, it is becoming for none but women to wear any covering; any attire, even of the most moderate description, is considered unworthy of the men. The Nubians, who are always called Turks, do not certainly belong to the most carefully clothed of the human race, yet the Dinka always term them women, a designation which in this sense is quite common. ”

“ The men do not go about in a condition so naked as either the Dyoor, the Shillooks, or the Dinka, but they wear an apron of some sort of skin, and recently have adopted a strip of stuff, which they fasten to the girdle that is never missing, allowing the ends to hang over before and behind. All the sons of the red soil, as the Bongo, the Mittoo, the Niam-niam, and the Kredy, are called “women” by the Dinka, because amongst them the females only are protected by any covering of this description. ”

“ The Dinkas call the Nubians "women," because they wear clothing, although it is not much, and a true Dinka would allow himself to be frozen to death rather than put on a garment to keep his body comfortable. "But they do not consider it effeminate," continued the Doctor, "to seek the shelter of their huts when the cold wind blows, and in this way they get along without much suffering."
Abdul had been among the Dinkas, and said their herds of cattle would astonish the boys if they could see them. ”

“ The Pasha has much to say respecting the Dinkas. Proprietors of cattle among the Dinka tribe own from 300 to 1500 head. They rarely kill, their cattle being kept solely for their milk and blood. The latter they mix with sesamum oil, and then eat as a delicacy. At the death of a herd-owner his nearest kinsman invites his friends, and one or two beeves may be slaughtered for the funeral feast; otherwise one scarcely ever hears of a Dinka killing his cattle for meat. ”

“ Those which inhabit the Dinka huts are, as far as I could learn, not venomous; and, as evidence that they are harmless, I cite the scientific names of the three species: Psammophis punctatus, Ps. sibilans, and Ahaetuella irregularis.
The Dinka are far more particular than any other tribe in the choice of their animal food. There are many creeping things, which are not rejected by the Bongo and Niam-niam, which they loathe with the utmost disgust. Crocodiles, iguanas, frogs, crabs, and mice they never touch; but, connoisseurs of what is good, they use turtles for making soup. ”

“ In the Dinka or Denka nation, to the north-east of the Bongo, men who are supposed to be in close communication with spirits pass for omnipotent; it is believed that they make rain, conjure away all calamities, foresee the future, exorcise evil spirits, know all that goes on even at a distance, have the wild beasts in their service, and can call down every kind of disaster on their enemies. One of these men became the richest and most esteemed chief of the Ki tribe through his skill in ventriloquism. ”

“ The women usually drink milk flavoured with cow’s urine, but the men as a rule drink it unadulterated.
Religion.As is stated on p. 128, the Dinka believes in a Creator of the world and mankind known as Deng-Dit. It was only after man had learnt to sacrifice cattle and sheep to Deng-Dit that woman became fruitful and man was able to propagate his species.
The Dinkas have regular priests (Tieit) who are not, however, professional men, but live and work like the [146] ordinary individual. ”

“ Whilst the Dinka women, leaving perfect nudity as the prerogative of their husbands, are modestly clothed with skins—​whilst the Mittoo and Bongo women wear their girdle of foliage, and the Niam-niam women their apron of hides, the women of the Monbuttoo—​where the men are more scrupulously and fully clothed than any of the nations that I came across throughout my journey—​go almost entirely naked.
Whenever the women go out, they carry across their arm a strap which they lay across their laps on sitting down. ”

“ A head man is generally succeeded by his eldest son; and in this respect the Dinkas are generally loyal. In character they are savage, deceitful, and treacherous, but their domestic ties are strong. Tending flocks and herds is the occupation of the Dinka. They are very lazy, and cultivate only small crops; but they levy taxes of corn and produce on the neighbouring Jurs and Golos.
The Dinkas are poor sportsmen. They do some fishing, chiefly with spears in the pools of rivers during the dry season, but are bad trackers and hunters of big game. ”

