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UNISCI Discussion Papers, Nº 33 (Octubre / October 2013) ISSN 1696-2206South and North of Sudan, which for over the last three centuries has been the meeting pointof two different cultures, the African culture represented by the Dinka and the Arab Culturerepresented by the Baggara. However, it is also noted that the racial divide between the twogroups is blurred because of the long history of contact and inter-marriages between them. Itis also a zone where the two cultures melt producing groups, such as the Misseriya Humur,which is a blend of both cultures through intermarriage and assimilation. The opposite is alsotrue for the Dinka many of whom claim ancestry to the Rezeigat, although the numbers arereported to be small. 16 This zone extends from the western borders of Sudan with Chad andCentral African Republic across the Southern Parts of Darfur and South Kordofan to theborders with Upper Nile where Kiir/Bahr al Arab joins the Bahr al Ghazal to enter the Bahr alJebel. 17 It is the dry season meeting point by the two groups of predominantly cattlepastoralists. The use of the resources of the Kiir/Bahr al Arab Region has resulted in thedevelopment of strategic interests by the two groups upon which economic, social andpolitical relations have emerged, and which are being manipulated today by new actors. TheBahr al Arab (Kiir) is not only a meeting point for the Dinka of northern Bahr el Ghazal andthe Baggara; here they come to fish and market their goods including livestock. 18The two groups are mainly pastoralists rearing cattle of goats and sheep, with somecamels among the Rezeigat practicing a transhumance form of mobility and nomadism. Theclimatic conditions dictate the pattern and distance of human and animal movement and theirconcentration during the different periods of the year. While the Baggara are nomadic, theDinka practice some form of transhumance. The Baggara nomads move from North Darfur toKiir/ Bahr al Arab River, while the Dinka move their cattle to the area during the peak of thedry season, and they also use part of the area for agriculture. The Dinka generally stay in thearea for about three months between December and March/April and they move back to theareas of permanent settlements where they carry out crop production. The Baggara stay alonger time in the area than the Dinka, often lasting between six and eight months dependingon climatic conditions in the North. The length of movement of nomads to the North is relatedto the amount of rains, availability and avoidance of muddy areas. 19The Dinka who own comparatively large numbers of cattle practice a certain form oftranshumance, which has certain points of similarity and certain points of contrast with thatfound in the semi-arid zone occupied by the Baggara. The Dinka move from the Kiir/Bahr alArab to their settlements where rainfall is heavier. The Nomads, on the other hand, move intoareas of lighter rainfall during the wetter months and from these areas to dry season grazingland during the year. 20 Superficially their annual cycle of movements appears identical withthat of the Dinka. In fact, their movement is conditioned by the amount of pasture and wateravailable on the routes. These physical conditions determine the concentration anddistribution of the population during the different seasons. However, the cycle of movementsis much the same, though the actual timing of the movements is different, since in the areas ofthe nomads the rains do not start until June/July, long after the Dinka have moved back to16 Nyang’oro J.E. (2001): The Effectiveness of Civil Society Initiatives to Controlling Violent Conflicts andBuilding Peace: A Study of Three Approaches in the Greater Horn of Africa. Case Study Four: Local LevelIntergroup peace Building in Southern Sudan: An Assessment of Effective Practices; Management SystemInternational.17 Saeed, Abdelbasit, op. cit., pp. 7-13.18 Nyaba, Peter Adwok (2001): Trading Bridge in Northern Bahr el Ghazal: Transforming the Dinka-BaggaraConflict through Increased Economic Activities in the Transition Zone, Paper presented at the Conference"Money Makes the War Go Round: Transforming the Economy of War in Sudan", Brussels, 12-13 June. Can beaccessed at http://www.cmi.no/sudan/resources.cfm?page=48.19 El Wakeel, Ahmed S., op.cit., p.35.20 Abdalla, Ali Jammaa, op. cit., p. 3.100
UNISCI Discussion Papers, Nº 33 (Octubre / October 2013) ISSN 1696-2206their cultivations in normal times. Moreover, the actual movement of the cattle camps isrelatively similar; at the initial stage of the movement, the camps are relatively small,composed of the smallest lineage groups (farig) first, and then of larger groups as the peak ofthe dry season approaches. The maximum period of concentration is at the peak of the dryseason just before the onset of the rains.Traditionally the location of the cattle camps of the different groups were made byagreement in an annual conference organized by local government authorities prior to themovements of the cattle into the zone. The duration of stay of each group, in particular that ofthe Baggara groups was determined during these conferences, although climatic conditions,such as the start of the rains and the availability of water and grazing in the North where theBaggara would move, were also important factors.Disputes, often resulting into violent conflict, appeared to have been a norm in therelations between the two cultures; but also traditional mechanisms developed over thecenturies that not only resolved such disputes/conflicts but also to prevent their occurrence.The expansion in numbers of both human and animal populations over the centuries, coupledwith deterioration in the natural conditions in the northern parts of Sudan, resulted in anincreased pressure over the resources of the Kiir/Bahr al Arab River; moreover, the Baggaragroups tended to stay longer in the area than in the past. This led to increased disputes andconflicts over the years, and the weakening of the traditional administrative structuresincreased the cycle of violence in the zone.In 2004, the Dinka, Messeriya and Rezeigat (DMR) communities went to Addis Ababawith help from the Sudan Government and SPLM/A to negotiate inter-communal peace andfind ways of supporting peace negotiation in Naivasha. The meeting issued a communiquécalling for the acceleration of the peace process. The meeting also called for the conference ofborder communities at home to address issues of enhancing good neighbourhood 21 . However,the meeting did not take place until 2008 in Aweil. The delay was a result of a dispute overthe venue of the conference and the introduction of the highly politicized Abyei agenda at theconference. It was from that time onwards that the town of Aweil continued to host annualpeace conferences, between Dinka Malual and Rezeigat on one hand, and Dinka Malual andMisseriya on the other hand. The last meeting between Dinka Malual and Rezeigatcommunities identified 37 conflict issues, including pastures and water. 22 It was convened atGok Machar in 2012. In brief, what is important in these conferences is the readiness of DinkaMalual to allow Rezeigat cattle to go as far as they could do, as long as they do not carry gunswith them.As the civil war broke out again in 1983 it progressed at a terrific speed resulting inpoliticization and militarization of the Baggara groups in South Kordofan and South Darfur.These groups, mainly the Misseriya and the Rezeigat communities were instrumentalized asagents in the proxy war. 23 They accompanied trains supplying the Sudanese army in Bahr alGhazal. The rival border communities engaged in cattle rustling and child/women abductionas a source of wealth. The embittered border communities in Southern Sudan soughtassistance from the SPLA to defend their families and animal wealth. 24 This type of21 Dinka-Misseriya-Rezeigat (DMR), Communiqué of Addis Ababa, 18/2/2004.22 Gok Machar Meeting, Final Report, Resolution and Recommendations, 2012.23 Douglas H. Johnson (2011): The Root Causes of Sudan's Civil Wars, Revised Edition, Kampala, FountainPublishers, pp.81-82.24 Concordis International and United States Institute of Peace (USIP), More than a Line: Sudan's North-SouthBorder, (Report September 2010), pp.42-46.101
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Juan Emilio CheyreDirector, Center
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