82-889: The Nilotic people are people indigenous to the South Sudan and the East Africa who speak the Nilotic languages . They inhabit South Sudan and the Gambella region of Ethiopia , while also being a large minority in Kenya , Uganda , the north eastern border area of Democratic Republic of the Congo , and Tanzania . The Nilotic peoples comprise of the Dinka , the Nuer , the Shilluk ,
164-525: A Core group in which Berta was considered divergent, and coordinating Fur–Maban as a sister clade to Chari–Nile. Songhay Saharan Kunama–Ilit Kuliak Fur Maban Moru–Mangbetu Sara–Bongo Berta Surmic – Nilotic Nubian , Nara , Taman Gumuz Koman (including Shabo) Kadugli–Krongo Bender revised his model of Nilo-Saharan again in 1996, at which point he split Koman and Gumuz into completely separate branches of Core Nilo-Saharan. Christopher Ehret came up with
246-663: A central theme in most narratives recorded after the colonial period. One of the more famous accounts states: ... The Kalenjin originated from a country in the north known as Emet ab Burgei, which means, the warm country. The people are said to have traveled southwards passing through Mount Elgon or Tulwet ab Kony in Kalenjin. The Sabaot settled around the slopes of the mountain while the others travelled on in search of better land. The Keiyo and Marakwet settled in Kerio Valley and Cherangani Hills . The Pokot settled on
328-419: A classification which expanded upon and revised that of Greenberg. He considered Fur and Maban to constitute a Fur–Maban branch, added Kadu to Nilo-Saharan, removed Kuliak from Eastern Sudanic, removed Gumuz from Koman (but left it as a sister node), and chose to posit Kunama as an independent branch of the family. By 1991 he had added more detail to the tree, dividing Chari–Nile into nested clades, including
410-520: A common ancestor around 28,000 years ago, perhaps somewhere in the Sahel . Most Nilotic peoples have predominant to exclusive West/East African ancestry, although some groups display varying degrees of West-Eurasian admixture, mostly mediated indirectly through pastoralists from the Horn of Africa. In 121 African populations, four African American populations, and 60 non-African populations, results indicated
492-433: A high degree of admixture occurred during the southward migration of southern Luo. Kalenjin groups and Maasai groups were found to have less Bantu ancestry, but significant Cushitic ancestry. Physically, Nilotes are noted for their typically very dark skin color and slender, and occasionally tall bodies. They often possess exceptionally long limbs, particularly their distal segments (fore arms, lower legs). This characteristic
574-595: A high degree of mixed ancestry reflecting migration events. In East Africa, all population groups examined had elements of Nilotic, Cushitic and Bantu ancestry amongst others to varying degrees. By and large, genetic clusters were consistent with linguistic classification with notable exceptions including the Luo of Kenya. Despite being Nilo-Saharan speakers, the Luo cluster with the Niger-Kordofanian-speaking populations that surround them. This indicates
656-809: A mixed economy of cattle pastoralism, fishing, and seed cultivation. Some of the earliest archaeological findings on record, that describe a similar culture to this from the same region, are found at Kadero , 48 m north of Khartoum in Sudan and date to 3000 BC. Kadero contains the remains of a cattle pastoralist culture and a cemetery with skeletal remains featuring sub-Saharan African phenotypes. It also contains evidence of other animal domestication, artistry, long-distance trade, seed cultivation, and fish consumption. Genetic and linguistic studies have demonstrated that Nubian people in Northern Sudan and Southern Egypt are an admixed group that started off as
738-482: A novel classification of Nilo-Saharan as a preliminary part of his then-ongoing research into the macrofamily. His evidence for the classification was not fully published until much later (see Ehret 2001 below), and so it did not attain the same level of acclaim as competing proposals, namely those of Bender and Blench. By 2000 Bender had entirely abandoned the Chari–Nile and Komuz branches. He also added Kunama back to
820-425: A number of languages with at least a million speakers (most data from SIL's Ethnologue 16 (2009)). In descending order: Some other important Nilo-Saharan languages under 1 million speakers: The total for all speakers of Nilo-Saharan languages according to Ethnologue 16 is 38–39 million people. However, the data spans a range from ca. 1980 to 2005, with a weighted median at ca. 1990. Given population growth rates,
