Nuer Inter-Communal Conflict and Its Impacts in South Sudan

Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Vol-3, Issue-2, 2017 ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in The Dinka- Nuer Inter-Communal Conflict and Its Impacts in South Sudan. Wurok Chan Malith Ph.D. Research Scholar, Department Of Sociology, Kariavattom, Campus, University of Kerala. Abstract: Ethnic conflicts become immensely, a and steadfastly, weighed, to be achingly, sparked contentious and controversial conundrum in Africa by an ignominious political rivalry or sturdy vying and in the World, after the end of the Cold War for power and leadership in the country. era. However, the conflict conspicuously encapsulates as an explicit confrontation or Keyword: Ethnicity, Conflict, Natural resources, struggle between groups or individuals over Politics, economic, power, tribal identity, resources and power. Hence the conflict evinces, animosity. attests enormously, a natural process in any community and especially a process of change. 1. Introduction Consequently, the ethnic conflicts are politically floundered and engulfed over economic or political To thoroughly, discuss and belabor the Dinka-Nuer power or over resources such as land and conflict, it necessarily warrants and certainly invaluable minerals. Additionally, internecine precipitates a need to assiduously adumbrate and ethnic conflicts are politically demoed and vouchsafe implicit ideas and the background of the presaged as a slant unequal distribution of Dinka - Nuer lifestyles, their social life, and their resources, the struggle over leadership, inequity, environment. The social structure of Dinka- Nuer, and a vast economic chasm between people, the the traditions, the socio-political system. Moreover, dearth of good governance, management, weak and and the Dinka -Nuer life conflict is normally, unstable regimes and institutions, identity politics characterized by their traditional way of life in their and historical woes and cataclysms. territories which are seasonally wrought and occasioned by tradition competition over natural The article endeavors to enunciate briefly, and resources and its scarcity which are very vital for painstakingly gloss the Dinka - Nuer traditional their living conditions and their basic needs. conflict. The prima facie root causes of the traditional conflict which subsume, grazing and The animosities in the Dinka-Nuer inter-communal fishing, family matters, cattle rustling. Moreover, relations were traditionally marked, by vigorous the traditional conflict has been punchy, competition over natural resources. Moreover, the transformed by power seeking elites to a two group en masse shared the transhuman mode of humongous ethnic conflict. Unfortunately, taking production. They are Agro-pastoralists but prefer the dimension of plethora mobilization by power- animal husbandry to crop production. However, seeking politicians who tremendously, articulate seasonal movements and cattle raiding are integral and staunchly, use ethnicity and tribal affiliation as aspects of this mode of production. Moreover, the significant and husky means to vehemently seize Dinka-Nuer traditional relations are being power. Moreover, unscrupulous and demagogic scurrilous, transformed and politically, constructed elites who are hungry for power, politically, by unscrupulous elites and politicians from inter- exacerbated and exaggerated the traditional communal conflicts over pastures, water, cattle, etc. relations between the two groups into the corrosive into struggle over leadership and power. The ethnic conflict in the leeway of the country`s dramatically shift in the nature of the conflict, that independent. broached in the leeway of the struggle for leadership in Sudan, up to the independence in Furthermore, the paper endeavors to punctiliously, 2011. Which unabatedly continued as manifested in examine and meticulously unpack the issue of the the Juba Attempted Coup of 15th December 2013 Dinka-Nuer conflict in the youngest African (Malith, 2016). country, which officially achieved the independent after the protracted and excruciating painful civil The Dinka-Nuer conflicts wreaked havoc and war, from Sudan in July 2011. Eventually, the gargantuan subversion and irreversible destruction country, dexterously, enmeshed and immersed in and drastically affected the population in South the internecine conflict which generally, construed Sudan. The two groups demographically are the Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Page 492 Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Vol-3, Issue-2, 2017 ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in largests in the country and they politically seized smeared in Settlement and divided by many rivers, power in the country. The two ethnic groups are the Dinka are