but religion and race are not mutually exclusive factors. very often they are both factors at the same time.
Darfur Independence
- Thread starter Scipio Africanus
- Start date
but religion and race are not mutually exclusive factors. very often they are both factors at the same time.
The Dinka may have interacted closely with the historical Sudanese kingdoms before they migrated to South Sudan, but you said that’s 600 years ago(15th century).
South Sudan was isolated and had minimal contact with the north due to tough geographical barriers like the Sudd marshlands which prohibited Roman expansion into the region as well. It stopped the spread of Islam into the South and allowed you to retain your social and cultural heritage until the modern age.
Nilotic
VIP
No, our interactions with other Sudanese groups did not come to an end by the 15th Century and nor were they minimal; we (Dinka & Shilluk) were still in contact with the Funj in the 1800s in addition to Arab and the Nuba Taqali all throughout that period, until the British arrived.
The Dinka, Nuer and Shilluk were also martial cultures and successfully resisted slave raids; we kicked out the forces of the so called Mahdi from the South.
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The alchemist
VIP
Take any "hard barriers" claims with a grain of salt and more. The ancient Mediterraneans were completely unfamiliar with the geography altogether. Greco-Roman diplomats needed Beja guides to trek along between Egypt and Nubia. The locals knew how to go from north to south, but the Romans could not. This does not mean there were barriers. The European regional topographic incompetence and callowness are not universal and will not become the standard for extrapolating. You're ascribing qualities given to people that came to the region without prior knowledge or experience to people that lived there for thousands of years.
You will find Niloties that live in the swamp marshes, similar to how southern Iraqis live in theirs, quite adapted to that environmental variation. They rely on a diverse economy of keeping goats, farming, and, of course, fishing. The Sudd marshland is along a thin strip vertically, not diagonally. Like how people traverse everywhere else in South Sudan, the herders could avoid the center marshes.
People living in the open tropical wetlands:
The barriers were more about religious, social, cultural, traditional incongruence, and economic incentives tied with political identity, not to mention the territorialism of various groups, rather than the inability of people to move. Any Nilote could go up and down if he wanted to. Their land was south and southeast because that was their nation, and they probably didn't want to go north for various reasons.
People don't usually move unless they have to on a large scale or are assured of opportunities. So in all other respects, people stick to what they know rather than taking risks that might present new problems in new lands. If the pressure is not strong enough, and/or the pastures are not assuredly greener on the other side, people will not go.
Nilotic
VIP
The Sudd being a barrier is an advantage for Nilotes, but a disadvantage for outsiders wanting to expand into the region.
I based my opinion on this research article that discusses the Sudd marshlands:
South Sudan was completely isolated from the North in terms of culture, religion, trade, movement of people, etc until the 19-20th century. Just like how the Sahara desert was a geographical barrier, the Sudd marshlands was even more of one.
It’s basically impossible to conquer the region without the exceeding logistical powers made available through the industrial revolution.
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Nilotic
VIP
South Sudan was not completely isolated from the North by the Sudd, because this is the location and extent of the Sudd
The Sudd is mostly confined within Unity State and Jonglei; the Dinka and Shilluk of Upper Nile State were in constant contact with the Funj and the Nuba of Taqali; the Dinka of Bahr El Ghazal have been in contact with the Baggara since at least the 16th Century