902-568: A place called Ramogi Hill, then expanded around northern Nyanza. The people of Owiny' ( Jok'Owiny ) and the people of Omolo ( Jok'Omolo ) followed soon after (1598-1625). A miscellaneous group composed of the Suba, Sakwa, Asembo, Uyoma, and Kano then followed. The Suba originally were Bantu-speaking people who assimilated into Luo culture. They fled from the Buganda Kingdom in Uganda after
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#1732764861669984-586: A population closely related to Nilotic people. This population later received significant gene flow from Middle Eastern and other East African populations. Nubians are considered to be descendants of the early inhabitants of the Nile valley who later formed the Kingdom of Kush , which included Kerma and Meroe and the medieval Christian kingdoms of Makuria , Nobatia , and Alodia . These studies suggest that populations closely related to Nilotic people long inhabited
1066-564: A prominent North African influence was noted. Haplogroup A was observed amongst 62% of Dinka, 53.3% of Shilluk, 46.4% of Nuba, 33.3% of Nuer, 31.3% of Fur , and 18.8% of Masalit . Haplogroup B was found in 50% of Nuer, 26.7% of Shilluk, 23% of Dinka, 14.3% of Nuba, 3.1% of Fur, and 3.1% of Masalit. The E1b1b clade was also observed in 71.9% of the Masalit, 59.4% of the Fur, 39.3% of the Nuba , 20% of
1148-532: A proposed family of around 210 African languages spoken by somewhere around 70 million speakers, mainly in the upper parts of the Chari and Nile rivers, including historic Nubia , north of where the two tributaries of the Nile meet. The languages extend through 17 nations in the northern half of Africa: from Algeria to Benin in the west; from Libya to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in
1230-466: A relationship between the branches of Nilo-Saharan, though he leaves open the possibility that some of them may prove to be related to each other once the necessary reconstructive work is done. According to Güldemann (2018), "the current state of research is not sufficient to prove the Nilo-Saharan hypothesis." The constituent families of Nilo-Saharan are quite diverse. One characteristic feature
1312-687: A shared language. Since the late 20th century, however, social and physical scientists are making use of data from population genetics. Nilotic and Nilote are now mainly used to refer to the various disparate people who speak languages in the same Nilotic language family. Etymologically, the terms Nilotic and Nilote (singular nilot) derive from the Nile Valley ; specifically, the Upper Nile and its tributaries, where most Sudanese Nilo-Saharan-speaking people live. Linguistically, Nilotic people are divided into three subgroups: Nilotic people constitute
1394-498: A snake. Garang, another deity, is believed or assumed by some Dinka to be a god suppressed by Deng. His spirits can cause most Dinka women, and some men, to scream. The term Jok refers to a group of ancestral spirits. In the Lotuko mythology , the chief God is called Ajok . He is generally seen as kind and benevolent, but can be angered. He once reportedly answered a woman's prayer for the resurrection of her son. Her husband, however,
1476-434: A specific region; people who lived there before colonists or settlers arrived, defined new borders, and began to occupy the land. This definition applies to all indigenous groups, whether inside or outside of Africa. Although the vast majority of Native Africans can be considered to be "indigenous" in the sense that they originated from that continent and nowhere else (like all Homo sapiens ), identity as an "indigenous people"
1558-516: A study on the genetic clusters of various populations in Africa. According to the researchers, Nilotes generally form their own African genetic cluster, although relatively most closely related to other Nilo-Saharan populations, more distantly followed by Afro-Asiatic speakers and Niger-Congo speakers . The authors also found that certain Nilotic populations in the eastern Great Lakes region, such as
1640-758: A three-decade war with Sennar over control of the White Nile trade routes. The Cøllø allied with the Sultanate of Darfur and the Kingdom of Takali against the Funj, but the capitulation of Takali ended the war in the Funj's favour. In the later 17th century, the Cøllø and Funj allied against the Dinka, who rose to power in the border area between the Funj and Cøllø. The Cøllø political structure gradually centralized under
1722-443: A whole, however this relationship is more likely due to a close relationship between Songhay and Mande many thousands of years ago in the early days of Nilo-Saharan, so the relationship is probably more one of ancient contact than a genetic link. The extinct Meroitic language of ancient Kush has been accepted by linguists such as Rille, Dimmendaal, and Blench as Nilo-Saharan, though others argue for an Afroasiatic affiliation. It