about 25 mutually independent tribal indistinguishable, culturally and physically due to groups, they are united by their physical the nature of their ecology and the physical characteristics, their ethnocentric pride and their environment and traditionally, religiously, and striking cultural uniformity (Malith, 2016). linguistically, they actually, reflect an akin culture which is tantamount in other Nilotic groups in The majority, of Dinka tribes, are found in Upper South Sudan. However, the traditional conflict Nile and Bahr el-Ghazal and the Ngok Dinka in between the two groups was a resource -based Abiey area, the contested area between South conflict foisted on them by a shortage of natural Sudan and Sudan. The Dinka consist of a congress resources (Malith, 2016). of independent tribes permeates starkly over a vast area. In lieu, there are regional variations, all The current conflict is a political issue of the available information, structure, and beliefs. current situation and socially defined and Additionally, information was drawn from unfortunately, invented in a situation of struggle Hetherington on the Reak Dinka of the Bahr el over power. Tribal affiliations are as means for Ghazal, Bedri on the Padang Dinka of the northern achieving power and material ends. Moreover, the areas, Seligman on the Malual Dinka. Relatively, current violence is indirect to the historical Achilles members of the Dinka homestead consist of the heels between the Dinka-Nuer which means the enlarged family or extended family with the huts Dinka-Nuer conflict emerged in the leeway of built together in a circle. The group owns a number perilous competition between politicians of the two of cattle, each member having rights in the family groups and, betided or transpired in the situation of herd. However, the modest estimate of the Dinka in political confrontation as a defensive mechanism proximate is 40% of the total population of South (Malith, 2016). Sudan. Dinka subsistence economy is based on cattle, goats and sheep husbandry and limited 2.Methodology farming (Malith, 2016). The article was prepared on the basis of primary Nuer people and secondary sources and it is a qualitative study and argumentive in natture depending on primary The Nuer people are found in Greater Upper Nile and secondary sources and it is a qualitative in the region which includes the States of Upper Nile, way it was conducted. Also, it was based on Jonglei, and Unity. Nuer people are the second peripheral literature and in-depth interviews with largest group in South Sudan and they are about key persons in the field and direct observation. one million. The Nuer are divided into two; Western and Eastern. They comprise eleven Secondary sources: include materials from territorial divisions. The Western Nuer live in libraries, books, newspapers, documents, internet Unity State, while the Eastern Nuer live in Jonglei web site scattered administrative reports, United and the Upper Nile States. Nuer distinguish Nation records, as well as other appropriate themselves from others by the name of people organization reports on the conflict and the land (“new ti naadh”) with a unique language (“Thok”) issues. and culture (“Cieng”). Hutchinson made the following remarks about the two groups (K.Badal, 3. The Dinka people and Nuer people. 2006 ).The Nuer land is crisscrossed by various rivers in an area where drainage is poor, rainwater Dinka people and floods from River Nile state stay on the land for a period of the year. The importance of water The Dinka area neighbors that of the Nuer, and is on soil fertility is significant and agricultural similar in character. The land is flat and with the activities are limited by flooding. In the toich permanent swamp, and filled with vegetation and “ ” sudd lture is purview and they smeared with small islands, these have provided and “ ” soil agricu subsidize their livelihood by hunting of refuge in times of invasion and raiding. However, hippopotamuses, fishing and cattle breeding (Dhal, in the west of the Dinka, the ground is higher and et al., 2005). broaches to merge into the countryside of the ironstone plateau, changing from swamp savannah Additionally, the Nuer people are also Nilotic to thorn and forest Savannah. The vegetation and similar to the Dinka people, the Nuer live in hydrological conditions are plainly different from Savannah near the Nile and its attributes. They are those further east. The ecological cycle of the cattle keepers and their trans-human follows the Dinka is tantamount to that of the Nuer. The land seasons. They have socially bisected into a number of Dinka is utterly compartmentalized by the water of tribes the largest political groups in their society of the Nile and its tributaries large in numbers

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