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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The dang revealed: unpacked from its protective case (a 'sniper rifle' bag bought from an army surplus store in Oxford), along with an offering of 'Drum' pipe tobacco, Juba, 16 May 2009. |
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The stage at the Juba Cultural Centre for the public display of the dang, 11 July 2009 (the rain was considered a blessing on the proceedings). |
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Nuer and Acholi cultural groups welcoming the dang, Juba, 11 July 2009 |
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Nuer and Zande cultural groups welcoming the dang, Juba, 11 July 2009. |
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The SPLA band, Juba, 11 July 2009 |
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'Miss Joy' singing 'Ngundeng Highway' (the dang, still in its protective black bag, is on the table in the background), Juba, 11 July 2009. |
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'Miss South Sudan': Nok Wal Duany, Juba, 11 July 2009 (She and my daughter used to play together when we lived in Juba in 1982-3. 'You wouldn't know that she was a girl who grew up in Indiana', someone later commented). |
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The first ox to be sacrificed, Juba, 11 July 2009 (three oxen, two white and one black, were sacrificed to welcome the return of the dang). |
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Peter Gatdet speaking before spearing the second ox, Juba, 11 July 2009. |
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Sponsorship. Advertising the local brew at the ceremony displaying the dang, Juba, July 11 2009. |