DINKA: Legendary Cattle Keepers of Sudan
The famous and disappearing cattle keepers of Sudan are featured in a new book, Dinka. In our new coffee table series, we feature Angela Fish and Carol Beckwith’s photographs.
Angela Fisher & Carol Beckwith,1996-2001 AccuSoft Co., All rights reserved
Every morning hundreds of animals are taken out to graze. White is the Dinkas' favorite color for cattle, but they recognize a myriad of other colors with subtle distinctions and spend hours discussing them.
Angela Fisher & Carol Beckwith
The size and beauty of a man's corset reflects whether he comes from a family rich in cattle and can afford a high bride price.
Angela Fisher & Carol Beckwith
Dinka men use their arms to emulate the shape of the horns of their beloved namesake oxen. Each herder has trained the horns of oxen since calfhood, encouraging them to grow into elegant shapes.
Angela Fisher & Carol Beckwith
Three girls adjust their beaded bodices before a courtship dance. They know in their hearts they will marry the dancer with the most cattle who can afford the high bride price asked by their family. During six weeks of travel in 2006, we found only four Dinka girls still wearing beaded bodices. Others, influenced by Christian missionaries and the aftermath of civil war, had either discarded their bodices or sold them to traders.
Angela Fisher & Carol Beckwith
A Dinka child finds his animals totally absorbing, and spends hours studying their appearance, their behavior, and above all, their color patterns.
Angela Fisher & Carol Beckwith
Scampering among the cattle, a child reaches up to groom them and caress their horns, fearless of their length, weight, and sharp points.
Angela Fisher & Carol Beckwith
As they return home, the Dinka drive their herds, across small rivers and tributaries of the Nile. Carefully, they balance their limited material possessions on their heads.
Angela Fisher & Carol Beckwith
Courtship begins for Dinka men at 20, and for girls at 17. A man however may not marry until he is 30 years old, as he must raise the sufficient number of cattle to pay the bride price.
Angela Fisher & Carol Beckwith
As we watched the last moments of the setting sun framed by the majestic curves of lyre-shaped horns, we were reminded of the extraordinary docility of Dinka cattle - a natural result of the constant physical proximity of humans and animals.
Angela Fisher & Carol Beckwith
Dinka men often walk hand-in-hand. This physical touching celebrates their close bonds as age-mates. Their traditional corsets are color coded to show their status in life: a red corset indicates a young man 15 to 25 years old, while a yellow one shows he is over 30 years old and ready for marriage.
Angela Fisher & Carol Beckwith
A young woman abandons herself to the pleasure of dancing. She wears the highly valued blue beads, given to her as a present by her husband at their marriage.
Angela Fisher & Carol Beckwith
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