Dinka, a Wonderful Nilotic Ethnic Group from Sudan

This is an update regarding the Dinka. The Dinka are a Nilotic ethnic group from South Sudan. They live from the tenth century on both sides of the Nile River and speak a language belonging to the Nilo-Saharan group. They are about three million and are divided into about 21 groups, each with its own legitimate leader.
Although farming has always been its main economic resource, there has never missed an important agricultural and fishing activity that allowed them to be self-sufficient in food. Their trade and light industry are increasingly gaining importance.
Photographers Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher have an experience of over 30 years recording ceremonies, rituals and daily life of African tribal peoples. His photographs reflect a long and deep relationship of respect for the customs and people of these tribes, especially those of the Dinka:






























Traditionally Dinka not wear many clothes, so it is normal for a grown man to go completely naked except for collars around the neck. Women usually wear only a goatskin from the waist. Increasingly, young women are likely to adapt the dress forms from neighboring towns, and men, the long robes worn in the north. They care a lot, especially men, about body ornamentation. They usually remove some teeth by a purely cosmetic issue. Men who are pastoralists, use cow dung ash to ward off mosquitoes. It is easy to see men, especially among young people, with dyed red hair, for what they use cow urine, while women shave their head and eyebrows, leaving only a tuft of hair above her head.