Demography and Geography Shilluk country is flat lying plains that surround the River Nile. It has a moderate rainfall regime and its vegetation is made up of thick tall grass and few trees and shrubs. The Shilluk number about 500,000 and live on the west bank of River Nile between Lake No in the south and Kosti in the north. Some Shilluk settlements are found on the east bank of the Nile and extend as far as Anakdier in the east. Shilluk people The capital of the Shilluk kingdom is Pachodo. Other important Shilluk historical sites are in Papwojo, Nyilwal, Didigo, Wau and Akurwa. The major towns are Malakal (Makal), Kodhok (Kal Doro), Tonga (Tungu) and Wad Akon. The Shilluk kingdom is divided into north (gar) and south (lwak). Shilluk (Collo) woman, South Sudan Language Shilluk people speak Shilluk language (or dhok-Chollo). Shilluk belongs to the Luo branch of the Western Nilotic subgroup of Nilo Saharan language family. • Relatively well-studied (e.g. Westermann 1970, Gilley 1992, Miller & Gilley 2001), but nonetheless tone and length are not yet well understood. Shilluk (Chollo) man • Tone and length in Shilluk can only be understood in the context of Shilluk morphology. And vice versa. • Here are the main results of our investigations into the phonetics, phonology, and morphophonology of tone and length in Shilluk. Read further here:shilluk.pdf Shilluk people Mythology and History The Shilluk are a part of the Luo nation. Tradition has it that sometime in the 15th century, Nyikango, the founder of the Chollo nation, quarrelled with and separated from Dimo and the other Luo groups in wic pac, somewhere in Bahr el Ghazal. The leader and founder of the Collo nation was Nyikang the son of Okwa, Okwa was the son of Mol, Mol was the son of Kolo, Kolo was the son of Omaro, and Omaro was the son of Odhiang (Nyadhiang Aduk). One source (Angelo Othow) takes the genealogy further. He contends that Odhiang was the son of Diwad, Diwad was the son of Oyel, Oyel was the son of Cacre, Cacre was the son of Lwor. Nyikang’s mother was Nyikayonya Kiir (literally, the daughter of the river). Nyikang and the small group of relatives and followers that went with him to the present Collo land were from the Lwoo family. This name could easily pass as the pronunciation of Lwor. For Collo, the last letter (R) is not pronounced in a number of names such as Oyor (pronounced, Oyo).The land of Nyikang’s nativity and the cradle of the Lwoo community (wij pac) is believed to be in the Bahr el Ghazal region around the area of Rumbek town. It is referred to by the Collo as Kar and also as the land of Diwaad. The Lwoo family witnessed the most extensive migrations. Nyikang and his group moved northwards around the first half of the sixteenth century. Other Lwoo groups moved southwards following the course of the Nile to Uganda (such as the Alur and Lango tribes) and yet the rest proceeded up to Lake Nyanza (the present Lwoo tribe in Kenya). Those who remained behind are: the present Lwoo tribe (erroneously termed Jur-Col, an identification given them by the Jieng to distinguish them from the light-coloured tribes in the area), the Chat, the Thuroand the Balanda-Bwor, all in Bahr el Ghazal region. Members of the last group are the descendants of Bwor wa Okwa. President of South Sudan, Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit is from Shilluk (Collo) tribe As they migrated, the Lwoo absorbed or influenced other groups they came into contact with (for example, the Jopadholo in Uganda). In the case of Nyikang, he totally absorbed the people he found in the present Collo land forming a new tribe (Collo) speaking a Lwoo language (dho Collo). Of course, the language is affected by the environment and surrounding tribes, hence the present variations in the languages of the Lwoo tribes. Shilluk people. Circa 1967 The Collo are politically the most highly organized of the Nilotes with the rädh as the local and temporal leader. The rädh is believed to be possessed by the spirit of Nyikang and is his incarnation. Most of the present Collo country (north of the present Panyidwai) was formerly belonging to the Apuny (the Funj tribe of Southern Blue Nile). The Apuny put up stiff resistance before they were dislodged from their traditional homeland by Nyikang and his group. Shilluk youth, South Sudan The Routes follwed by Nyankang Nyikang left his homeland because of a quarrel between him and his half-brother, Diwaad. The list of his followers included his sons Bwor, Cal, Anongo and Dak; his brother Ojwok; his half-brothers