The Dinka of the Sudan by Francis Mading Deng

by Francis Mading Deng

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" is provided by a writer who is both an insider and a professional researcher and interpreter.

Genres: Africa, Anthropology

Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Dr. Francis Mading Deng, J.S.D. (Yale University; LL.M., Yale; B.L., Khartoum University), is a politician and diplomat from South Sudan who served as the newly independent country's first ambassador to the United Nations. From 1992 until 2004 he served as the United Nations' first Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons.

He has authored and edited 40 books in the fields of law, conflict resolution, internal displacement, human rights, anthropology, folklore, history and politics and has also written two novels on the theme of the crisis of national identity in the Sudan .

Reviews

[David McDannald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Word for word, I learn more reading anthropology than just about anything else (except, perhaps, for Plato). This book comes from the Case Studies of Cultural Anthropology series. It is excellent, as the anthropologist was also the son of a powerful Dinka chief. Whereas some anthropology is dry because it's written by folks on the outside looking in, Mading Deng takes you inside Dinka culture for a view into tribal life that has the combined richness of a novel, history, and folklore. Though the book will feel a bit long, Deng's anecdotes about battle, marriage, and childbirth will reward your effort. The book is a view into a world that was recently lost with the conflict in Sudan.

[Ellah Marz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is wonderful n I enjoy reading it

[Tito Smile]

I am so glad to read about the Dinka people.
I am a philosophy student at Catholic University of Eastern Africa,Nairobi-Kenya and the project which am really inspired is about the Dinka Society of South Sudan. I started now my project about the Dinka concept on philosophy and oral tradition.
Thanks
Tito Tong John

[Fish]

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