Dinka
A people of South Sudan whose life, language and art centre on cattle.
Also: Jieng, Muonyjang
The Dinka, who call themselves Jieng or Muonyjang, are the largest ethnic group of South Sudan, living along the Nile and its swamps and grasslands. They keep long-horned sanga-type cattle, moving between permanent villages in the wet season and cattle camps by the rivers in the dry. Cattle are used for bride wealth, sacrifice, compensation and status, are rarely killed outside ceremonies, and give milk, dung for fuel and ash, and hides. Men and boys sleep near the herds in camp. Dinka songs, names and colour words grow out of the herd, and their way of life has been the subject of much anthropology.