The Return of Ngundeng's Dang
A Photographic Record by Douglas H. Johnson
A dang is a ceremonial stick used by both Nuer and Dinka. The dang of the Nuer prophet Ngundeng was said to have been used by him to direct the power of Kuoth (Divinity). It was lost to the Nuer in 1929 when his son Guek was killed in battle with Sudan government troops, and the dang was taken back to England by Percy Coriat, then District Commissioner of the Lou Nuer. In 1977 I was shown the dang by Coriat's widow. In 1999 Coriat's daughter put the dang up for auction, along with other mementos of her father's time in Sudan, so I bought the dang, with the intention of eventually returning it to the Lou Nuer. In 2009 the dang was finally returned, first in a ceremony in Juba in May, and then in July when it was presented to the public at a larger ceremony involving the whole of the Government of South Sudan. These are some of my photos of both occasions. Coriat's photos are now in the Pitt Rivers Museum. My account of the first occasion in May is published in Sudan Studies Number 40 (July 2009), available to all members of SSSUK. You can learn more about Ngundeng, Guek (and Coriat) in my books, Nuer Prophets and Governing the Nuer (this is a desperate attempt to increase sales).
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Maale Nuer Heritage dance group, Juba, 16 May 2009. |
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Dancers from Aweil at the first ceremony welcoming the dang, Juba, 16 May 2009. |
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Effigy of the 'white man' returning the dang, brought by the Aweil dance group, Juba, 16 May 2009. |
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D.K. Matthews (veteran Nuer politician) speaking at the return of the dang, Juba, 16 May 2009. |
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Children, less than enthralled by the speeches, Juba, 16 May 2009. |
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Women singers, Juba, 16 May 2009. |
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Mary Boya, a Murle singer, singing 'Crazy for Referendum', Juba, 16 May 2009. |
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Women 'warriors' dancing, Juba, 11 May 2009. |
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Dinka tiet (diviner) from Jonglei state, singing to welcome the dang, Juba, 16 May 2009. |
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The dang revealed: Riek Machar, Vice-President of the Government of South Sudan, holds up the dang as D.K. Matthews and DHJ look on, Juba, 16 May 2009 (photo: J.G. Dak, Sudan Tribune). |