19/06/2023
Religion and Expressive Culture
Religious Beliefs. Although large numbers of Nuer converted to Christianity at the end of the twentieth century, the majority remain followers of traditional religions whose central tenet is the worship of a high god through the totem, ancestral spirits, and a number of deities. The high god is called Kuoth and is the source of life; below Kuoth is a host of earth deities. Nuer religious practice involves sacrifices of animals at designated times of the year, such as beginning of the rainy season, the blessing of the harvest, and the end of the year. At these prayer gatherings the religious practitioners call for peace and good human and animal health and fertility. Ancestral spirits are thought to be able to increase the productivity of the land, increase the number of cattle, and provide safety. They are believed to watch over the living, reward good behavior, and punish wrongdoing. They function as mediators between the dead and the living. There are times when the gods need to be appeased, especially when they are angered by human behavior, and rituals are performed on those occasions. All these practices were a source of misunderstanding between the Nuer and Christian missionaries, who initially believed that the Nuer were worshiping idols. However, as a result of the religious conflict between the north and the south of Sudan, Christianity has grown steadily among the Nuer and Christians are currently estimated at 30 percent of the Nuer population.
Religious Practitioners. The central figure in religious practice is the leopard-skin-chief, but there have been numerous prophets whom people have believed in, the highest of whom was Ngun Deng. He rose in Lou Nuer, and his pyramid is the most impressive religious monument in Nuerland. The practices of traditional religious leaders have been regarded as complemented by Christianity, and there is no conflict between Christianity and traditional religion. However, the Nuer believe that
