Cultivation.“Along the Gelo, beyond a small patch of cultivation on the river bank near the village of Patok, no other signs of civilization are evident, except in a few diminutive cleared spaces in the woods; no food is obtainable from these natives. That they must subsist on grain to a large extent appears to stand to reason, so it is possible their fields, like their villages, are concealed in the midst of woods, with which the country abounds. Like the Nuers and Anuaks of the Baro these natives possess small dug-out canoes for crossing the Gelo, and employ them also in their fishing operations.
“To the west of Perbong two other villages, Ametha and Otwol, are reported to exist in Anuak territory hereabouts, and these two probably depend on wells for their water supply, as they must be quite 3 to 4 miles distant from the river, and no signs of tracks leading from or to the Gelo are visible. Goats and sheep are only seen in very small numbers.
Swampy nature of country.“In normal years it is doubtful if this tract of country can be traversed much later than the middle of April with transport animals,[95] as once the rains set in the whole country is rapidly converted into bog, through which laden animals, especially donkeys, are quite unable to travel. During the dry seasons of the year large herds of elephants roam over these grassy plains and find both food and shade in the forest growth on the north bank of the Gelo. It is to these regions the Abyssinians descend in large numbers yearly from the western edge of the plateau, on ivory hunting expeditions, and traces of recent Abyssinian encampments were on several occasions met with. Before the rains break, however, these parties return to their homes, and we were warned at Gore by Fitorari Hili that we would find the country impracticable for animals once the rains set in, and this we certainly found to be the case.”
River Mokwai.The River Mokwai or Bela appears to flow westwards to the Pibor from the Gurafarda range of hills (Abyssinia) traversing en route the marshy region between the Baro and Gelo; from the latter river it probably receives a considerable overflow. Its mouth is supposed to be about 8 miles south of the Pibor-Sobat junction, but owing to swamp it has not been accurately determined. It is said to be an important river in flood time.
Khor Filus.The Khor Filus enters the Sobat on the left bank about 10 miles from its junction with the White Nile, the following description of this khor, the adjoining country and its inhabitants, is taken from a report by Captain H. H. Wilson, Inspector, Upper Nile Province:—
“. . . Starting on April 15, 1902, the expedition marched from the village of Gokjak (some 20 miles from the mouth of the Sobat), and met the Khor Filus at Shol Ajik, some 8 miles inland, thus saving an unnecessary long march along the khor from its mouth, which is 10 miles from the Sobat mouth. The country here is flat and uninteresting, nothing but a vast grass plain, with hardly a tree to be seen. At Shol Ajik trees were met with, the banks of the khor being thinly wooded with a small growth of red ‘talh,’ with a sprinkling of the unwelcome ‘kittr’ thorn bush. The khor at this point is some 50 to 80 yards in width, mostly, however, filled up with weeds, the real water channel being clearly marked (though practically dry) by a deep narrow bed, some 15 feet lower than the adjacent banks. On to the village of M’Yolga the same country extends—grass, with a few trees; in one place there were traces of elephants which had been there in the rainy season. Other game seen was the bastard tiang hartebeeste, which was really all the game seen in any quantity in the country. M’Yolga is a long scattered village on the right bank of the khor, and marks the limit of the Dinka tribe inland. From here onwards for many miles is uninhabited country, from Bia to Nerol being thickly wooded, in places densely, but only occasionally with any undergrowth that makes travelling difficult. Tiang hartebeeste were seen in considerable numbers along the whole route, and also quantities of waterfowl, pelicans, duck, geese, teal, and many and various kinds of crane and heron. In the vicinity of Fanyanglwel, 46 miles south of Sobat, the first signs of Nuer habitation were met with in the shape of their cattle ‘feriks,’ which are the summer residences (i.e., dry season, from January to May), built close to water, and constructed lightly of grass only. No regular huts or tukls were met with until reaching Riul, 7 miles further south, where the banks became low and flat, and trees only at some distance on either side. The khor is here in the rains evidently broad and shallow, and, owing to mud, probably an impassable obstacle under such conditions.
