The
Dinka is an ethnic group inhabiting the
Bahr el GhazalThe Bahr el Ghazal is a region of western South Sudan. Its name comes from the river Bahr el Ghazal.- Geography :The region consists of the states of Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Western Bahr el Ghazal, Lakes, and Warrap. It borders Central African Republic to the west...
region of the
NileThe Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
basin,
JongleiJonglei is one of the 10 states of South Sudan. Jonglei is the largest state in the Republic of South Sudan, with approximately 122,479 km2, as well as the most populous according to the controversial 2008 census conducted during present-day South Sudan's second period of autonomy. Bor is the...
and parts of southern Kordufan and Upper Nile regions. They are mainly agro-pastoral people, relying on cattle herding at riverside camps in the dry season and growing
milletThe millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. They do not form a taxonomic group, but rather a functional or agronomic one. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult...
(Awuou) and other varieties of grains (rap) in fixed settlements during the rainy season. They number around 1.5 million people, constituting about 10% of the population of the entire country, and constitute the largest ethnic tribe in
South SudanSouth Sudan , officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country located in the Sahel region of northeastern Africa. It is also part of the North Africa UN sub-region. Its current capital is Juba, which is also its largest city; the capital city is planned to be moved to the more...
. Dinka, or as they refer to themselves,
Muonyjang (singular) and
jieng (plural), are one of the branches of the River Lake Nilotes (mainly sedentary agri-pastoral peoples of
East AfricaEast Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
who speak
NiloticNilotic people or Nilotes, in its contemporary usage, refers to some ethnic groups mainly in South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and northern Tanzania, who speak Nilotic languages, a large sub-group of the Nilo-Saharan languages...
languages, including the
NuerThe Nuer language is a Nilo-Saharan language of the Western Nilotic group. It is spoken by the Nuer people of South Sudan and in western Ethiopia. Nuer is one of eastern and central Africa's most widely spoken languages. The Nuer nation is one of the largest in South Sudan.Nuer language has a...
and
LuoThe Luo are an ethnic group in Kenya, eastern Uganda, and northern Tanzania. They are part of a larger group of ethnolinguistically related Luo peoples who inhabit an area including southern Sudan, northern and eastern Uganda, western Kenya, and northern Tanzania.The Luo are the third largest...
). Dinka are sometimes noted for their height. With the
TutsiThe Tutsi , or Abatutsi, are an ethnic group in Central Africa. Historically they were often referred to as the Watussi or Watusi. They are the second largest caste in Rwanda and Burundi, the other two being the Hutu and the Twa ....
of
RwandaRwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
, they are believed to be the tallest people in Africa. Roberts and Bainbridge reported average height of 182.6 centimetre in a sample of 52 Dinka Ageir and 181.3 centimetre in 227 Dinka Ruweng measured in 1953–1954. However, it seems that stature of today's Dinka males is lower, possibly as a consequence of undernutrition and war conflicts. An anthropometric survey of Dinka men-war refugees in Ethiopia published in 1995 found a mean height of 176.4 centimetre in the
Ethiopian Medical Journal.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Dinka' Start a new discussion about 'Dinka' Answer questions from other users |
The
Dinka is an ethnic group inhabiting the
Bahr el GhazalThe Bahr el Ghazal is a region of western South Sudan. Its name comes from the river Bahr el Ghazal.- Geography :The region consists of the states of Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Western Bahr el Ghazal, Lakes, and Warrap. It borders Central African Republic to the west...
region of the
NileThe Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
basin,
JongleiJonglei is one of the 10 states of South Sudan. Jonglei is the largest state in the Republic of South Sudan, with approximately 122,479 km2, as well as the most populous according to the controversial 2008 census conducted during present-day South Sudan's second period of autonomy. Bor is the...
and parts of southern Kordufan and Upper Nile regions. They are mainly agro-pastoral people, relying on cattle herding at riverside camps in the dry season and growing
milletThe millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. They do not form a taxonomic group, but rather a functional or agronomic one. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult...
(Awuou) and other varieties of grains (rap) in fixed settlements during the rainy season. They number around 1.5 million people, constituting about 10% of the population of the entire country, and constitute the largest ethnic tribe in
South SudanSouth Sudan , officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country located in the Sahel region of northeastern Africa. It is also part of the North Africa UN sub-region. Its current capital is Juba, which is also its largest city; the capital city is planned to be moved to the more...