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#17327648616691804-670: A wider family came in 1912, when Diedrich Westermann included three of the (still independent) Central Sudanic families within Nilotic in a proposal he called Niloto-Sudanic ; this expanded Nilotic was in turn linked to Nubian, Kunama, and possibly Berta, essentially Greenberg's Macro-Sudanic ( Chari–Nile ) proposal of 1954. In 1920 G. W. Murray fleshed out the Eastern Sudanic languages when he grouped Nilotic, Nubian, Nera , Gaam , and Kunama. Carlo Conti Rossini made similar proposals in 1926, and in 1935 Westermann added Murle . In 1940 A. N. Tucker published evidence linking five of
1886-507: Is a challenging proposal to demonstrate but contend that it looks more promising the more work is done. Some of the constituent groups of Nilo-Saharan are estimated to predate the African neolithic . For example, the unity of Eastern Sudanic is estimated to date to at least the 5th millennium BC. Nilo-Saharan genetic unity would thus be much older still and date to the late Upper Paleolithic . The earliest written language associated with
1968-405: Is a tripartite singulative–collective–plurative number system , which Blench (2010) believes is a result of a noun-classifier system in the protolanguage . The distribution of the families may reflect ancient watercourses in a green Sahara during the African humid period before the 4.2-kiloyear event , when the desert was more habitable than it is today. Within the Nilo-Saharan languages are
2050-512: Is in the modern application more restrictive. Not every African ethnic group claims identification under these terms. Groups and communities who do claim this recognition are those who by a variety of historical and environmental circumstances have been placed outside of the dominant state systems. Their traditional practices and land claims have often come into conflict with the objectives and policies promulgated by governments, companies, and surrounding dominant societies. Marginalization, along with
2132-556: Is indicative of substantial historic gene flow from Cushitic-speaking males into these Nilo-Saharan-speaking populations. 67% of the Alur samples possessed the E2 haplogroup . The Y-DNA of populations in the Sudan region were studied, with various local Nilotic groups included for comparison. The signature Nilotic A and B clades were the most common paternal lineages amongst the Nilo-Saharan speakers, except those inhabiting western Sudan . There,
2214-688: Is poorly attested. There is little doubt that the constituent families of Nilo-Saharan—of which only Eastern Sudanic and Central Sudanic show much internal diversity—are valid groups. However, there have been several conflicting classifications in grouping them together. Each of the proposed higher-order groups has been rejected by other researchers: Greenberg's Chari–Nile by Bender and Blench, and Bender's Core Nilo-Saharan by Dimmendaal and Blench. What remains are eight (Dimmendaal) to twelve (Bender) constituent families of no consensus arrangement. Joseph Greenberg , in The Languages of Africa , set up
2296-852: Is pursued by a sub-commission established under the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) , sponsored by the African Union (AU) (successor body to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) ). In late 2003, the 53 signatory states of the ACHPR adopted the Report of the African Commission's Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities and its recommendations. This report says in part (p. 62): The adoption of this report at least notionally subscribed
2378-503: Is the God of the sky and rain, and the ruler of all the spirits. He is believed to be present in all of creation, and to control the destiny of every human, plant, and animal on Earth. Nhialic is also known as Jaak, Juong, or Dyokin by other Nilotic groups, such as the Nuer and Shilluk. Dengdit or Deng, is the sky God of rain and fertility, empowered by Nhialic. Deng's mother is Abuk , the patron goddess of gardening and all women, represented by
2460-590: Is the area that is believed to be their original point of dispersal, they constitute the second-most numerous group of peoples inhabiting the African Great Lakes region around the East African Rift . They make up a notable part of the population of North eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as well. Nilotic people numbered 50 million in the 21st century. The Nilotic people primarily adhere to Christianity and traditional beliefs , with
2542-590: Is thought to be a climatic adaptation to allow their bodies to shed heat more efficiently. Sudanese Nilotes are regarded as one of the tallest peoples in the world. Average values of 182.6 cm (5 ft 11.9 in) for height and 58.8 kg (130 lb; 9 st 4 lb) for weight were seen in a sample of Sudanese Shilluk. Another sample of Sudanese Dinka had a stature/weight ratio of 181.9 cm (5 ft 11.6 in) and 58.0 kg (127.9 lb; 9 st 1.9 lb), with an extremely ectomorphic somatotype of 1.6–3.5–6.2. In terms of facial features,
