Pagan Tribes of the Nilotic Sudan

First published in 1932, Pagan Tribes of the Nilotic Sudan is a general conspectus of the people, traditions, culture, and ways of thought in southern Sudan. The authors give their view of the remote racial origins of the people with whom their studies are concerned and then of the great sub-racial units whom they class as ’dolichocephals’ and ’mesaticephals’ respectively. The former comprise, first, the Nilotes - Shilluk, Nuer and Dinka, who live and move and have their being in an atmosphere of cattle, and who, it is thought, had their cradleland somewhere east of the Great Lakes - and, second, the Nilo-Hamites, such as the true Bari, various Lotuko-speaking tribes, etc. The mesaticephals consist of the Fung-Nuba peoples on the one hand and, on the other, the South-Western group of whom Azande are the best known. Exceptional interest is attached to the research conducted among the Bari. The social organization of this tribe is complex and curious, particularly their beliefs regarding rain-stones, rainmakers and clouds. The language used is a reflection of its era and no offence is meant by the Publishers to any reader by this republication. This book will be of interest to students of history, anthropology, ethnography, and ethnic studies.

C. G. Seligman and Brenda Z. Seligman