. Dinka, or as they refer to themselves,
Muonyjang (singular) and
jieng (plural), are one of the branches of the River Lake Nilotes (mainly sedentary agri-pastoral peoples of
East AfricaEast Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
who speak
NiloticNilotic people or Nilotes, in its contemporary usage, refers to some ethnic groups mainly in South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and northern Tanzania, who speak Nilotic languages, a large sub-group of the Nilo-Saharan languages...
languages, including the
NuerThe Nuer language is a Nilo-Saharan language of the Western Nilotic group. It is spoken by the Nuer people of South Sudan and in western Ethiopia. Nuer is one of eastern and central Africa's most widely spoken languages. The Nuer nation is one of the largest in South Sudan.Nuer language has a...
and
LuoThe Luo are an ethnic group in Kenya, eastern Uganda, and northern Tanzania. They are part of a larger group of ethnolinguistically related Luo peoples who inhabit an area including southern Sudan, northern and eastern Uganda, western Kenya, and northern Tanzania.The Luo are the third largest...
). Dinka are sometimes noted for their height. With the
TutsiThe Tutsi , or Abatutsi, are an ethnic group in Central Africa. Historically they were often referred to as the Watussi or Watusi. They are the second largest caste in Rwanda and Burundi, the other two being the Hutu and the Twa ....
of
RwandaRwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
, they are believed to be the tallest people in Africa. Roberts and Bainbridge reported average height of 182.6 centimetre in a sample of 52 Dinka Ageir and 181.3 centimetre in 227 Dinka Ruweng measured in 1953–1954. However, it seems that stature of today's Dinka males is lower, possibly as a consequence of undernutrition and war conflicts. An anthropometric survey of Dinka men-war refugees in Ethiopia published in 1995 found a mean height of 176.4 centimetre in the
Ethiopian Medical Journal.
The Dinka have no centralised political authority, instead comprising many independent but interlinked clans. Certain of those clans traditionally provide ritual chiefs, known as the "masters of the fishing spear" or "beny bith", who provide leadership for the entire people and appear to be at least in part hereditary.
Their language called
DinkaThis article is about the language, for the ethnic group see Dinka.Dinka, or , is a Nilotic dialect cluster spoken by the Dinka people, the major ethnic group of South Sudan. There are five main varieties, Ngok, Rek, Agaar, Twic / Tuic East, and Bor, which are distinct enough to require separate...
as well as "
thuɔŋjäŋ (thuongjang)" is one of the
Nilotic languagesThe Nilotic languages are a group of Eastern Sudanic languages spoken across a wide area between southern Sudan and Tanzania by the Nilotic peoples, particularly associated with cattle-herding...
of the Eastern Sudanic language family. The name means "people" in the Dinka language. It is written using the Latin alphabet with a few additions.
Pastoral strategies
- Southern Sudan has been described as “a large basin gently sloping northward (Roth 2003),” through which flow the Bahr el Jebel River, the (White Nile
The White Nile is a river of Africa, one of the two main tributaries of the Nile from Egypt, the other being the Blue Nile. In the strict meaning, "White Nile" refers to the river formed at Lake No at the confluence of the Bahr al Jabal and Bahr el Ghazal rivers...
), the Bahr el Ghazal (Nam) River and its tributaries, and the Sobat, all merging into a vast barrier swampThe Sudd , also known as the Bahr al Jabal, As Sudd or Al Sudd, is a vast swamp in South Sudan, formed by the White Nile. The word “sudd” is derived from the Arabic word “sadd”, meaning “block.” The term has come to refer to any large solid floating vegetation island or mat...
.
- Vast Sudanese oil areas to the south and east are part of the flood plain, a basin in the southern Sudan into which the rivers of Congo
The Congo Basin is the sedimentary basin that is the drainage of the Congo River of west equatorial Africa. The basin begins in the highlands of the East African Rift system with input from the Chambeshi River, the Uele and Ubangi Rivers in the upper reaches and the Lualaba River draining wetlands...
, UgandaUganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, KenyaKenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, and EthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
drain off from an ironstoneIronstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical repacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron compound from which iron either can be or once was smelted commercially. This term is customarily restricted to hard coarsely...
plateau that belts the regions of Bahr El GhazalThe Bahr el Ghazal is a region of western South Sudan. Its name comes from the river Bahr el Ghazal.- Geography :The region consists of the states of Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Western Bahr el Ghazal, Lakes, and Warrap. It borders Central African Republic to the west...
and Upper Nile.