Nilotic peoples - Misplaced Pages Continue
2624-680: The Luo peoples ,the Alur , the Anuak , Ateker peoples , Kalenjin peoples , Karamojong people also known as the Karamojong or Karimojong, Chaga people , Ngasa people , Datooga , Samburu ,and the Maa-speaking peoples . The Nilotes constitute the majority of the population in South Sudan while constituting as a substantional minority in the countries of Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. South Sudan
2706-516: The Republic of Congo adopted a law for the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples. This law is the first of its kind in Africa, and its adoption is a historic development for indigenous peoples on the continent. [REDACTED] Africa [REDACTED] Eurasia [REDACTED] North America [REDACTED] Oceania [REDACTED] South America Nilo-Saharan The Nilo-Saharan languages are
2788-504: The Sudd marshlands, which protected them from outside interference, and allowed them to remain secure without a large armed forces. The Shilluk, Azande, and Bari people had more regular conflicts with neighbouring states Most Nilotes continue to practice pastoralism, migrating on a seasonal basis with their herds of livestock. Some tribes are also known for a tradition of cattle raiding . Through lengthy interaction with neighbouring peoples,
2870-544: The 17th century had a population density similar to that of the Egyptian Nile lands. One theory is that pressure from the Cøllø drove the Funj people north, who would establish the Sultanate of Sennar . The Dinka remained in the Sudd area, maintaining their transhumance economy. While the Dinka were protected and isolated from their neighbours, the Cøllø were more involved in international affairs. The Cøllø controlled
2952-532: The Arabs, the South Sudanese may have obtained new breeds of humpless cattle. Archaeologist Roland Oliver notes that the period also shows an Iron Age beginning among the Nilotic. These factors may explain how the Nilotic speakers expanded to dominate the region. By the 16th century, the most powerful group among the Nilotic speakers were the Cøllø, called Shilluk by Arabs and Europeans, who spread east to
3034-742: The Kipsigis and the Lembus Nandi moved to Rongai area. The Kipsigis and Nandi are said to have lived as a united group for a long time but eventually were forced to separate due to antagonistic environmental factors. Some of these were droughts and invasion of the Maasai from Uasin Gishu. Geographical barriers protected the southerners from Islam's advance, enabling them to retain their social and cultural heritage and their political and religious institutions. The Dinka people were especially secure in
3116-587: The Maasai, showed some additional Afro-Asiatic affinities due to repeated assimilation of Cushitic-speaking peoples over the past 5000 or so years. Overall, Nilotic people and other Nilo-Saharan groups are closely related to Afro-Asiatic speakers of North and East Africa. Both groups are inferred to have diverged from a common ancestor around 16,000 years ago. Nilotic people and other Nilo-Saharan groups are also closely related to Niger-Congo speakers of West and Central Africa. Both groups are inferred to have diverged from
3198-548: The Nandi tribe, came from a wide array of Kalenjin-speaking areas. Apparently, spatial core areas existed to which people moved and concentrated over the centuries, and in the process evolved into the individual Kalenjin communities known today by adopting migrants and assimilating original inhabitants. For various reasons, slow and multigenerational migrations of Nilotic Luo peoples occurred from South Sudan into Uganda and western Kenya from at least 1000 AD, and continuing until
3280-574: The Nile Valley as far as southern Egypt in antiquity. Language evidence indicates an initial southward expansion out of the Nilotic nursery into far southern Sudan beginning in the second millennium BC, the Southern Nilotic communities that participated in this expansion eventually reached western Kenya between 1000 and 500 BC. Their arrival occurred shortly before the introduction of iron to East Africa. Linguistic studies indicate that
3362-585: The Nilo-Saharan family is Old Nubian , one of the oldest written African languages, attested in writing from the 8th to the 15th century AD. This larger classification system is not accepted by all linguists, however. Glottolog (2013), for example, a publication of the Max Planck Institute in Germany, does not recognise the unity of the Nilo-Saharan family or even of the Eastern Sudanic branch; Georgiy Starostin (2016) likewise does not accept
