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 Luo are several ethnically and linguistically related Nilotic ethnic groups that inhabit an area ranging from Egypt and Sudan to South Sudan and Ethiopia, through Northern Uganda and eastern Congo (DRC), into western Kenya, and the Mara Region of Tanzania. Their Luo languages belong to the western branch of the Nilotic language family.
Western Bahr el Ghazal is a state in South Sudan. It has an area of 93,900 km2 (36,255 sq mi) and is the least populous state in South Sudan, according to the controversial Sudanese census conducted in 2008. It is part of the Bahr el Ghazal region. Its capital is Wau. The state shared international borders with Sudan to the north and the Central African Republic to the west. The portion now occupied by Raga County is the southern part of the historical region known as "Dar Fertit".
The Dinka people are a Nilotic ethnic group native to South Sudan. The Dinka mostly live along the Nile, from Mangalla-Bor to Renk, in the region of Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile, and the Abyei Area of the Ngok Dinka in South Sudan.
The Shilluk are a major Luo Nilotic ethnic group that resides in the northeastern Upper Nile state of South Sudan on both banks of the Nile River in Malakal. Before the Second Sudanese Civil War, the Shilluk also lived in settlements on the northern bank of the Sobat River, close to where the Sobat joins the Nile.
The Murle are a Surmic ethnic group inhabiting the Pibor County and Boma area in Greater Pibor Administrative Area, South Sudan, as well as parts of southwestern Ethiopia. They have also been referred as Beir by the Dinka and as Jebe by the Luo and Nuer, among others. The Murle speak the Murle language, which is part of the Surmic language family. The language cluster includes some adjoining groups in Sudan, as well as some non-contiguous Surmic populations in southwestern Ethiopia.
Aweil is a city located in South Sudan. It is the capital of Northern Bahr el Ghazal state and the administrative centre of Aweil Center County. It is also a service centre for the surrounding villages. Refugees, war displaced returnees, nomadic cattle keepers and local families moving seasonally with their animals to source water give Aweil a mobile population.
The Atwot (Reel) are a Nilotic ethnic group of South Sudan who live near Yirol in Lakes State. They comprise a majority of the population in the payam of Yirol West.
The Shilluk Kingdom, dominated by the Shilluk people, was located along the left bank of the White Nile in what is now South Sudan and southern Sudan. Its capital and royal residence were in the town of Fashoda. According to Shilluk folk history and neighboring accounts, the kingdom was founded by Nyikang, who probably lived in the second half of the 15th century. A Nilotic people, the Shilluk managed to establish a centralized kingdom that reached its apogee in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, during the decline of the northern Funj Sultanate. In the 19th century, the Shilluk were affected by military assaults from the Ottoman Empire, resulting in the destruction of the kingdom in the early 1860s. The Shilluk king is currently not an independent political leader, but a traditional chieftain within the governments of South Sudan and Sudan. The current Shilluk king is Reth Kwongo Dak Padiet who ascended to the throne in 1993.
The culture of South Sudan encompasses the religions, languages, ethnic groups, foods, and other traditions of peoples of the modern state of South Sudan, as well as of the inhabitants of the historical regions of southern Sudan.
South Sudan is home to around 60 indigenous ethnic groups and 80 linguistic partitions among a 2021 population of around 11 million. Historically, most ethnic groups were lacking in formal Western political institutions, with land held by the community and elders acting as problem solvers and adjudicators. Today, most ethnic groups still embrace a cattle culture in which livestock is the main measure of wealth and used for bride wealth.
The history of South Sudan comprises the history of the territory of present-day South Sudan and the peoples inhabiting the region.
Awut Deng Achuil is a South Sudanese politician who serves as the minister of general education and instruction in the Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU). She is the first female Minister of Education for South Sudan and was previously Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation from August 2019 until March 2020.
Ethnic violence in South Sudan has a long history among South Sudan's varied ethnic groups. South Sudan has 64 tribes with the largest being the Dinka, who constitute about 35% of the population and predominate in government. The second largest are the Nuers. Conflict is often aggravated among nomadic groups over the issue of cattle and grazing land and is part of the wider Sudanese nomadic conflicts.
Pochalla is a county in the Greater Pibor Administrative Area, South Sudan. The capital of the state, where the governor and state parliament is located, is in Bor town, which is situated on the Nile River at the western end of the state. Pochalla is to the extreme east of the state, located on the border with Ethiopia. Much of the County is sandwiched between two rivers, the Akobo, which forms the national boundary to the east, and the Oboth to the west. The dominant people group are the Anyuak who border the Murle to the west and the Nuer to the North, both of whom are cattle keeping tribes, who have a culture of raiding to increase their cattle numbers. To the east in Ethiopia, the Anuak have had tensions with the government, so communications are weak.
The Luo are a Nilotic ethnic group that live in Western Bhar Gazal, South Sudan. They are part of a larger group of ethno-linguistically related Luo people of East Africa. They speak the Luo language
South Sudanese Americans are an ethnic group of Americans of South Sudanese ancestry, or South Sudanese people who have American citizenship. South Sudanese Americans can include American descendants to South Sudanese ancestors or South Sudanese immigrants who obtained an American citizenship.
The South Sudanese Civil War was a multi-sided civil war in South Sudan between forces of the government and opposition forces. In December 2013, President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar and 10 others of attempting a coup d'état. Machar denied trying to start a coup and fled to lead the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO). Fighting broke out between the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and SPLM-IO, igniting the civil war. Ugandan troops were deployed to fight alongside the South Sudanese government. The United Nations has peacekeepers in the country as part of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
Wau State was a state in South Sudan that existed between 2 October 2015 and 22 February 2020. It was located in the Bahr el Ghazal region, and was part of the former state of Western Bahr el Ghazal. Wau State bordered Aweil State, Gbudwe State, Gogrial State, Lol State, and Tonj State.
Nuerland is the indigenous homeland and traditional territory of the Nuer people, situated largely within South Sudan between the latitudes of 7° and 10° north and longitudes of 29° and 32° east. The region encompasses parts of the Upper Nile State, Jonglei State, Unity State, and surrounding areas, characterized by a mix of swamps, savannahs, and higher ground.