- The terrain can be divided into four land classes:
- Highlands
The term highland or upland is used to denote any mountainous region or elevated mountainous plateau. Generally speaking, the term upland tends to be used for ranges of hills, typically up to 500-600m, and highland for ranges of low mountains.The Scottish Highlands refers to the mountainous...
—higher than the surrounding plains by only a few centimeters; are the sites for “permanent settlements.” Vegetation consists of open thorn woodland and/or open mixed woodland with grasses.
- Intermediate Lands—lie slightly below the highlands, commonly subject to flooding from heavy rainfall in the Ethiopian and East/Central African highlands; Vegetation is mostly open perennial grassland with some acacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
woodland and other sparsely distributed trees.
- Toic—land seasonally inundated or saturated by the main rivers and inland water-courses, retaining enough moisture throughout the dry season to support cattle grazing.
- Sudd
The Sudd , also known as the Bahr al Jabal, As Sudd or Al Sudd, is a vast swamp in South Sudan, formed by the White Nile. The word “sudd” is derived from the Arabic word “sadd”, meaning “block.” The term has come to refer to any large solid floating vegetation island or mat...
—permanent swampland below the level of the toic; covers a substantial part of the floodplain in which the Dinka reside; provides good fishing but is not available for livestock; historically it has been a physical barrier to outsiders’ penetration.
- Ecology of large basin is unique; until recently, wild animals and birds flourished, hunted rarely by the agro-pastoralists (Roth 2003).
The Dinka tribe (or Jieng) has ten subdivisions: Gok Arol, Atuot,
AliabThe Aliab Dinka are a subdivision of the Dinka people of South Sudan. They traditionally lived in an area west of the upper White Nile river.The name is also used to refer to a breed of cattle maintained by the Aliab Dinka people and widespread in the region....
, Bor, Chiej, Agar, Gok, Rek, Twic/Tuic East, Malual, and Ngok. Malual is the largest of those groups, numbering over a million people.
The Dinka's migrations are determined by the local climate, their agro-pastoral lifestyle responding to the periodic flooding and dryness of the area in which they live. They begin moving around May–June at the onset of the rainy season to their “permanent settlements” of mud and thatch housing above flood level, where they plant their crops of millet and other grain products.
These rainy season settlements usually contain other permanent structures such as cattle byres (luaak) and granaries. During dry season (beginning about December–January), everyone except the aged, ill, and nursing mothers migrate to semi-permanent dwellings in the toic for cattle grazing. The cultivation of
sorghumSorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...
,
milletThe millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. They do not form a taxonomic group, but rather a functional or agronomic one. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult...
, and other crops begins in the highlands in the early rainy season and the harvest of crops begins when the rains are heavy in June–August. Cattle are driven to the toic in September and November when the rainfall drops off; allowed to graze on harvested stalks of the crops.
Cultural and religious beliefs
The Dinkas' pastoral lifestyle is also reflected in their religious beliefs and practices. They have one God, Nhialic, who speaks through spirits that take temporary possession of individuals in order to speak through them. The sacrificing of oxen by the "masters of the fishing spear" is a central component of Dinka religious practice. Age is an important factor in Dinka culture, with young men being inducted into adulthood through an initiation ordeal which includes marking the forehead with a sharp object. Also during this ceremony they acquire a second cow-colour name. The Dinka derive religious power from nature and the world around them, rather than from a religious tome.
Following the war, Christianity predominated over Dinka religious practices, being introduced to the region by British
missionariesA missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
in the 19th century and during the civil war.
War with the North and status as refugees
The Dinka's religions, beliefs and lifestyle have led to conflict with the government in
KhartoumKhartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...
. The
Sudan People's Liberation ArmyThe Sudan People's Liberation Movement is a political party in South Sudan. It was initially founded as a rebel political movement with a military wing known as the Sudan People's Liberation Army estimated at 180,000 soldiers. The SPLM fought in the Second Sudanese Civil War against the Sudanese...
, led by late Dr. John Garang De Mabior, a Dinka, took arms against the government in 1983. During the
subsequent 21-year civil warThe Second Sudanese Civil War started in 1983, although it was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil War of 1955 to 1972. Although it originated in southern Sudan, the civil war spread to the Nuba mountains and Blue Nile by the end of the 1980s....
