Dinka Bull.
The sheep are of a peculiar breed, which is unique amongst the Dinka, Nueir, and Shillooks; farther on in the interior of the equatorial districts it is not known. Its chief characteristic consists of a shaggy appendage to the shoulders, breast, and neck, like a mane, whilst on the rest of the body, and on the meagre tail, the hair is quite short. This mantle of hair gives them an appearance like diminutive buffaloes, whilst their plump bodies and short legs increase the resemblance. Generally white, they are occasionally brown or spotted, and in some rare cases I have seen them of quite a reddish hue.[17] Like the pastoral people of Southern Africa, the Dinka have acquired the art of splitting the horns in their early growth, so as to increase their number at will.
Dinka Sheep.
The continual dampness of the pasture, especially throughout the rainy season, favours the development of revolting intestinal vermes, and the rain-pools in the dry months become most prolific as breeding-places for Cercariæ. I have frequently seen sheep suffering under disease, their ailment arising from their liver and gall-ducts being choked up by these worms. The distoma, which is a denizen of every zone and extends even to Greenland, is found here an inch long.
The race of goats bred by the Dinka does not differ materially from the Ethiopian form, which we have already noticed[18] among the Bedouins of Nubia; its only distinction is being somewhat larger; in appearance it is always meagre, and its prevailing colour is that of a young grey colt, occasionally inclining to a dark iron-grey.
