The Nuer people are one of more than one hundred ethnic groups in the northeastern African country of Sudan, which stretches stretches southward from Egypt for 2000 kilometres and westward from the Red Sea for 1500 kilometres. The Nuer are the second largest tribe in southern Sudan, numbering over one million people, according to estimates from the 1980's. Other tribes in the south include the more populous Dinka, the Shilluk, Anuak, Acholi and Lotuho, along with numerous smaller tribes. The Dinka are closely associated with the Nuer, and are often integrated into Nuer society when they reside with, or marry into a Nuer village.

Principally the Nuer inhabit the swamps and expansive open grasslands on either side of the upper Nile River, and its tributaries, in the south. The south has an equatorial rainy climate, divided by a very dry season and a very wet one, and Nuer life is regulated entirely by the seasons. In the dry season only a few of the older folk remain in the village, the rest going with the cattle to water-holes or to the river bank, where summer camps are built. The Nuer are "pre-emiinentaly pastoral, though they grow more millet and maize than is

Marriage, a home and children are the goal of both men and women. The simplest expression of the family consists of husband and wife, or wives, with their children. Men normally marry around 20 years of age; women marry when they are mature enough to bear children (15-18 years). Before a man can marry, all of his older brothers must be married.

1956 Nuer Religion. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

In Nuer culture, gender roles have traditionally been well-defined. Men tended the cattle and other animals and were the warriors fighting neighboring tribes for land, cattle and out of a sense of pride in their tribe and abilities. Women managed the household and made most decisions regarding rearing of the children. However, the idea of "home" included both men and women; that is, without a man, there is no home and without a woman, there is no home. In fact, a "home" is more easily maintained if the husband/father dies, in which case the children will stay with the mother, than if a wife/mother dies, in which case the children are given to relatives for care until the man remarries. In addition, women were often consulted on issues of public affairs and played an important role in mediating disputes. Everyone in the family participated in planting and harvesting the few crops grown (millet and maize) and fishing.

1932 Pagan Tribes of the Nilotic Sudan. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd.

Relative age is of great importance in interpersonal relations. Every person is categorized in terms of an age set which is an association made up of equals in age. Males are divided into age grades so that each one is a senior, equal or junior to any other males. One is deferential to a senior, informal with an equal and superior to a junior. Women belong to the system as mothers, wives, sisters or daughters of the males. The Nuer are kind to their aged and usually respect their opinions.

disputes is frequently not possible in the United States since many of the Nuer are young adults without the benefit of extended families.

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Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)