Nilotic peoples - Misplaced Pages Continue
3444-461: The Nilotes are often subdivided into three general groups: A proto-Nilotic unity, separate from an earlier undifferentiated Eastern Sudanic unity, is assumed to have emerged by the third millennium BC. The development of the proto-Nilotes as a group may have been connected with their domestication of livestock . The Eastern Sudanic unity must have been considerably earlier still, perhaps around
3526-459: The Nilotes in East Africa have adopted many customs and practices from Southern Cushitic groups. The latter include the age set system of social organization, circumcision , and vocabulary terms. In terms of religious beliefs, Nilotes primarily adhere to traditional faiths, Christianity and Islam. The Dinka religion has a pantheon of deities. The Supreme, Creator God is Nhialic , who
3608-581: The Nubian Nile Valley. This interaction suggests that communities in the Lower Wadi Howar were actively engaged in trade networks, exchanging livestock and resources with these established cultures, thus integrating into the broader economic and cultural landscape of ancient Nubia. The evidence of cattle burials and the presence of pottery designs reflect a synthesis of local traditions and influences from neighboring cultures, highlighting
3690-732: The Sahara around 6,000–8,000 years ago". Similarly, Afro-Asiatic influence was seen in the Nilotic Datog of northern Tanzania, 43% of whom carried the M293 subclade of E1b1b. Unlike the paternal DNA of Nilotes, the maternal lineages of Nilotes in general show low-to-negligible amounts of Afro-Asiatic and other extraneous influences. An mtDNA study examined the maternal ancestry of various Nilotic populations in Kenya, with Turkana, Samburu, Maasai, and Luo individuals sampled. The mtDNA of almost all of
3772-530: The Shilluk, 16.7% of the Nuer, and 15% of the Dinka. The atypically high frequencies of the haplogroup in the Masalit was attributed to either a recent population bottleneck , which likely altered the community's original haplogroup diversity, or to geographical proximity to E1b1b's place of origin in North Africa. The clade "might have been brought to Sudan [...] after the progressive desertification of
3854-463: The Tugen first settled in small clan groups, fleeing from war, famine, and disease, and that they arrived from western, eastern, and northern sections. Even a section among the Tugen claims to have come from Mount Kenya. The Nandi account on the settlement of Nandi displays a similar manner of occupation of the Nandi territory. The Kalenjin clans who moved into and occupied the Nandi area, thus becoming
3936-520: The UN. In 2008, IPACC was composed of 150 member organisations in 21 African countries. IPACC identifies several key characteristics associated with indigenous claims in Africa: With respect to concerns that identifying some groups and not others as indigenous is in itself discriminatory , IPACC states that it: At an African inter-governmental level, the examination of indigenous rights and concerns
4018-476: The a king or reth . The most important is Rädh Tugø (son of Rädh Dhøköödhø) who ruled from circa 1690 to 1710 and established the Cøllø capital of Fashoda . The same period had the gradual collapse of the Funj sultanate, leaving the Cøllø in complete control of the White Nile and its trade routes. The Cøllø military power was based on control of the river. Starting in the mid-19th century, European anthropologists and later Kenyan historians have been interested in
4100-600: The ancestors of the Nilotic peoples resided further north than their present locations. Archaeological evidence from sites in the Lower Wadi Howar reveals the presence of groups that are likely ancestral to both modern Nilotic speakers and Eastern Sudanic speakers as a whole. Scholars argue that these ancestors inhabited the Lower Wadi Howar region. The archaeological findings in the Lower Wadi Howar reveal significant evidence of cultural continuity and interaction with ancient Nubian cultures, particularly through
4182-465: The association with the herringbone culture. As aridity increased during the fourth millennium BCE, the importance of cattle in the economic and social life of the region grew, leading to the emergence of distinct cultural practices, including the adoption of pottery styles characterized by incised herringbone patterns. These patterns indicate strong contact with the A-Group and pre-Kerma cultures along
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#17327648616694264-445: The banks of the white Nile under the legendary leadership of Nyikang, who is said to have ruled Läg Cøllø c from around 1490 to 1517. The Cøllø gained control of the west bank of the river as far north as Kosti in Sudan. There they established an economy based on cattle raising, cereal farming, and fishing, with small villages located along the length of the river. The Cøllø developed an intensive system of agriculture. The Cøllø lands in
