Holy Cows & The Nuer

Figure 1: Nuer Village 

Today's blog post will focus on a discussion of the Nuer (aka Naath) culture (Figure 1), which continues to survive in southern Sudan (Figure 2) despite cultural conflicts and continued warfare in the region.  The Nuer are one of three major cultural groups to reside in northern Africa.  This blog post will address their subsistence strategies, their ideologies, kinship, and traditional conflict resolution practices.

The Nuer are pastoralists who supplement their subsistence with horticultural practices.  They depend greatly on the cows they herd, and cattle are so prized among the Nuer that much of their culture revolves around them.  The Nuer refer to other people with specific names based on how many cattle they may own: the term Bar refers to those with few cattle, whereas the term Jur refers to those with no cattle.  Among the Nuer themselves cattle ownership is linked to prestige, so the more cattle one owns and is able to take care of the more prestige is associated with that individual.  Cattle are also used to settle disputes, determine the relationships among neighbors, as well as are part of bride price negotiations and other religious rituals.  In addition, the Nuer place such importance on cattle that the names of Nuer people are derived from cattle terminology.  

Figure 2: Nuer Geography

The Nuer's ideology, however, is devoid of cattle.  It remains central to their understanding of the world.  The Nuer believe in a primary god referred to as Kwoth, who is considered the creator, father, judge, and guiding force.  Kwoth has been compared to Western Christian notions of God.  The Nuer believe their is a reciprocal relationship between themselves and Kwoth.  Despite believing in the spiritual nature of Kwoth the Nuer have no concept of an afterlife and fear death as a result because they do not know what happens to their souls after death.

The Nuer divide kinship along segmentary patrlineal clans (Figure 3).  This means that they trace descent down their father's line and acknowledge their father's and grandfathers' familial line.  There is importance placed on each generational line, from the maximal lineage (where many people share descent) to the minimal lineage (the most close family members as identified through the great-grandfather).  It is this last lineage that determines interactions among the Nuer in regards to who is considered family versus those who are not considered as such.

Figure 3: Segmentary Descent Patterns

The Nuer also have a unique means of dealing with conflict.  While conflict is not inherently accepted or encouraged among adults (although it is encouraged among children) it does take place.  There are a variety of reasons for why conflicts may arise (e.g. dispute over cattle, teasing gone too far, etc.), and once it has escalated to physical violence no other persons may intervene except the individuals who originally engaged in the conflict.  The fighting must continue until a severe injury is sustained by one or both parties.  In the event that the conflict results in the death of another Nuer the Leopard Skin Chief (Figure 4) is employed.  It is his job to cleanse the offender of his crimes, as well as negotiate a settlement with the deceased's family.  The Leopard Skin Chief's judgement is considered final, but it not reached until both parties are in complete agreement with the compensatory actions.

In conclusion, the Nuer are a unique people who despite continued armed conflicts in the region persevere.  One of the results of these conflicts is that the Nuer have spread far beyond Africa, settling in various countries around the globe.  In fact, there are Nuer people who live in various parts of the United States, so you may have the opportunity to part take in their culture.

References

Peters-Golden, H.  (2011).  Culture Sketches: Case Studies in Anthropology. 6th Edition.  Mc-Graw Hill Education.