Kuku people
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[edit] People
Kuku are a people of the South Sudan. They belong to the Nilo-Hamitic tribes of the Bari speaking group of the Southern Sudan. (Bari, Mundari, Pöjulu, Kakwa, Nyangwara, Lulu’bö, Lugwara) They inhabit the agricultural lands of Equatorial region of Kajo Keji County. Kuku are well body-built, black skinned, middle height and flat nose people of the Hamitic group in the Southern Sudan and Northern Uganda.
They are chiefly a farming people relying on mixed farming. During the rainy season they grow substantial food crops, mainly sorghum, (also known in Sudan as dura) maize, millet, cassava, sweet potatoes, and beans (loputu). In the dry season they manage a small scale of cattle, goats and sheep keeping. Kuku are good beekeepers. They also practice collective hunting during the dry seasons.
[edit] Belief and God
Kuku agricultural lifestyle is reflected in their religious belief and practices, which is more or less Jewish in chacter. They strongly believe that there is only one God and he lives somewhere. In practice, they believe that all happenings to a family, a clan or the whole tribe take place as a result of their deeds. God, who is merciful and kind, speaks and acts to the people through their ancestors. The word for God in Kuku language is Ŋun and for man is ŋuto analyzed as Ŋuntu or separated into two words as Ŋun tu. The word TU in Kuku means Exact. Ŋuntu then gives the meaning of Exact image of God. Ŋun is invisible and therefore speaks and acts to the people in spirit. The Kuku people believe that Ŋun sends strong messages to the people through the spirits of their ancestors. The word for Spirit in Kuku language is Mulökötyo. There are two types of spirits, Good spirits and Bad spirits. Good spirits are called Mulökö Lo’but٫ but and bad spirits called Mulökö Lorok.
Mulökö Lo'but: speak and act to the people (grand children) by good messages of blessings like saving members of the family, clan or the tribe from disastrous moments. They bring sufficient rain at the right time of sowing food crops. Mulökö Lorok: do the opposite. They speak and act with bad messages of punishment to the grand children, like bringing sickness or even death to a family, clan or the tribe. They stop rain at the time of sowing food crops. Under this influence Kuku have maintained a strong family tree to keep them as close to Ŋun (God). In Kuku belief, you can only receive the Grace of God through your ancestral line, and that's if you have been doing good and follow their teachings.
With the penetration of Christianity into Africa, the Kuku traditional belief and religious lifestyle have produced a strong Christine practice in the whole tribe and has created a strong foundation for Christian fundamentalism in Kajo Keji.
[edit] Language
Kuku language also called Kutuk na Bari (Bari language) belongs to the tribal family of Bari language group, of the Hamitic tribes of the Southern Sudan and the Northern Uganda. It is written by using the Latin alphabets with few additions. Kuku Alphabets
A E I O U Ö – B D G J K L – M N P R S T – W Y ’B ’D Ý Ŋ – NY GB KP
a e i o ö – b d g j k l – m n p r s t – w y ’b ’d ý ŋ – ny gb
which has one letter more than the Bari Alphabet
[edit] Administrative Authority System
Kuku have no centralized form of administrative authority. Their administrative system immerges from bottom to top as follows:
- Head of the Family – Husband (Monye Mede)
- Head of the Clan – Elder man in the Clan (Matat lo Köji)
- Head of the Village – Village Chief (Matat lo 'Boke)
- Head of the Area – Area Chief (Matat lo Paranet)
- Head of the Tribe – Head Chief (Matat lo Jur) Highest Authority man in the tribe.
With their strong belief in God and his works through their ancestors the Kuku tribe, have their Chiefs associated with water. These chiefs are hence, responsible for rain controls during the crop growing seasons of the year.
[edit] Kuku Land and The District – (Kuku and Kajo Keji)
The land of the Kuku people is called KUKU and the administrative coverage area, which is the County, is given the name Kajo Keji, after the name of the tribe’s Chief (Kajok-Köji) who was in power during the British rule in the Sudan. Kajo-Keji, lays in the southernmost part of the Southern Sudan near the Uganda border district of Moyo. It an area of almost 112,600Km² and composes of five Administrative Local Areas known as Payams. These are:
- Kaŋapo I
- Kaŋapo II
- Lire
- Liwolo
- Ŋepo
By Baranya T.C.Elia edited by nyolia lo mogga
