Super User 15 July 2023

Best Travel Guide To Dinka Cattle Camps In South Sudan

Dinka cattle camps with over 500 cows offer a fascinating insight into the most populous and arguably most politically influential of South Sudan's tribes. In the Dinka cattle camps of South Sudan, boys and men, women and girls, and cattle live side by side. The Dinka are primarily transhumant pastoralists, moving their herds of cattle to riverine pastures during the dry season (December to April) and back to permanent settlements in savanna forests during the rains, when their food crops, principally millet, are grown.

Trekking long distances from their permanent places to the pristine environment near the calm Nile River to prove their besotted loyalty to their cattle. The Dinka cattle camps are established away from home after trailing through exciting landscapes that involve the Dinka feet getting covered with dust side by side with over 500 cows in a herd, a fascinating saga that would make one feel the need to be lost in the same direction with the Dinkas.

The pride and joy of Dinkas lie beneath the health of their glorious curvaceous horned better half – cattle. As the golden sunrays brim out to brighten the world, Dinka men and boys stand in eagerness and unmatched readiness to embark on a hike to take their animals on grazing until the same golden rays of light fall at dawn only to release the darkness of the night.

While the day is for feeding, nights are family times because the Dinkas alongside their animals have the night to them and always keep the blazing frames of fire with the smoke to keep mosquitoes and other insects away from all the family members.

By the end of the four months that the Dinkas venture into grazing their prestigious cattle herds away from home, the bonding and connectedness give them more reasons to live alongside their animals and is not rated to anything else to them.

Song and dance play an important role in Dinka culture. A set of drums is found in every Dinka settlement. Artistic expression is associated with cattle, which they often imitate in songs and dances. There are also battle songs, songs of initiation, and songs celebrating the tribe's ancestors.

Despite the devastation of the war, Dinka cattle camps are still vital to their lives and the Dinka spirit has managed to survive. The Dinka tribe is the largest single southern Nilotic group. They are cattle herders living in northern Bahr al Ghazal and areas south and west of the White Nile, and Dinka is the language of the Dinka people. During South Sudan's dry season between December and May, members of the Dinka tribe move from the highlands to the lowlands close to the Nile River with fresh new grazing grounds.

The Dinkas have all been part of life’s rich pageant after the civil unrest that occurred in South Sudan, but their cultural virtues still prevail and form a big part of their way of living. The bygone age has seen one of the tallest individuals in the world. Just as it’s said that the things we own end up owning us, the cattle that Dinkas own are a lifeline of this unique tribe.

Arrange with Ultimate Wild Safaris for a memorable tour of the fascinating Dinka cattle camps in South Sudan.

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