4346-644: The bulk of the population of South Sudan. The largest of the Sudanese Nilotic peoples are the Dinka , who have as many as 25 ethnic subdivisions. The next-largest groups are the Nuer , followed by the Shilluk . Nilotic people in Uganda includes the Luo peoples ( Acholi , Alur , Adhola ), the Ateker peoples ( Iteso , Kumam , Karamojong , Lango people who despite speaking a mixture of Luo words, have Atekere origins, Sebei , and Kakwa ). In East Africa,
4428-662: The centre; and from Egypt to Tanzania in the east. As indicated by its hyphenated name, Nilo-Saharan is a family of the African interior, including the greater Nile Basin and the Central Sahara Desert. Eight of its proposed constituent divisions (excluding Kunama , Kuliak , and Songhay ) are found in the modern countries of Sudan and South Sudan , through which the Nile River flows. In his book The Languages of Africa (1963), Joseph Greenberg named
4510-558: The civil strife that followed the murder of the 24th Kabaka of Buganda in the mid-18th century and settled in South Nyanza , especially at Rusinga and Mfangano islands. Luo speakers crossed Winam Gulf of Lake Victoria from northern Nyanza into South Nyanza starting in the early 17th century. Several historical narratives from the various Kalenjin subtribes point to Tulwetab/Tulwop Kony ( Mount Elgon ) as their original point of settlement in Kenya. This point of origin appears as
4592-404: The current name Nilo-Saharan for the resulting family. Lionel Bender noted that Chari–Nile was an artifact of the order of European contact with members of the family and did not reflect an exclusive relationship between these languages, and the group has been abandoned, with its constituents becoming primary branches of Nilo-Saharan—or, equivalently, Chari–Nile and Nilo-Saharan have merged, with
4674-1007: The desire to recognize and protect their collective and human rights , and to maintain the continuity of their individual cultures , has led many to seek identification as indigenous peoples , in the contemporary global sense of the term. For example, in West Africa , the Dogon people of Mali and Burkina Faso , the Jola people of Guinea-Bissau , The Gambia , and Senegal , and the Serer people of Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau , and Mauritania , and formally North Africa, have faced religious and ethnic persecution for centuries, and disenfranchisement or prejudice in modern times (see Persecution of Serers and Persecution of Dogons ). These people, who are indigenous to their present habitat, are classified as indigenous peoples . The history of
4756-411: The displacement of many indigenous cultures. Since the end of World War II, indigenous African cultures have been in a state of constant flux, struggling to maintain their identity in the face of Westernization and globalization. In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in traditional cultures and many African countries have taken steps to preserve and promote their indigenous heritage. In
4838-578: The distribution of Nilo-Saharan reflects the waterways of the wet Sahara 12,000 years ago, and that the protolanguage had noun classifiers , which today are reflected in a diverse range of prefixes, suffixes, and number marking. Dimmendaal (2008) notes that Greenberg (1963) based his conclusion on strong evidence and that the proposal as a whole has become more convincing in the decades since. Mikkola (1999) reviewed Greenberg's evidence and found it convincing. Roger Blench notes morphological similarities in all putative branches, which leads him to believe that
4920-493: The dominant political and economic structures of the nation. Since the late 20th century, these peoples have increasingly sought recognition of their rights as distinct indigenous peoples, in both national and international contexts. The Indigenous Peoples of Africa Co-ordinating Committee (IPACC) was founded in 1997. It is one of the main trans-national network organizations recognized as a representative of African indigenous peoples in dialogues with governments and bodies such as
5002-418: The dynamic relationships that existed during this period of transformation and trade. The Nilotic expansion from Central regions of the Sudan like the Gezira into the rest of South Sudan seems to have begun between the 5th-11th centuries. Some of these kater migratiobs coincided with the collapse of the Christian Nubian kingdoms of Makuria and Alodia and the penetration of Arab traders into central Sudan. From
