Dinka

"This seminal volume on the indigenous African Dinka group is a landmark documentation of a vanishing people in war-torn Sudan. World-renowned photographers Angela Fisher and Carol Beckwith have devoted their lives to documenting the rapidly disappearing ceremonies and cultures of the indigenous people of Africa. In breathtakingly poignant images, they present a story that started with their first visit to the Dinka thirty years ago. Living in harmony with their cattle, the Dinka have survived years of war only to find their culture on the brink of vanishing forever. Where the White Nile River reaches Dinka country, it spills over 11,000 square miles of flood plain to form the Sudd, the largest swamp in the world. In the dry season, it provides abundant pasture for cattle, and this is where the Dinka set up their camps. The men dust their bodies and faces with gray ash-protection against flies and lethal malarial mosquitoes, but also considered a mark of beauty. Covered with this ash and up to 7' 6"" tall, the Dinka were referred to as ""gentle"" or ""ghostly"" giants by the early explorers. The Dinka call themselves ""jieng"" and ""mony-jang,"" which means ""men of men."""