“A noticeable feature in the Nuer tukls is the superiority of their construction compared with the tukls of the Dinkas, Anuaks, and other tribes of the Sobat, their cattle tukls being in many cases marvels of constructive art, given only boughs of trees, grass, and native tools for their building. The regular solidly-built villages are placed at varying distances from the khor, probably dependent on high ground and on the nature of the soil, if suitable for the dura crops or otherwise, which are always grown in the vicinity of the rainy season tukls. Another noticeable feature, differing from the Shilluk and Dinka customs, was that the villages are not compactly built. The Shilluks and Dinkas generally build their tukls in close proximity, each village being a thick cluster of huts, the dura being sown anywhere close by. In the Nuer case, the tukls are built in twos and threes, at great intervals, probably each family being separate; the land around each homestead being sown and tilled by the dwellers therein. In the case of many Nuer villages, owing to the village being built in the woods, and the groups of tukls at intervals of 200 to 600 yards, it was impossible to estimate the size of the village without covering many square miles of country. Around the various large pools of water near Meinom, Fading, and Shit, were thick fringes of ‘Ambach’; these pools, being the chief source of supply for men and cattle in the dry season, it is only natural to have found the water so churned up and fouled by the cattle as to be nearly undrinkable. In places near these pools, where the adjacent soil was sandy, wells had been dug to obtain a cleaner supply of water. From Shit the khor continues in a southerly direction, being broad and shallow, and it is said, runs on to Bor. The expedition left the khor at Shit, and, relying on native assurances that water would be found in wells, pushed inland to the east, and marched through the main Nuer villages, which were in places very thickly dotted about, and well built. The country from Shit to the limit of the march was well wooded, chiefly with the heglig tree. The ground rose slightly, and as one got inland it became sandy and covered with fine grass, standing 2 to 4 feet high. The country also, here, struck one as being presumably fairly healthy in the rainy season, there being a complete absence of any rank vegetation. The dura crops in April were just appearing, the young shoots being about 6 inches high, and a very considerable extent of ground around each village was under cultivation.
“At Amwot-el-Sogheir, another fairly large khor was crossed; it was, however, quite dry, and the expedition camped on the further side, alongside some wells, which it was learned were the only ones to be found in this part of the district. These wells were worth noticing: dug on the sandy banks of the khor, their depth varied from 20 to 30 feet, with a diameter of about 2 feet 6 inches. Owing to the solidity of the ground, the walls of the well stood without need of revetting, and great labour must have been expended in their construction. Steps were cut in the wells on opposite sides, to enable a man to descend and ascend. In one of the wells a calf was seen, standing in the water at the bottom, having evidently fallen in. It was rescued by one of the Dinka guides, who descended the well without difficulty, and brought up the animal unhurt.
Denkur.“From the camp an expedition was made on the 22nd to the Nuer villages in this vicinity, which were stated to be the headquarters of the chief sheikh of the Nuers of the whole country under notice, by name of Denkur. Marching through a fairly thick forest of ‘Abu Homera’ trees for an hour, and afterwards over an open grass plain for another hour-and-a-half, brought us up to the village, Keik. Standing in the centre of the village, and seen for about 3 miles off, was a conical mound of earth, well and solidly constructed by Denkur’s people as a token that Denkur was a very big man in that part of the world. It was stated that the bones of innumerable oxen were buried in the body of the mound; the cattle being slaughtered for the occasion. This act was to give greater value to the cone in the eyes of the surrounding tribes, as cattle are the most valued possessions of the tribes of the White Nile, and are practically all they live for; in fact, what religion they possess is centred in the cow. The height of this conical mound was about 50 to 60 feet, many large elephant tusks being firmly planted round the base and on the summit. The largest tusk measured 7 feet 10 inches, but of poor quality, as long exposure to rain and sun had ruined the ivory.
“Having thus traversed as much of this country as was possible on account of water, the party returned to the Sobat by the same route, and arrived on the river bank on May 2. Owing to the extreme shyness of the Nuers, it was difficult to collect much information of their customs. Dress, hair, &c.Like all tribes of the Sobat, they are stark naked, and owing to their living in their own country, unmolested and out of all possibility of being in touch with civilization, it is only natural that they are sunk in barbarism and retain to the full all the inherited customs of their savage ancestors. Their hair is left to grow to a length of about 10 inches, and is stained red with the ammonia contained in the dung and water of their cattle. Their bodies (of the men) are covered with the white ash of burnt cow-dung, like the Dinka tribe. This results from the men always sleeping in separate tukls, the floor of which is several inches deep with this white ash, resulting from the perpetually burning or smouldering fire of cow-dung inside the tukl; the men actually make their bed in the ashes. The women do not thus cover themselves, but sleep on mats made of dressed cow-hide, and keep their own skins oiled and clean. The young unmarried girls, like the men, wear no covering, but the married women wear a loin cloth of whatever material is available, a leopard, gazelle, or sheep skin. Weapons.The arms of the men consist entirely of spears (throwing) and shields, with the universal knob-kerry; bows and arrows are possessed by a very few—rifles they have none. It was reported that one of the big sheikhs possessed himself of a few at one time, but broke them up and made bracelets for his ladies. As I have mentioned above, the main wealth of the Nuers lies in their cattle and flocks of sheep. As the importance or otherwise of a man is gauged entirely by the number of his cattle, it follows that the quickest way to become powerful is for an individual or a village to appropriate the cattle of another individual or a village, or better still, of another tribe, and thus little raids of this kind are not infrequent.