00:11Dinka mythology refers to the traditional religion and folk tales of the Dinka tribe,
00:17an ethnic group located in southern Sudan, in Africa. The Dinka have a pantheon of deities.
00:25But out of their not so numerous gods, only 5 of the gods, are considered as the majorly important, and
00:33most revered gods of the Dinka religion. Namely, Nihilak, Deng, Abuk, and Garang. And then the lesser twin gods, Candid
00:44and Nilya. Now we take a look at each of these deities.
00:481. Nihilak. Nihilak was the supreme and creator god of the Dinka religion, whose abode was in the heavens. Nihilak
00:58is said to have created the universe, and all that were in it. He is the god of the sky
01:04and rain, and the ruler of all the spirits.
01:07The Dinka believed him to be present in all of creation, and that he had the ability to control the
01:13destiny of every human, plant and animal on earth.
01:18Nihilak is known by many other names, few of which are, Asak, Chok, Chak, and Shiluk. According to myths, Nihilak
01:28created the first man called Garang, and the first woman called Abuk, out of clay.
01:34He made them quite tiny and placed them in a pot, which he then covered. When he uncovered the pot
01:41after a while, Garang and Abuk were fully grown.
01:45The myth narrated that, in the beginning, Nihilak made the earth and the sky to be so close to each
01:52other, and connected them with a rope, so that people who wanted to see him, could climb up the rope,
01:59to the heavens.
02:00However, when the woman, Abuk, disobeyed him, he permanently withdrew from the earth, into the heavens. He also cut off
02:10the rope which joined heaven and earth, so that humans, could no longer reach him.
02:16Still, Nihilak did not forget all about mankind, he relegated his power, authority and duties, to Deng. Thus, Deng took
02:27over, as the god of the skies.
02:292. Deng. Deng, is the sky god of rain, and fertility, empowered by Nihilak, as the intermediary between humans, and
02:40the celestials.
02:41Now there are different versions of how Deng came to exist. One version says that Deng was the son of
02:49Nihilak, the supreme god. In another version, and in some areas of the Dinka tribe, Deng and Nihilak, were regarded
02:58as one god. They were considered as the same spirit.
03:01Another version states that, Deng was the son of the primordial woman, Abuk. And in yet another version, Deng was
03:10born by an unknown woman who came from the heavens.
03:13This version, narrated that a pregnant young woman appeared from the sky on a fateful day. The people celebrated her
03:22arrival and built a house for her. When her son was born, he had a full set of adult teeth,
03:29which was a sign of spiritual power, and he wept tears of blood. The woman told the people that her
03:36son would be their leader.
03:37Just as she said this, the rain fell in torrents, giving the boy his name, Deng, meaning rain. As foretold,
03:47Deng became their ruler. He ruled over the people for so many years.
03:52When he was old, and had grown bored of mundane life, he disappeared in a storm. Or in a slight
04:00variation, ascended into the heavens, when Nihilak made him the god of the skies and rain.
04:07Few stories say that when Deng had control of the skies and rain, he took Abuk as his consort, and
04:14had children with her.
04:153. Abuk. Abuk was a primordial. She was the first woman to be created by Nihilak, alongside her primordial husband,
04:26Garang. Now Nihilak was not much of a generous god.
04:30He told the first woman and man, Abuk and Garang, that they could plant and grind just one grain of
04:38millet, a day, for their food. This would hardly be enough for them, nevertheless.
04:43They agreed, as they seemed to have no other choice. One day, Abuk felt really starved and hungry, so she
04:53disobeyed Nihilak, and planted several millet grains.
04:56She used a long-handled hoe to secretly do the planting from heaven. But unfortunately, Abuk accidentally struck Nihilak with
05:06her hoe.
05:07This, coupled with the fact that she disobeyed him, infuriated the chief god so much, that he severed the rope
05:15which joined earth and the heavens, and then he withdrew from involvement with human affairs.
05:21Because of this, people had to work hard for their food, and illness and death, came into the world.
05:28Abuk was later elevated to divine status, as the patron goddess of women and gardens. She presided over women's activities,
05:38especially farming and the cultivation of millet.
05:41Her emblem was a small snake. But most times, the moon, and sheep, are included as her symbols.
05:49In some traditions, Abuk was the mother of Deng, the god of rain and fertility. While in other traditions, Deng,
05:58was Abuk's lover.
06:00This version told that when Abuk rose to divine status, she could no longer be with Garang. So she had
06:07the rain god, Deng, as her new lover. For this reason, she is also associated with water.
06:15Abuk and Deng had two daughters together, namely, Candit and Nalip, who both drowned and became divine.
06:234. Garang
06:25Garang was the first man on earth, together with his wife, Abuk.
06:30In some stories, Nalip created the first humans, by blowing them out of his nose. Other accounts say humans originated
06:40from the sky, and were placed in the river where they came as fully formed adults. Other accounts say that
06:48humans were moulded as clay figures, and placed to mature in pots.
06:53Nalip told them to multiply, and that their children would die, but would come back to life within or after
07:01fifteen days. Garang protested that if nobody dies permanently, then there wouldn't be enough food. So Nalip changed his mind,
07:11and introduced permanent death.
07:13In a slightly different version, it was after Garang's wife, Abuk, disobeyed Nalip, that permanent death came to exist. Like
07:23Abuk, Garang was a primordial. But unlike Abuk, he did not attain a full god status. Thus, he was usually
07:32considered as a demigod, ancient, or titan.
07:36Some stories say, that it was the rain god, Deng, who denied Garang a full divine status, and suppressed him.
07:46The Dinka tribes believe that, it is Garang's suppressed spirit who causes most Dinka women, and some men, to scream.
07:545. Candit, and Nalip. Candit and Nalip were the smaller deities, born from the union of the rain god, Deng,
08:05and the matron goddess, Abuk. They both came to earth, and fell into the river, where they became river deities.
08:13Candit walked the earth in order to firmly establish her lineage amongst the humans, after which she returned to her
08:21home, in the river.
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