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South Sudan's Dinka people in pictures | World news

South Sudan's Dinka people – in pictures

During South Sudan’s dry season between December and May, members of the Dinka tribe move from the highlands to the lowlands close to the river Nile, where they set up extensive cattle camps, ensuring their animals are close to grazing land. Photographer Stefanie Glinski visited a camp in Mingkaman, in Lakes state

Stefanie Glinski/AFP/Getty Images

Main image: A Sudanese boy from the Dinka tribe Photograph: Stefanie Glinski/AFP/Getty Images

Tue 13 Mar 2018 05.14 EDT Last modified on Tue 13 Mar 2018 15.41 EDT

  • A boy warms up by a fire at a cattle camp. The Dinka rely on cattle not purely for economic reasons, but also cultural expression

  • A boy from drinks milk from a cow’s udder. The Dinka are the largest ethnic tribe in South Sudan, and are noted for their traditional forms of agriculture and pastoralism

  • Cattle keepers Achiek Butich (left) and Makal Maker pose with their weapons, used to protect their herds in a nation where conflict has broken out in recent years

  • Men drag away a dead cow, poisoned by a scorpion bite. The Dinkas’ pastoral lifestyle is also reflected in their religious beliefs and practices: cattle feature prominently in their rituals

  • A boy uses white ash from burned cow dung as a mosquito repellent. During the dry season, herds are kept near river plain areas – but are moved to higher ground to avoid floods in the rainy season

  • Den, 14, does not attend school but works as a cattle keeper, cook, cleaner and aid to her brother. The Dinka comprise of many independent but interlinked clans

  • Nhial Pandiar, 12, milks a cow in Mingkaman. The dry season typically runs between December and May, during which time the Dinka move closer to the water source of the Nile

  • A boy tends a cow in the early morning. The Dinka set up big cattle camps near the Nile to make sure their animals are close to grazing pastures

  • A man blows on an instrument made from a cow’s horn. Dinka traditionally have derived religious power from nature and the world around them, rather than from a specific religious text

  • Cattle herders gather for church prayers. The sacrificing of oxen has traditionally been a central component of Dinka religious practice

  • Boys hold drums during church prayers. Young men in the past have been inducted into adulthood through traditional initiation ceremonies

  • Boys use cow urine to wash their hair. Upon reaching adulthood, the boys have traditionally acquired a second ‘cow-colour’ name – another sign of the importance of the cow to their cultural expression

  • A boy sits among cows at the camp. Various sub groups of Dinka are spread throughout South Sudan, with the largest numbering about a million people

  • Boys pose for a photo in the early morning. The Dinka move at the onset of the rainy season to settlements of mud and thatch housing above flood level, where they plant crops of millet and other grains

  • A man poses with a rifle in the early morning light at their cattle camp. Once the rain season arrives, herders will move the cattle away from the rivers to the highlands where harvesting of crops such as sorghum will begin
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