Under the Theme: Re-Inventing Nuer Conservatism For The Future of The Nɛi ti Naath
Feb 24, 2020(Nyamilepedia) — On Saturday, April 11th, 2020, the Nuer Community will inaugurate her first Naath International Day in multiple locations around the world. So far the event has been confirmed to be held in Canada, Australia and East Africa. Full addresses and contact information shall be announced in the next Press Release.
Background
Located in South Sudan and Western Ethiopia, the Nuer people, who proudly identify themselves as the “Nɛi ti Naath”, meaning “the real/original people or the indigenous humans”, is a confederation of tribes that collectively form the Nuer tribe. Although divided by the colonial borders, which they do not recognize, the Nuer people believe that they live in what they called the “Ro̱o̱l Naath or Ciɛŋ” in Nuer language, meaning the Naath Republic. The Nuer form the second largest ethnic group in South Sudan and the dominant tribe of the Gambella region of Western Ethiopia.
The Nuer is a pastoralist community with extensive socio-politico-economics influence in present days South Sudan, Sudan and Ethiopia. In addition to their rich culture, the Nuer are well known in Eastern African for their bravery and indigenous religious practices.
The Nuer tribe, their language, cultural heritage, livelihood and mode of governance, which dates back to ancient Egypt (3100 BC to 2900 BC), Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (1899 and 1956) and the present days’ South Sudan(2011 to date) are well researched and documented by social anthropologists and historians.
Nuer History and Ethnographical Study
Among the most scholarly ethnographical study of the political and lineage systems of the Nuer people is the landmark work of the British anthropologist E. E. Evans-Pritchard (1902–73) who was a Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Oxford from 1946 to 1970. Dr. Evans-Pritchard set the history of the Nuer tribe straight through his work from as early as 1940 when he published one of his first books on the Nuer tribe, titled “The Nuer: A Description of the Modes of Livelihood and Political Institutions of a Nilotic People”; however, the fundamental values of the Nuer people have drastically tripped down the memory lane within the last fifty years as the Sudanese tribes, and most notably the Western Nilotic groups, transitioned from traditional warfare, conquers and pastoralism to modern political systems, western civilization and monetary systems.
The Future of the Nuer
Today, the Nuer tribe, her cultural heritage, political system, traditional system of governance, moral unrighteousness, religion, world views and language are facing existential threats. Above all, Rööl Naath is shrinking in large proportions due to visible and invisible factors.
Concerned by this existential phenomena, a group of South Sudanese Nuer intellectuals, leaders and elders across the globe are coming together to re-think on how to re-establish a shrine of “Rööl Naath Conservatism” with the view that for the Nuer nation to survive and continue to exist within the modern era and beyond, the Nuer leaders from different walks of life must re-establish a Nuer- indoctrinated political and social philosophy that promotes Nuer traditional social institutions in the context of culture and modern civilization. The doctrine shall promote the following values, among others:
- Peaceful Co-existence and Unity
- Justice and Accountability
- Development
- Education
- Good Governance
- Transformational Leadership
- Cultural Heritage
- Religion
- Language
- Health
- Family
- Economy
- Current trends e.g. Impact of Oil Operations and Path finding among the youth.
Conclusion
Each of the subheadings above shall be explored in depth in our upcoming literature reviews and events that are currently under development. These events will kick off from April 11th, 2020 and shall be commemorated every year in April – on a date that shall be officially inaugurated in the upcoming events as the Nuer Ka ŋuan International Day.
For more information on whether this event will be held in your nearest city this year and for address information, please wait for our next press release or contact your community leader in your area.
The statements, comments, or opinions published by Nyamilepedia are solely those of their respective authors, which do not necessarily represent the views held by the moderators of Nyamilepedia. The veracity of any claims made are the responsibility of the writer(s), and not the staff and the management of Nyamilepedia.
Nyamilepdeia reserves the right to moderate, publish or delete a post without warning or consultation with the author(s). To publish your article, contact our editorial team at nyamilepedia@gmail.com or nyamileeditors@gmail.com
