A revival of African cultural practices starts in southern Sudan

August 31, 2008 (TORIT) – The 21 year civil war subsequent led to introduction and evolution of western culture in Sudan. This has considerably resulted into a tremendous, diminishing and undermining perhaps, weakening of black-African Sudanese rich cultural heritage.

The Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) via the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly (SSLA) along with other social institutions have now began establishing a committee of Information & Culture. As a specialized committees in SSLA, GOSS with the aim to revitalize cultural norms and practices, including restoration of Kingdoms of all the southern Sudanese ethnic communities across the 10 states of the southern Sudan.

It is very unlikely that any attempt to build the capacity of contemporary southern Sudan will succeed without addressing the issue of the kingdoms in the modern era.

There is no question that twenty years of war has very much reduced the power and status of tribal chiefs presumably being because of the presence of military units and organizations in tribal areas and the perceived need for civil laws to be subordinate to martial law in order to meet operational military imperatives. Hence, this led the Kings to loose ability to execute and exercise powers which finally resulted in the erosion of our rich practices.

In an inclusive interview with Gurtong at the office of state governor,Hon. Wol Atak, MP in SSLA stated that the committee of Information and Culture in conjunction with GOSS, had delegated and charged them as members to carry out a special visit and tour to three selected states; Western Equatoria , Eastern Equatoria and Upper Nile, respectively. The aim is to collect data while empowering and raising consciousness among all the southern Sudanese ethnic communities on the importance of their original identities as true African people in an attempt to trace back and retain their cultural practices.

However, to date, most endeavors to rejuvenate and reinforce the forgotten past systems such as kingdoms in order to incorporate then in to Southern Sudan contemporary society will have been to be approached from the top.

Efforts have been made through the higher courts and judiciary, which is exemplified in the legitimacy and central role customary law has been given in Southern Sudanese jurisprudence in the statutory reforms of 2003 of the SPLM.

"Our Kings including traditional chiefs are deprived of modern information to strengthen in order to prepare themselves firmly of overcoming the fast evolving western cultures. We as the government should give them moral support. We should not allow our rich African cultures to cheaply fade away unnoticed, soon you realize its(culture)extinct."

Apart from mandating the Ministry of Education, Science & Technology to introduce and incorporate all Southern dialects by emphasizing the use of vernacular in all Southern schools, the committee will also continue to motivate and encourage the Ministries of Social Development, Culture and Information both at the state and GOSS levels to further strengthen and promote all the cultural practices while charging the Ministry of Local Government to empower and recognize a peaceful co-existence of the Kingdoms in all communities of 10 states of Southern Sudan.

Mr. Atak stated that the committee will begin from Eastern Equatoria state followed by Western Equatoria state and then Upper Nile state. However, the visit to Upper Nile state would not include Anyuak; the most popular kingdom among all the Kingdoms in southern Sudan. The reason that there is no budget allocated to and its inaccessibility.

Hon. Wol Atak can be reached through the following contact: +256477111391 Email:wolatak@gmail.com