Clear all

Through the pioneering efforts of the famed British anthropologist E. E. Evans-Pritchard, the Nuer of southern Sudan have become one of anthropology’s most celebrated case studies. Now Sharon Hutchinson combines fresh ethnographic evidence and contemporary theoretical perspectives to show not only what has happened to the Nuer since their 1930s encounters with Evans-Pritchard, but, more importantly, what is to be gained from a thoroughly historicized treatment of ethnographic materials. Hutchinson’s work provides a vision for…

This article traces the emergence of different definitions of “wealth” among Nuer and analyses their centrality. Link to publication

This article (1991) argues that the al-Bashir government in Khartoum is characterised by political hegemony, economic disarray, cultural bias, and explicit racism, and that it has been carrying out a policy of genocide against the Nilotic-speaking peoples of the Southern Sudan, known to the external world as the Shilluk, Dinka, Nuer, and Atuot. link to publication

This article reviews the Sudanese political developments in the 1980s, thereby observing a shift from reluctant acceptance of those with different beliefs or ethnic background, to a political culture of intolerance. Link to publication

This report explores food need and production capability in rural areas of South Sudan in 1990.      

By comparing the 1929-36 period with preceding and succeeding periods of great environmental stress, this article (1989) discerns a pattern of developing interdependence between contiguous Nuer and Dinka groups, as each sought the resources of the other in reconstructing their economic lives. Link to publication

Written by the son of the late Paramount Chief of the Ngok Dinka, this ethnography provides a rich, well-balanced view of Dinka life in the Sudan. Always in direct contact with a hostile environment, deprivations, and troubles, the Dinka now form part of modern Sudan but remain among the least touched by modernization. Their pride and ethnocentrism are important factors in their conservatism and resistance to change. A rare view of these “Lords of Men”…

Nuer–Dinka relations are usually described as being based on constant mutual hostility. This article (1982) examines Nuer–Dinka relations along the Sobat and Zaraf valleys since the beginning of Nuer eastward expansion in the nineteenth century and reveals a different pattern. Conflict during the immediate Nuer conquest of Dinka territory was followed by assimilation of individual Dinka into the Nuer social and political system. Link to publication

This article (1981) is concerned with the reinterpretation of Nuer ethnicity and challenges static ethnic designations. Link to publication

First published in 1940, this study has become one of the classic works in social anthropology. The Nuer of the Southern Sudan are predominantly a pastoral people and the first part of the book describes their life as herdsmen, fishermen and gardeners. Their economic life is related to the absence of chieftainship and their democratic sentiment. The second part of the book describes this political system which lacks government and is without legal institutions. Download

Curious to broaden your search to Sudan?
Try our sister facility CSF