Gilo and Milo (also called, Ujul) and associates such as Obogo. As he travelled, he stopped for some time in the land of Thuro, home of the mother of his son Dak, Akec. It is believed that Dak, who had proclivity for mischief, caused a dispute with his maternal relatives at Thuro forcing Nyikang and his group to start off again on their wanderings. According to Collo oral tradition, Nyikang and his group moved along Kiir Palugo (Bahr el Ghazal river). When they reached the crossing point, they found it blocked by the sudd. Obogo took the sickle of Nyikang and got into the blocked river cutting the grass with it as he waded through. The river was deep. In the process of cutting the grass the sickle injured his body just below the armpit and blood was seen flowing on the surface. But he managed to make an opening through which the whole group crossed north of Bahr el Ghazal river. This episode is reported by some writers that Obogo was sacrificed for the sudd to open. In fact, Obogo arrived with the group of Nyikang to the present Collo land. Another related mix-up is that the present shrine of Obogo in Wuobo village is reported to belong to this Obogo, the associate of Nyikang. In fact, the shrine belongs to Obogo the son of Nyikang. Shilluk men,Circa 1967 The group camped in a place known as Pa-Nyikang in the extreme end of Papwojo area which traces are still evident today. They met nobody there. From there the group moved slowly and tactically until they arrived to Kiir (Bahr el Jebel river). Here, still in Papwojo area, Dak was to discover that somebody used to go fishing in the river and then return inland afterwards. They laid an ambush on him one day, got hold of him and he led them to the village where they were evidently welcome. There is a famous shrine (kengo) of Nyikang in Papwojo today. Afterwards, the party continued its movement northwards to Nyilwal and then Dedigo. Here the group must have decided ton stay and it appears they had grown in number to hundreds if not thousands. Up to this point, no battles of any significance with the original inhabitants of the land are mentioned. Native girl of the Shilluk tribe wearing decorative beaded head gearin the Sudd Region of the Upper Nile, Sudan. Location: Sudan Date taken: September 1947. Photographer: Eliot Elisofon Bwor Wa Nyankang Returns It appears that some problems developed within Nyikang’s family which saw his son Bwor return to Bahr el Ghazal. There he settled in Morro in the Aweil area. It is also reported that Gilo left the group here and crossed the White Nile moving eastwards along the Sobat river. His descendants – the Anywaks- were living in villages along the Sobat (such as Adong, Gelachiel, Ulang, etc.) up to Ethiopia before they were displaced by the later waves of Nuer and Dinka migrations in the nineteenth century. The Lwoo tribes of Pari (Lokoro) and the Acoli are offshoots of the Anywak tribe. Imperial Airways Handley Page H.P.42 in Malakal, Sudan with members of the Shilluk people in front of the aircraft - circa 1936 Dak also moved from Dedigo and built himself a homestead at the present Palo-Parädh some several hundred metres from Dedigo. Dak’s decision was taken with the approval of Ojwok while Nyikang was briefly out on an errand. When he received the news on coming back that evening, he blamed Ojwok, his brother, for what he did but did not reverse his decision. This action by Ojwok, the Collo maintain, is what denied him and his descendants the right to become rädh. Shilluk people,Sudan. Circa 1947 The Battle with Apuny From Panyidwai, Nyikang and his group moved northwards in battle formations. They faced stiff resistance from the Apuny in Wau and Padiit. According to the most credible story tellers, the group had divided into two columns: the column under Nyikang moved along th river while the other, under Dak, moved parallel to it to the west. Nyikang’s party had successfully fought its way up to Wau. At Wau itself, the Apuny fought fiercely but they were overcome. By this time Dak and his force had reached Padiit. While Dak was in Padiit, the Apuny had reorganized and mounted a counterattack on Nyikang at Wau succeeding to dislodge him from there. Dak moved his force to reinforce his father and they finally defeated the Apuny who ran in disarray northwards. Dak was following them in hot pursuit. This explains why there is no shrine for Dak in Wau. He did not stay there.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 23:42:43 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015