A trip to South Sudan: tribes and the Nile, the Sudd wetlands
South Sudan remains, even today, one of the last places in Africa where the tribal calendar takes precedence over the Western one. Here, ethnic boundaries matter more than political ones, and livestock remains the measure of almost everything: prestige, beauty, marriage, and even conflict. It is the continent’s youngest country — it came into being in 2011 — and yet one of those that preserves the oldest ways of life.
This trip is an immersion into the tribal world of South Sudan. We will meet the Dinka, the country’s largest ethnic group and devoted to their cattle; the Mundari, who dye their cattle camps with ash at sunset; the Lotuko, farmers of the Equatoria highlands ruled by a ‘rainmaker’; and the Boya, Taposa and Jiye, pastoralist peoples of the east, related to the Turkana of Kenya, amidst scarification, beads and a strong warrior tradition. We’ll share campsites with several of these groups and, with a bit of luck, witness a dance or a mock-combat ritual.
The other major highlight of the route is the Sudd and the great White Nile, one of the largest wetlands on the planet: a labyrinth of channels, vegetation and islands formed by the White Nile when it bursts its banks. For three days we’ll travel through this area by motorboat, camping on islands where some tribes have lived for generations, amongst crocodiles, hippos and a wealth of birdlife that is hard to match.
It is an adventure in its purest form: with no tourist infrastructure, wild camping on 90 per cent of the nights, and long journeys along dirt tracks. You don’t ‘tour’ South Sudan; you cross it. And anyone who does so will never look at Africa in the same way again.
Highlights
- Three days’ boat trip through the Sudd wetlands, in the heart of the White Nile.
- Spending time and camping with the Dinka, Mundari, Lotuko, Boya, Taposa and Jiye tribes.
- Wildlife in its natural habitat: crocodiles, hippos and birds of the Sudd.
- A pioneering itinerary through regions virtually untouched by international tourism.
Day by day
A suggested route that may be altered on the ground — or even reversed — depending on the seasonal movements of certain tribes, or the security situation at the time.
| 1. | Arrival to Juba. |
| 2. | Drive to Bor Town and first boat trip to the Sudd wetlands |
| 3. | Sailing to Shambe, with stops at inhabited islands |
| 4. | I return by water and road to a Dinka village near the Sudd |
| 5. | Visit to Dinka cattle camps |
| 6. | Return to Juba and travel to a Mundari camp at dusk |
| 7. | Transfer to the Ellieu villages, in Lotuko territory |
| 8. | Visit to the Boya settlements in the Kimatong hills and Camp 15 |
| 9. | Stop at the Kapoeta market and an overnight stay in a Taposa village |
| 10. | The Jiye villages, where we’ll spend a night with the locals |
| 11. | Return to Kapoeta and transfer to the town of Torit |
| 12. | Return to Juba and a tour of the city |
| 13. | End of the trib in Juba. |
Sailing down the Nile, the Sudd, the Great Barrier
The Sudd (from the Arabic word for ‘barrier’) in South Sudan is Africa’s largest wetland. It is called a ‘barrier’ because of the thick layer of vegetation covering the area. This vegetation makes navigation difficult and can absorb or dissipate more than half of the water it receives from the equatorial lakes via the White Nile.
Measuring 320 km wide by 400 km long, it is a vast natural labyrinth of marshy lowlands, lagoons and meandering waterways flanked by endless, monotonous walls of reed beds and papyrus.
We will spend almost three days sailing around the Sudd, a wetland system in the heart of the White Nile that is home to a unique natural and cultural heritage.
We’ll also be making several stops on islands where there are tribal communities that make their living from fishing, and we’ll get to learn about these people’s way of life. We’ll also be camping on these islands and will experience what it’s like to live on the water in such precarious conditions.
Tribes of South Sudan
From the fourth day of the trip onwards, our itinerary focusing on the tribes of South Sudan begins. These will be intense days during which we will get to know and spend time with various pastoralist tribes.
Many are of Nilotic origin; livestock is at the heart of their lives, prestige and wealth, although some also farm the land, and their customs will surprise us.
Perhaps the most famous are the Mundari, whose photographs – showing them amongst the cows at sunset and sunrise, washing their hair with cattle urine, amongst other practices – have been seen around the world more than once. They are undoubtedly unforgettable travel ‘postcards’.
But Mundari are not the only ethnic group in South Sudan. We will also meet the Dinka, Lotuko, Boya, Taposa and Jiye on this journey, which aims to provide a broad picture of the country’s ethnic diversity.
Photo gallery