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#17327648616695084-445: The early 20th century. Oral history and genealogical evidence have been used to estimate timelines of Luo expansion into and within Kenya and Tanzania. Four major waves of migrations into the former Nyanza province in Kenya are discernible starting with the people of Jok ( Joka Jok ), which is estimated to have begun around 1490–1517. Joka Jok were the first and largest wave of migrants into northern Nyanza. These migrants settled at
5166-499: The family is likely to be valid. Koman and Gumuz are poorly known and have been difficult to evaluate until recently. Songhay is markedly divergent, in part due to massive influence from the Mande languages . Also problematic are the Kuliak languages , which are spoken by hunter-gatherers and appear to retain a non-Nilo-Saharan core; Blench believes they might have been similar to Hadza or Dahalo and shifted incompletely to Nilo-Saharan. Anbessa Tefera and Peter Unseth consider
5248-458: The family with the following branches. The Chari–Nile core are the connections that had been suggested by previous researchers. Koman (including Gumuz) Saharan Songhay Fur Maban Central Sudanic Kunama Berta Eastern Sudanic (including Kuliak , Nubian and Nilotic ) Gumuz was not recognized as distinct from neighbouring Koman; it was separated out (forming "Komuz") by Bender (1989). Lionel Bender came up with
5330-418: The fifth millennium BC. The proposed Nilo-Saharan unity would date to the Upper Paleolithic about 15 thousand years ago. The original locus of the early Nilotic speakers was presumably east of the Nile in what is now South Sudan. The Proto-Nilotes of the third millennium BC were pastoralists , while their neighbors, the proto- Central Sudanic peoples, were mostly agriculturalists. Nilotic people practised
5412-470: The figure in 2010 might be half again higher, or about 60 million. The Saharan family (which includes Kanuri , Kanembu , the Tebu languages , and Zaghawa ) was recognized by Heinrich Barth in 1853, the Nilotic languages by Karl Richard Lepsius in 1880, the various constituent branches of Central Sudanic (but not the connection between them) by Friedrich Müller in 1889, and the Maban family by Maurice Gaudefroy-Demombynes in 1907. The first inklings of
5494-463: The group and argued it was a genetic family. It contained all the languages that were not included in the Niger–Congo , Afroasiatic or Khoisan families. Although some linguists have referred to the phylum as "Greenberg's wastebasket ", into which he placed all the otherwise unaffiliated non- click languages of Africa, other specialists in the field have accepted it as a working hypothesis since Greenberg's classification. Linguists accept that it
5576-512: The indigenous African peoples spans thousands of years and includes a complex variety of cultures, languages, and political systems. Indigenous African cultures have existed since ancient times, with some of the earliest evidence of human life on the continent coming from stone tools and rock art dating back hundreds of thousands of years. The earliest written records of African history come from ancient Egyptian and Nubian texts, which date back to around 3000 B.C. These texts provide insight into
5658-542: The majority of them being Christians . A small minority of Nilotes practice the religion of Islam . The terms "Nilotic" and "Nilote"' were previously used as racial subclassifications, based on anthropological observations of the supposed distinct body morphology of many Nilotic speakers. Twentieth-century social scientists have largely discarded such efforts to classify peoples according to physical characteristics, in favor of using linguistic studies to distinguish among peoples. They formed ethnicities and cultures based on
5740-444: The name Nilo-Saharan retained. When it was realized that the Kadu languages were not Niger–Congo, they were commonly assumed to therefore be Nilo-Saharan, but this remains somewhat controversial. Progress has been made since Greenberg established the plausibility of the family. Koman and Gumuz remain poorly attested and are difficult to work with, while arguments continue over the inclusion of Songhai. Blench (2010) believes that
5822-408: The nasal profile most common amongst Nilotic populations is broad, with characteristically high index values ranging from 86.9 to 92.0. Lower nasal indices are often found amongst Nilotes who inhabit the more southerly Great Lakes region, such as the Maasai, which is attributed to genetic differences. Indigenous people of Africa The indigenous people of Africa are groups of people native to