, many thousands of Dinka, along with fellow non-Dinka southerners, were massacred by government forces. The Dinka have also engaged in a separate civil war with the Nuer.
Sizable groups of Dinka refugees may be found in distant lands, including
Jacksonville, FloridaJacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
and
ClarkstonClarkston is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 7,554 at the 2010 census. The city is home to the central campus of Georgia Perimeter College....
, a working-class suburb of
Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
and in the Midwest such as Omaha NE, Des Moines IA, Sioux Falls SD, and Kansas MO, as well as Edmonton in
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
The experience of Dinka refugees was portrayed in the documentary movies
Lost Boys of SudanThe Lost Boys of Sudan is the name given to the groups of over 20,000 boys of the Nuer and Dinka ethnic groups who were displaced and/or orphaned during the Second Sudanese Civil War , about 2.5 million killed and millions were displaced...
by Megan Mylan and Jon Shenk and
God Grew Tired Of Us, Joan Hechts' book
The Journey of the Lost BoysThe Journey of the Lost Boys is a non-fiction book by Joan Hecht about The Lost Boys of Sudan. "The Lost Boys" are a group of young children who became separated from their parents due to civil war in their homeland...
and the fictionalized autobiography of a Dinka refugee,
Dave EggersDave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He is known for the best-selling memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and for his more recent work as a screenwriter. He is also the co-founder of the literacy project 826 Valencia.-Life:Eggers was born in Boston, Massachusetts,...
'
What Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak DengWhat Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng is a 2006 novel written by Dave Eggers. It is based on the real life story of Valentino Achak Deng, a Sudanese refugee and member of the Lost Boys of Sudan program.-Plot summary:...
. Other books on and by the Lost Boys include
The Lost Boys of Sudan by Mark Bixler,
God Grew Tired of UsGod Grew Tired of Us is a 2006 documentary film about three of the "Lost Boys of Sudan", a group of some 25,000 young men who have fled the wars in Sudan since the 1980s, and their experiences as they move to the United States. The film was written and directed by Christopher Dillon Quinn...
by John Bul Dau, and
They Poured Fire On Us From The Sky by Alephonsion Deng, Benson Deng, and Benjamin Ajak. In 2004 the first volume of the graphic novel 'Echoes of the Lost Boys of Sudan' was released in
DallasDallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
,
TexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, chronicling in art and dialogue four lost boys' escapes from the destruction of their hometowns in South Sudan. The Florida ska punk group,
Against All AuthorityAgainst All Authority is an American punk band, formed in Florida in 1992. Playing in the ska punk style, their business practice follows a stringent DIY ethic.-History:...
refers to the Dinka clan in the song "Dinkas When I Close My Eyes" from their album
24 Hour Roadside Resistance24 Hour Roadside Resistance is an album by the political-ska punk band Against All Authority; first released in 2000.The album contains a two-and-a-half minute spoken word track from a member of the Radiation and Public Health Project about the risks of radioactive fallout from nuclear power...
.
1991 Bor Massacre
On November 15, 1991 the event known as the "Bor Massacre" or
Southwestern Dinka Massacre commenced in South Sudan. Forces led by the breakaway faction of Riek Machar deliberately killed an estimated 2,000 civilians in Bor and wounded several thousand more over the course of two months. It is estimated a 100,000 people left the area following the attack. Famine followed the massacre, as Machar's forces had looted and burnt villages and as well as raiding cattle. An estimated 25,000 more people died as a result of hunger, according to Amnesty International.
The Bor massacre was triggered by a coup declaration against the then SPLM chairman, the late Dr. John Garang on August 28, 1991, by the current vice president of the government of South Sudan, Dr. Riek Machar. His motives are believed to be an attempt to hurt the Dinka, and to create a pluralistic less Dinka centric model for the SPLM. Thousands of civilians in the Bor area died when Dr. Riek's Nuer forces turned against them and killed them after his failure to topple Dr. John Garang. Some people had perished in the Bor areas as determined by the United Nations assessment of casualties in 1992.
Dr. Riek described the incident as "propaganda" and "myth" despite evidence of mass killing shown by bones and corpses in the aftermath of the massacre.
Notable Dinka
Among well-known Dinka are:
- Abel Alier
Abel Alier Kwai is a South Sudanese politician who is currently in his 70s . After Sudan gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1956, Southern Sudan was not left as an independent state. This led to a deadly war a year before the independence. A party in the war was Anyanya 1 Under Joseph...
