JSC-USA: Dinka communities in Jonglei State must be called "Jiengde Jonglei"
6 min readPress Statement from JSC-USA – Notice of Collective Name: Communities in Jonglei State must be called Jieng Ë Jonglei
Monday, February 25, 2019 (PW) — It is with ultimate understanding to inform all South Sudanese, and Jieng’s communities that the Jieng’s subtribes in South Sudan’s Jonglei state must be referred to as Jieng Ë Jonglei. This is reality that South Sudanese in all corners of the world must digest. For quite sometimes, the Jieng’s subtribes on the East Bank of the White Nile River have been wrongly referred to as Jieng Ë Bor while the reality is that Dinka’s tribes in Jonglei are: Hol Dinka, Twic Dinka, Bor Dinka, and Nyarweng Dinka. These Jieng’s tribes are distinct ethnic groups.
There are very important timelines that people need to be mindful of: In 1928, the Bor Dinkas in what was Mangalla Province were transferred to the Upper Nile Province, and into Duk District inhabited by Hol Dinka, Twic Dinka, Nyarweng Dinka, Nuer Lou and Nuer Gawaar. The Jieng District( Hol Dinka, Bor Dinka, Twic Dinka, and Nyarweng Dinka) became known as the Bor-Duk District starting from 1928 till the 1950s when the hyphenated District’s name faded away. It was around the same period that Abong District was dissolved, and Lou Nuers in Duk District were transferred to newly created Akoba District. In the same move, Nuer Gawaar were transferred to Fangak District and co-joined with Luac Dinka, Rut Dinka, Paweny Dinka, Thoi Dinka, Nuer Lak and Thiang Nuer.
In 1976, the Bor District split into Bor District and Kongor District respectively. Two decades down the road, the Government of Sudan adopted a federal system, and changed districts to be called counties. The former districts across the Sudan and in the SPLM/SPLA’s controlled areas were renamed as counties. The district, Bor District which led to all the four Jieng’s subtribes being called Jieng Bor/Dinka Bor ceased to exist in 1976, and when the Upper Nile Province was divided into two Provinces (Jonglei and Upper Nile Province), and more districts were created.
The expansion of administration to local areas is an ongoing process. In 2005, and following the final signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Sudanese Government in Khartoum and the SPLM/SPLA in the then Southern Sudan, several changes took place. The peace Accord granted Southern Sudan an Autonomous Government. The Government of Southern Sudan, through CPA-2005 framework spearheaded a process that created more counties in Southern Sudan. As a result of that, many formers counties split into several counties, and Kongor District/County was one of the many local administrative units that created a new county/split into two counties: Duk county and Twic East county minus the non-functioning Bor North name adopted amidst the liberation struggle.
In the current political context, and based on procedural and administrative setup of South Sudan, there is no sensible argument against calling Dinkas in Jonglei as Jieng Ë Jonglei or Jonglei State Community as adopted by Jongleins in the United States of America. Today, we are pleased to inform South Sudanese and Jieng at large that the ethnic Jieng’s groups in Jonglei state are: Hol Dinka(HD), Twic East Dinka(TED), Nyarweng Dinka(ND), and Bor Dinka(BD). As far as the history is concern, these Jieng’s ethnic groups have been lumped under one as Jieng Ë Bor/Dinka Bor, and Greater Bor as of the recent political twist. The identity meandering have been settled numerous times, but some people afar seems have hard times referring to Jiengs in Jonglei/Southeast of the former Upper Nile Region by their exact name.
As mentioned previously, the devolution of powers and decentralization of governance is a continuous process, and South Sudan is not immune from it. In October 2015, and in the midst of the catastrophic civil war in South Sudan, the South Sudanese Government decided to divide South Sudan into 28 states, and later added 4 more states. Based on what South Sudanese Elites termed as popular demand by the people”, Jonglei state was divided into five states: Jonglei state, Akoba state, Bieh state, Fangak state and Boma state. Just for future reference, Jonglei state comprises of former Duk county, former Twic East county, and former Bor county. Where have the proponents of Jonglei State Community-USA gone wrong? It is a question for fairer minds!
The confusion or the identity crisis as others like to refer to it was settled in October 2015 when the Government of South Sudan created Jonglei state as one of the 32 states in South Sudan. As of now, the Jieng’s groups in Jonglei state: Hol, Twic, Nyarweng and Bor have resolved to be called as Jieng Ë Jonglei/Jonglei State Community. The old name(Jieng Ë Bor) belongs to the current 8 counties of the Greater Bor/former Bor county. With that being settled, referring to Hol, Twic, Nyarweng, and Bor as Greater Bor is no longer applicable to four sub-tribes of Jieng/Dinka currently inhabiting Jonglei state of South Sudan. The approval and adoption of the state name by these respective communities is dated to July 20th, 2018.
Since you the readers have seen the history that have unfolded over many decades, and how these communities came to be known as Dinka Bor, we hereby requested you to take note of this change and adopt the name chosen from this day onward. The Jiengs in Jonglei must be referred by the name Jieng Ë Jonglei or Jonglei State Community USA (JSC-USA) in the case of Jongleins in the United States of America. Note, referring to the four communities by name “Bor” will exclusively result into only one community (Bor) responding to your communications.
Further, you are also urged to update the name in all your databases to Jieng Ë Jonglei/Jonglei State Community. Identifying people by their correct name make communication easy, and serve the purpose of mutual respect and understanding. The name Jieng Ë Bor/Greater Bor Community is no longer serving four communities as their collective name. If you have any question regarding the name, please kindly contact the Interim President of the Jonglei State Community-USA. We look forward to your continuous partnership and support.
Best regards.
Signatories:
Andrew Thuc Thanypin – President JSC-USA
Dut Atem-Apai Dut – Vice President JSC-USA
Majur Deng Mabior
Lual Daau Lual, Jr.
Ghaal Chol Ghaal
Andrew Thuc Thanypiny
Mayak Deng Aruei
Peter Bayak Lem
Deng Atem Bol
Aleer Ngor Chol
Kuer Garang Manyok
Agot Ayuel Leek
Atem Deng Ajang
Biar Garang Biar
Majok Reth Chuol
Garang Kuol Garang
Nyuon Galuak Nyuon
Kuir Dit Majuch
Maduk Aleer Chol
Yar Arok Deng
Bul Deng Bul
Angok Atem Biar
Reference
Alier, Abel. (1992). Southern Sudan: Too Many Agreements Dishonored. Ithaca Press, 8 Southern Court, Reading, RG1 4GS.
Collins, Robert O. (1971). Land Beyond the Rivers: The Southern Sudan, 1898-1918.
Collins, Robert O. (1990). The Waters of the Nile: Hydropolitics and the Jonglei Canal, 1900-1988.
Eshman, R. (1983). The Jonglei Canal: A Ditch Too Big? Environment, 25(5), 15. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/00139157.1983.9929856, https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aci&AN=5210668&site=eds-live&scope=site
Johnson, Douglas H.(2016). South Sudan: A New History for New Nation. Ohio University, Athens -Ohio.
Willis, C. A (1931, edited by Johnson, Douglas H.): The Upper Nile Province Handbook. A Report on Peoples and Government in the Southern Sudan, 1931.
The Opening of the Nile Basin (1974, edited by Elias Toniolo and Richard Hill). Writing by the Members of the Catholic Mission to Central Africa on the Geography and Ethnography of the Sudan 1842-1881.
Tribes Without Rulers. (1958, edited by John Middleton and David Tait). Preface by E. E. Evans-Pritchard: Studies in African Segmentary systems.
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