Farewell to our Beloved Waadit Ajingdit Deng: A Legend of An African Spiritual Culture in South Sudan
By Dr. Francis Mading Deng, Nairobi, Kenya
Friday, December 17, 2021 (PW) — It is with profound sorrow that I have just learned of the tragic passing away of the Great Spiritual Leader, Ajingdit Deng Cyerdit from the Twich of Adiang. Three years ago. I went with my brother and friend, Bona Malwal Madut Ring, to Turalei and on to his village at Molbang, to attend the burial of his tragically assassinated brother, Paramount Chief Wundit Madut Ring of Twich Mayardit. That was when I had the great honor and pleasure of accompanying Bona Malwal on a visit to the Great Spiritual Leader in his home at Mathing. When Bona first informed me of the plan for the visit, the idea itself was an intriguing surprise and curiosity.
I had of course heard of the awesome spiritual powers of Ajingdit’s grandfather, the Prophet Cyerdit, whose prophetic name means ‘The Great Crescent’. Cyerdit’s spiritual leadership was renowned throughout Dinkaland. Ajingdit appeared in his colorful garbs, wearing a distinctive hat, with an array of beads and shells hanging on his neck as insignia of his status, and holding a decorated spear, a symbol of his spiritual power. The manner in which we were received under a huge shrine-like tree that seemed uniquely sculptured by nature, the spiritually charged atmosphere surrounding the revered leader, and the elaborate rituals of blessing accorded us in his religiously ornamented ‘Hut’, left me in great awe about our spiritual traditions and values that have been severely undermined by modernity. Through a practice that long predated the COVID restrictions, Spiritual Leaders do not shake hands, but greet by holding up open hands toward the visitors. I also understood from childhood that spitual leaders must not be awaken from sleep. This is a dogma whose rationale was never explained, except, perhaps, because their sleep is a precious commodity that must not be interrupted, as they usually spend sleepless nights watching over the spiritual wellbeing of their people..
We had also visited another Spiritual Leader, Aguek Maleng Tor in his home at Malual Tor village of Amuol section of Twich, a much younger person, who had adapted to the dictates of the modern world, but who had also profoundly impressed me. To begin with, I deeply admired Bona Malwal’s recognition and high regard for these Spiritual Leaders, which contributed immensely to my own deference for them. The fact that they both said they had heard of me and spoke so highly of Ngok Dinka Leaders in my own family was very humbling to me. It was, however, not entirely surprising, since there has been intermarriage between our respective families. Mayar Cyerdit, the son of the Prophet, was married to our sister, Nyannyop, the spectacular ceremony which I witnessed as a child. Mayar had become more of a political figure than a mere spiritual leader and was arrested and detained in Wau town during the first civil war, when Bona Maluwal, then a senior government official in Wau, offered him discrete protection in his house.
Prophets and religious leaders played a prominent role in our people’s resistance to colonial invasion and domination. Among the well known names of the many spiritual liberation leaders from virtually all the communities of South Sudan ware Arienhdit of the Aweil Dinka and Ngundeng, from the Nuer, whose legacy has lingered on and creeped into the politics of today’s South Sudan. As children, we danced to the lyrics of a song about Arienhdit’s heroic resistance to colonial rule, which included the words:
I am locked up in jail,
I am locked up in jail;
O Kwol Amet, (another leader)
Tighten your hold on the land,
I am locked up in jail.
That these sentiments found their way into dancing lyrics indicated the popular legitimacy of their leadership in the liberation struggle. Ajingdit himself is said to have played an important role in the struggle for freedom by offering spiritual support and guidance to the troops. In my forthcoming edited volume, ‘Warriors from Abyei in the Liberation of South Sudan,’ Gen. Pieng Deng Kwol provides accounts of spiritual leaders offering blessings to soldiers as they prepared to go into battle, often generating tensions between the Christians and adherents of traditional belief systems among the soldiers.
When we left Ajingdit, I had no doubt that I had just had a deeply moving experience that added a great deal to my already high regard for the indigenous cultural and spiritual traditions of our people. I felt very grateful to Bona Malwal for having had the wisdom to veer us into honoring our traditional spiritual leaders. My deep appreciation also goes to President Salva Kiir Mayardit for the personal attention which I later understood he gave to Ajingdit’s medical treatment and provided for related needs, which demonstrates his wider respect for our people’s cultural, spiritual and moral values.
I pray and trust that the passing of this Great Spiritual Leader will not in any way interrupt the continuity of the Sacred Tradition, which should be preserved and passed on to His Successor to be designated in accordance with the well established Code of Succession that had brought him to the helm of Spiritual Leadership in his Twich Mayardit and wider Dinka Community.
My profound condolences go to his family, Twich Mayardit Community, the People of Warrap State, and the entire nation of South Sudan, for whom he was a Spiritual Father.
May the Almighty God compensate Ajingdit’s Soul with Eternal Life of Peace that this world often denies.
Francis Mading Deng
Nairobi, Republic of Kenya.
17 December, 2021.
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