The Nilotic peoples are people indigenous to the Nile Valley who speak Nilotic languages. They inhabit South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, the northern border area of Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. Among these are the Burun-speaking peoples, Teso people also known as Iteso or people of Teso, Karo peoples, Luo peoples, Ateker peoples, Kalenjin peoples, Karamojong people also known as the Karamojong or Karimojong, Datooga, Dinka, Nuer, Atwot, Lotuko, and the Maa-speaking peoples.
The Kakwa people are a Nilotic ethnic group and part of the Karo people found in north-western Uganda, south-western South Sudan, and north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, particularly to the west of the White Nile river.
Equatoria is the southernmost region of South Sudan, along the upper reaches of the White Nile and the border between South Sudan and Uganda. Juba, the national capital and the largest city in South Sudan, is located in Equatoria. Originally a province of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, it also contained most of northern parts of present-day Uganda, including Lake Albert and West Nile. It was an idealistic effort to create a model state in the interior of Africa that never consisted of more than a handful of adventurers and soldiers in isolated outposts.
Central Equatoria is a state in South Sudan. With an area of 43,033 square kilometres (16,615 sq mi), it is the smallest of the original South Sudanese states. Its previous name was Bahr al-Jabal, named after a tributary of the White Nile that flows through the state. It was renamed Central Equatoria in the first Interim Legislative Assembly on 1 April 2005 under the government of Southern Sudan. Central Equatoria seceded from Sudan as part of the Republic of South Sudan on 9 July 2011. The state's capital, Juba, is also the national capital of South Sudan. On October 2, 2015, the state was split into three states: Jubek, Terekeka, and Yei River. The state of Central Equatoria was re-established by a peace agreement signed on 22 February 2020.
The Mundari are a small ethnic group of South Sudan. They are a part of the Karo people, one of the Karo ethnic Group
Pökoot is a language spoken in western Kenya and eastern Uganda by the Pokot people. Pökoot is classified to the northern branch of the Kalenjin languages found in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. The Pökoot are usually called "Kimukon" by the other Kalenjin peoples. A 1994 figure of SIL puts the total number of speakers at 264,000, while the only slightly more recent Schladt (1997:40) gives the more conservative estimate of 150,000 people, presumably based on the figures found in Rottland (1982:26) who puts the number at slightly more than 115,000.
The Maa languages are a group of closely related Eastern Nilotic languages spoken in parts of Kenya and Tanzania by more than a million speakers. They are subdivided into North and South Maa. The Maa languages are related to the Lotuko languages spoken in South Sudan.
Samburu is a Maa language dialect spoken by Samburu pastoralists in northern Kenya. The Samburu number about 128,000. The Samburu dialect is closely related to the Camus dialect and to the South Maasai dialects. The word "Samburu" itself may derive from the Maa word saamburr for a leather bag the Samburu use.
Ongamo, or Ngas, is an extinct Eastern Nilotic language of Tanzania. It is closely related to the Maa languages, but more distantly than they are to each other. Ongamo has 60% of lexical similarity with Maasai, Samburu, and Camus. Speakers have shifted to Chagga, a dominant regional Bantu language.
The Ilchamus, are a Maa-speaking people living south and southeast of Lake Baringo, Kenya. They numbered approximately 32,949 people in 2019 and are closely related to the Samburu living more to the north-east in the Rift Valley Province. They are one of the smallest ethnic groups in Kenya.
The Otuho people, also known as the Lotuko, are a Nilotic ethnic group whose traditional home is the Eastern Equatoria state of South Sudan. They speak the Otuho language.
Bari is the Nilotic language of the Karo people, spoken over large areas of Central Equatoria state in South Sudan, across the northwest corner of Uganda, and into the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Teso–Turkana languages are a group of closely related Eastern Nilotic languages spoken in southeastern South Sudan, northeastern Uganda, northwestern Kenya, and southwestern Ethiopia. In effect they form a dialect cluster consisting of c.2 million people. According to Gerrit Dimmendaal, most of these languages – Karimojong, Jie, Toposa, Turkana, and Nyangatom – are mutually intelligible, and for the most part differ only in regard to tone. Teso belongs to the same broad group but is not described as being as closely related to Turkana as the others.
The Kuku language, also called Kutuk na Kuku belongs to the Karo language group, of the Southeastern Nilotic branch of the Nilotic language family of Southern Sudan and Northern Uganda. There is no standardized writing system for Kuku; it is sometimes written using the alphabet of a related language such as Bari or Kakwa, with the addition of characters to represent sounds that are not present in the other language. For example, the Bari alphabet can be adjusted for use in Kuku by adding the digraphs gb and kp to represent the voiced and voiceless labiovelar stops, respectively.
The Nyangwara, also known as the Yangwara, are a Nilotic ethnic group living in the state of Central Equatoria, South Sudan. The population numbers between 25,000 and 30,000 people, and is divided between the Terekeka and Juba Districts. Their largest town is Rokon, which lies about 53 miles west of Juba.
The Lopit language is an Eastern Nilotic language spoken by around 117,000 people in Eastern Equatoria State, South Sudan. Lopit is part of the Lotuko-Teso subfamily and is related to Lotuko, Turkana and Maasai. Lopit is a VSO language and has a complex tonal system.
Toposa is a Nilo-Saharan language spoken in South Sudan by the Toposa people. Mutually intelligible language varieties include Jiye of South Sudan, Nyangatom of Ethiopia, Karimojong, Jie and Dodos of Uganda and Turkana of Kenya. Teso is lexically more distant.
The Karo is a group of Eastern Nilotic tribes that straddles the Nile in South Sudan and is predominately found in Central Equatoria, and as far South as Uganda and South-West as Democratic Republic of the Congo. Karo comprises Yangwara, Nyepo people [Nyepo],Bari, Pojulu, Kuku, Mundari and Kakwa. They have been erroneously called Bari-speakers by C. G. Seligman, a British ethnologist, whose first contact with Karo was likely with the Bari during British colonial rule in Sudan. Seligman categorised the six ethnic groups as "Bari Speakers" for research purposes as he did so for "Dinka Speakers, Nuer Speakers, Lou Speakers, Moru Speakers and the Azande Speakers". These other groups, however, have not adopted the categorization coined by G. Seligman for ethnic identification. It is only the "Bari Speakers" who are erroneously defined as speakers of Bari language.
Lokoya is an Eastern Nilotic language spoken by an estimated 85,000 people in South Sudan. It is also referred to by various other names, including Ellyria, Koyo, Loirya, Ohoromok, Lokoiya, Lokoja, Loquia, Lowoi, Oirya, Owoi, and Oxoriok.
Dongotono is an Eastern Nilotic language spoken by an estimated 5,000 people in South Sudan.
