South Sudanese Culture and Food

Hello again!!!

So, I am finally back at school and have started my second semester at Temple University. Right now I am watching SNL, primarily because Bastille is the musical guest and I have been obsessing over them recently. It is currently 12:05 am and Bastille is playing “Pompeii.” For some reason, I thought you should know this.

Well, so since this is the first post I have posted since I have been back, I would like to say that this semester, I will have a heavy load when it comes to class work, but I will do my absolute best to post at least my regular Sunday posts every week.

This week is the last week that I will be writing weekly posts about South Sudan. However, as long as there are issues there, I will try to keep you updated with news articles.

Today’s post will be about the culture and food of the South Sudan. Now, I don’t have a place to cook any food, but I will at least describe the food and if I do get the chance to make a traditional meal from South Sudan, then I will post about it later on.

Culture

South Sudan is a very diverse country with “over 60 major ethnic groups.” “[D]espite the presence of many commonalities between them, each one has many unique systems of social structure, livelihoods, cultural traditions, and a sense of identity.” These ethnic groups have existed in the form of tribes that differ in many ways including language and marital practices. However, the tribes have been able to work together to fight common enemies such as foreign invaders.

A major ethnic difference between South Sudan and many western countries is in the structure of marital practices. Many South Sudanese people practice polygyny and “marriage is considered a union beyond the two individuals, a bond involving the two families, and in order for this bond to be cemented, marriage involves exchange of material goods.” This exchange is where the differences between tribes can be seen. In some ethnic groups, the male’s family pays the female’s family as “compensation for labor of the woman that is now lost to her marital family.” In other ethnic groups, both families will give to the other to show that they are now united as one family and are to share. The primary belief in South Sudan about marriage is that it is “solely a way to procreate.” Now, if there were a couple that would like to cross tribal lines, because of culture differences, this could potentially cause an issue between the tribes. However, the government theoretically would support this because it is one way in which to unify the population of South Sudan.

Religion

The overwhelming majority of the South Sudanese population practice indigenous religions. Some people follow both an indigenous religion as well as Christianity. There is also a small Islamic population in South Sudan. Ethnic identity and association is what determines one’s religion in South Sudan. “In the indigenous religions, one is born into it, as one’s religion is the same as one’s blood, and therefore no room for efforts to convert others.” Christianity and Islam came to this region through proselytization. This was one issue that created tension between the Sudan and what is now South Sudan. Sudan has a very dominant Islam culture and felt that the indigenous religions of the southern region were inferior and therefore wanted to covert the people to Islam. The people of South Sudan “did not want to be forced into Islam.”

Languages and Tribal Map

Link

Food

Food in Sudan and South Sudan are influenced by indigenous African cuisine as well as Arab cuisine brought by the Ottoman Empire, Levantine, Egyptian, Yemeni, Indian, and Ethiopian cuisine. Bread and porridge are staple foods with stews being popular. Fish is also popular in South Sudan. South Sudanese cuisine tends to be less basic than food from the Sudan and tend to have more obvious foreign influences.

Since Sharia Law is very important in the Sudan, alcohol is just becoming integrated into South Sudanese cuisine because it was illegal while under the control of the Sudan.

Recipes

Sudanese Yogurt and Tahini Dip

Sudanese Cinnamon Tea

Well I hope you found this post interesting and informational. Let me know what you found most interesting. If you try any Sudanese recipes, let me know what you think of them! I hope you had a good January! Next month, in tribute to the Sochi Winter Olympics, my weekly posts will primarily be about Russia. Have a good week!

Sources

http://www.southsudanembassydc.org/map.asp
http://www.southsudanembassydc.org/inner.asp?z=5C5F
http://www.southsudanembassydc.org/inner.asp?z=5D58