, known as Wal Kwai the first southerner to be become Vice President of Sudan in 1972
- John Garang
John Garang de Mabior was a Sudanese politician and rebel leader. From 1983 to 2005, he led the Sudan People's Liberation Army during the Second Sudanese Civil War, and following a peace agreement he briefly served as First Vice President of Sudan from January 2005 until he died in a July 2005...
, Former First Vice-President of Sudan and President of South Sudan, Commander in Chief of Sudan People's Liberation ArmyThe Sudan People's Liberation Movement is a political party in South Sudan. It was initially founded as a rebel political movement with a military wing known as the Sudan People's Liberation Army estimated at 180,000 soldiers. The SPLM fought in the Second Sudanese Civil War against the Sudanese...
and Chairman of Sudan People's Liberation Movement.
- Lt. General Dominic Dim Deng
Dominic Dim Deng was a senior member of Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement, a prominent military General and the first Defence Minister in the Government of Southern Sudan who lost his life alongside his wife Madam Josephine Apieu Jenaro Aken, senior politician Dr...
, South Sudan's first political officer of SPLA, Minister for SPLA Affairs.
- Lt. General Salva Kiir Mayardit
Salva Kiir Mayardit is the first President of the Republic of South Sudan.-Sudanese civil wars:In the late 1960s, Kiir joined the Anyanya in the First Sudanese Civil War. By the time of the 1972 Addis Ababa Agreement, he was a low-ranking officer...
, Dr. Garang's successor as First Vice-President of Sudan and President of South SudanSouth Sudan , officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country located in the Sahel region of northeastern Africa. It is also part of the North Africa UN sub-region. Its current capital is Juba, which is also its largest city; the capital city is planned to be moved to the more...
, Commander in Chief of Sudan People's Liberation Army and Chairman of Sudan People's Liberation Movement.
- Alek Wek
Alek Wek is a Sudanese British model who first appeared on the catwalks at the age of 18 in 1995, sparking a career lasting to date. She is from the Dinka ethnic group in South Sudan, but in 1991 she and some family members fled to Britain to escape the civil war in Sudan...
, a notable fashion model.
- Manute Bol
Manute Bol was a Sudanese-born basketball player and activist. At 7 feet, 7 inches , Bol was one of the tallest players ever to appear in the National Basketball Association, along with Gheorghe Mureşan. Unlike Mureşan, however, Bol was naturally tall and did not have a Pituitary disease...
, Former NBA player. One of the two tallest players in the league's history.
- Luol Deng
Luol Deng is a South Sudanese-British professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls and the Great Britain national basketball team. He plays the small forward position.-Early life:...
, current NBA player.
- Ater Majok
Ater Majok is an Australian professional basketball player who was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2011 NBA Draft with the 58th overall pick in the 2nd round.-High School / College:...
, former NBA player.
- Francis Deng
On 29 May 2007, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the appointment of Dr. Francis M. Deng of the Sudan as the new Special Adviser for the Prevention of Genocide, a position he holds at the level of Under-Secretary General....
, author, SAIS Research Professor.
- Valentino Achak Deng, a former Lost Boy and subject of What Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng
What Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng is a 2006 novel written by Dave Eggers. It is based on the real life story of Valentino Achak Deng, a Sudanese refugee and member of the Lost Boys of Sudan program.-Plot summary:...
, a biographical novel written by Dave EggersDave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He is known for the best-selling memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and for his more recent work as a screenwriter. He is also the co-founder of the literacy project 826 Valencia.-Life:Eggers was born in Boston, Massachusetts,...
.
- John Bul Dau, one of the "Lost Boys of Sudan", author of God Grew Tired of Us, his autobiography, and subject of the documentary of the same title.
- Majak Daw
Majak Daw is a professional Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League . Daw and his family in Australia are refugees from the civil wars in Sudan. Daw became the first Sudanese Australian to be drafted to an AFL club when he was contracted to the North Melbourne Football Club...
, the first Sudanese AustralianSudanese Australians constitute a small, mostly recently arrived group of Australians. In the 2006 census, there were 19,049 Sudanese-born Australian residents, making up 0.1% of the population...
to be drafted by a senior Australian Football League club. Daw selected with pick 9 in the rookie draft by the North Melbourne Football Club on December 15, 2009. Daw's achievement is all the more notable given he has only been playing the game for four years.