“ As the girl walks about, this waistband gives forth a pleasant tinkling, of which the wearer is extremely proud. Such an ornament is extremely prized, and, as it is almost indestructible, it is handed down from mother to child, and so there is scarcely a Dinka maiden who does not possess one.
The pursuits of the Dinkas in time of peace are mostly limited to hunting and tending cattle. Agriculture is rather despised, and left to the women, and the consequence is, that the capabilities of the soil are never fairly developed. ”

“ In a general way the Dinka have no larger number of servants with them at their cattle-farms than is absolutely necessary, and, as I have mentioned, they leave their wives and children in outlying huts, so that these are very rarely exposed to the rapine of the invaders.
By the help of the negroes which they bring with them, the invaders soon make themselves masters of all the herds, and hurry back covered by the protection of the soldiers. To supply the requirements of a year it is necessary that they should secure by their raid at least 2000 head of oxen. ”

“ On the west bank of the Nile, north of the Sobat, is a branch of the great Dinka tribe. These people have fared even worse than the Shillooks at the hands of the slavers, and have almost abandoned the banks of the streams. They will probably return with the decline of slave-hunting, if indeed they are not already occupying again their old lands. These are docile and intelligent negroes, and are favorite slaves. The black regiments of the Soudan were mostly recruited from the Dinkas. Like the Shillooks, the Dinkas are pure heathen and great cattle-breeders. ”

“ The failure of the beard amongst the male cattle so treated is a topic that suggests some observations. In spite of the anxiety and care which the Dinka bestow upon their herds, there is no mistake about the degeneration of the race. The way in which I chiefly account for this is that there is not enough crossing of breeds—​in fact, that there is almost a total exclusion of any strange stock. I should say that hardly one in a hundred of the beasts is capable of either bearing a burden or going a journey, a purpose, however, to which none of the negroes of the Upper Nile ever seem to put them. ”

“ Sailing on towards the south and south-east, we approximated to the limit of our voyage. A great cracking up in the air revealed to us that the sailyard had once more broken, so that it was only by main force, by pushing and pulling, that we managed to reach a large Dinka village, which lay on the west, almost at the extremity of the stream. Here was the cul-de-sac, to which the Dinka have given the name of the Kyt. We had quite recently passed the mouth of the Dyoor, which appears to separate into several streams ”

“ Indeed, very marked is the contrast in the character of the scenery which appears on entering those districts; for to the very borders of the Dinka reaches that enormous table-land of ferruginous soil which, unbroken except by gentle undulations or by isolated mounds of gneiss, gradually ascends to the Equator. This plain appears to cover the greater part of the centre of the continent, even if it does not extend as far as Benguela and the shores of the Niger. ”

“ Only those that die naturally or by an accident are used as food. All this, which exists among most of the pastoral tribes of Africa, may perchance appear to be a lingering remnant of an exploded cattle-worship; but I may draw attention to the fact that the Dinka are by no means disinclined to partake of any feast of their flesh, provided that the slaughtered animal was not their own property. It is thus more the delight of actual possession, than any superstitious estimate, that makes the cow to them an object of reverence. ”

“ In culinary matters the Dinka are certainly superior to the Nubians, and I should have little hesitation in pronouncing them even more expert than either the Arabs or the Egyptians. Their farinaceous and milk foods are in no way inferior to the most refined products of an European cuisine. The reaping, threshing, and sifting of the sorghum and penicillaria grain (the durra and dokhn of the Arabs) are brought to perfection by their female slaves, who subsequently granulate the meal like sago. ”

“ Every idea and thought of the Dinka is how to acquire and maintain cattle: a kind of reverence would seem to be paid to them; even their offal is considered of high importance; the dung, which is burnt to ashes for sleeping in and for smearing their persons, and the urine, which is used for washing and as a substitute for salt, are their daily requisites. It must be owned that it is hard to reconcile this latter usage with our ideas of cleanliness. A cow is never slaughtered, but when sick it is segregated from the rest, and carefully tended in the large huts built for the purpose. ”