Dinka Religion: The Divinity of Miotpen Spirit among the Dinka Community of South Sudan
Miotpen diety among the Jieeng community
By Sir Majak Aderek, Juba, South Sudan
Wednesday, April 12, 2023 (PW) — People congregated around the Miotpen shrine which was called Baai-Akoiy to foretell future predictions as elders begin to sing songs in high-pitched voices that echos back and forth with do up deafening roars.
In the meantime, Gotic Deutong was to be inspired by an intense spirit of Miotpen, the spirit of highness and he started to murmur in Gotic guttural voice, Aram! Aram! Aram acuk cie and people quickly replied back by saying Aram! Aram “kuardie” and a yodelling get the ball rolling at once.
Miotpen eke-name one and the same as Akoy, Deutong or Mac. Our forefathers used to count on Tong-kec for centuries as he was a super spirit that connected the gap between the earth and heaven. They believed he was coiled in both life and death. He could take the soul at a time of his choosing and when people die, they fall for it that death was natural, but untimely death attributed to the deity of Miotpen if death is of immaturity in nature.
Miotpen e Dor was omnipresent, the creator of the universe and was identified with the sky which makes things sacred. Be it wind, clouds, rain and thunder. In lieu of that, Miotpen was the spirit of the universe, it was like the wind, you cannot see it, yet you feel it. He used to reveal himself through wonders in a tyrannical voice, in lightning by throwing thunderbolts once he become angrier.
Our elders addressed him as “Kukua’ar” and he responded to them by saying “Achuk cie” when they are about to ask him about unpredictability due to unforeseeable events. Elders addressed him as the spirit of the universe and appeased him by saying, Jong’awa, Jongkec e Kukuar. They used to follow patterns in terms of rituals, customs and costumes that manifested themselves on Chiengkou Kul antelope antlers.
The most thing that cheer up their lives was “Wong”, called by Miotpen as “Abhar-yol”, a living being whose Dinka people breathe through it and it was a thing that gave them life. All depend on Miotpen’s spirit whom they called in times of need to save them as he was the sole protector to whom they often referred to as “Jong-kec ewa”.
Miotpen can also be called by an individual should one encounter hardship: such as sickness, childlessness or wanting to travel afar. Miotpen was very much involved in every communal affair through men who were anointed to become seers or messengers known as “Tiit”.
It is a very interesting exercise as it suggests that Dinkas are ancient people who were so close to God. At that phase and it is now contributing to the values of Christianity. Evil spirits are referred to in both the Old and New Testaments and are often called by other names such as impure spirits, deceiving spirits and lying spirits that work against God.
But the Bible also informs us that God in His supremacy can choose to use evil spirits to carry out His plans and purposes. Too, Bible didn’t give away the origin of evil spirits, likely those who fell out with God. And most of the deities’ spirits mentioned in the Old Testament were sent from God as a punishment for humans disobedient.
Miotpen was then considered to be a saviour which’s now become a beast. However, the spirits of Jongkec ewa used to work miraculously as I personally come across that spirit. It was associated with calmness, besides a true discipline that had done more than merely sweep away more spirits.
Tong-kec used to give no falsehood or misleading account of who he was. Probably is now opposed to holiness, light, goodness and above all, love. But until then, we shall see.
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