5904-534: The northern side of Mount Elgon and later spread to areas north of Lake Baringo. At Lake Baringo , the Tugen separated from the Nandi and the Kipsigis. This was during a famine known as Kemeutab Reresik, which means, famine of the bats. It is said that during this famine a bat brought blades of green grass which was taken as a sign of good omen signifying that famine could be averted through movement to greener pastures. The Tugen moved and settled around Tugen Hills while
5986-495: The origins of human migration from various parts of Africa into East Africa. One of the more notable broad-based theories emanating from these studies includes the Bantu expansion . The main tools of study have been linguistics, archaeology and oral traditions. The significance of tracing individual clan histories in order to get an idea of Kalenjin groups formation has been shown by scholars such as B.E. Kipkorir (1978). He argued that
6068-468: The poorly attested Shabo language to be Nilo-Saharan, though unclassified within the family due to lack of data; Dimmendaal and Blench, based on a more complete description, consider it to be a language isolate on current evidence. Proposals have sometimes been made to add Mande (usually included in Niger–Congo ), largely due to its many noteworthy similarities with Songhay rather than with Nilo-Saharan as
6150-420: The post-colonial period, the concept of specific indigenous peoples within the African continent has gained wider acceptance, although not without controversy. The highly diverse and numerous ethnic groups which comprise most modern, independent African states contain within them various peoples whose situation, cultures, and pastoralist or hunter-gatherer lifestyles are generally marginalized and set apart from
6232-466: The signatories to the concepts and aims of furthering the identity and rights of African indigenous peoples. The extent to which individual states are mobilizing to put these recommendations into practice varies enormously, however. Most indigenous groups continue to agitate for improvements in the areas of land rights, use of natural resources, protection of environment and culture, political recognition and freedom from discrimination. On 30 December 2010,
6314-486: The six branches of Central Sudanic alongside his more explicit proposal for East Sudanic. In 1950 Greenberg retained Eastern Sudanic and Central Sudanic as separate families, but accepted Westermann's conclusions of four decades earlier in 1954 when he linked them together as Macro-Sudanic (later Chari–Nile , from the Chari and Nile Watersheds). Greenberg's later contribution came in 1963, when he tied Chari–Nile to Songhai, Saharan, Maban, Fur, and Koman-Gumuz and coined
6396-475: The societies of the time, including religious beliefs, political systems, and trade networks. In the centuries that followed, various other African civilizations rose to prominence, such as the Kingdom of Kush in northern Sudan and the powerful empires of Ghana , Mali , and Songhai in West Africa. In the late 15th century, European colonization began, leading to the enslavement of millions of Africans and
6478-497: The tested Nilotes belonged to various sub-Saharan macro-haplogroup L subclades, including L0 , L2 , L3 , L4 , and L5 . Low levels of maternal gene flow from North Africa and the Horn of Africa were observed in a few groups, mainly by the presence of mtDNA haplogroup M and haplogroup I lineages in about 12.5% of the Maasai and 7% of the Samburu samples, respectively. The autosomal DNA of Nilotic peoples has been examined in
6560-442: The west bank of the White Nile, but the other side was controlled by the Funj sultanate, with regular conflict between the two. The Cøllø had the ability to quickly raid outside areas by war canoe , and had control of the waters of the Nile. The Funj had a standing army of armoured cavalry, and this force allowed them to dominate the plains of the sahel . Cøllø traditions tell of Rädh Odak Ocollo who ruled around 1630 and led them in
6642-582: Was angry and killed the child. According to the Lotuko religion, Ajok was annoyed by the man's actions and swore never to resurrect any Lotuko again. As a result, death was said to have become permanent. A Y-chromosome study by Wood et al. (2005) tested various populations in Africa for paternal lineages, including 26 Maasai and 9 Luo from Kenya, and 9 Alur from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The signature Nilotic paternal marker Haplogroup A3b2
6724-477: Was observed in 27% of the Maasai, 22% of the Alur , and 11% of the Luo. Haplogroup B is another characteristically Nilotic paternal marker. It was found in 22% of Luo samples, 8% of Maasai, and 50% of Nuer peoples. The E1b1b haplogroup has been observed at overall frequencies around 11% among Nilo-Saharan-speaking groups in the Great Lakes area, with this influence concentrated among the Maasai (50%). This
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