THE CULT OF NYAKANU AND THE DIVINE KINGS OF THE SHILLUK 219 



The foregoing genealogy shows twenty kings belonging to eleven generations 

 between Nyakang and Kwadke, who is said to have fallen by the hands of the " Turks," as did 

 his successor Ajang. The three kings who succeeded Ajang had short troublous reigns, all 

 being killed by Dervishes. Their successor, Kur wad Nyadok, was deposed and exiled in 

 1903, and died at Haifa. The present king, Fadiet wad Kwadke, a rather incompetent 

 ruler, was recognised by the Government at the desire of a dominant party in the Shilluk 

 nation, but his election by no means met with universal approval. 



My genealogy, compiled at Fashoda, agrees with the list given by Father Banholzer' 

 in the number of kings between Nyakang and Kwadke, indeed, ignoring differences of 

 spelling, there is a general close agreement not only between these lists but also with one 

 compiled by the Eev. J. K. Giffen of the American Mission, for a cojiy of wliieh I am 

 indebted to Major S. Lyle Cummins, E.A.M.C. The inconsistencies are probably due to 

 the lists being compiled in different parts of the Shilluk territory. Father Banholzer's at 

 Lul, and Mr. Giffen's at the mouth of the Sobat River. In all that follows I shall use only 

 my own list, since this was comjjiled at Kodok from information obtained in villages near 

 Fashoda, the residence of the Shilluk kings. 



The second and third of the Shilluk kings partake somew-hat of the semi-divine nature 

 of Nyakang, and it will probably be found that little is known of any king before 

 Nyadwai, relics of whom still exist at Kodok. The following account of the origin of 

 Nyakang is taken from the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan : — 



" In the beginning was Jo-uk, the Great Creator, and he created a great white cow. Origin of 

 who came up out of the Nile and was called Deung Adok. The white cow gave birth to a ^'y^"^^"? 

 man-child whom she nursed and named Kola (Kollo) ; Kola begat Umak Ea or Omaro, who 

 begat Makwa or Wad Maul, who begat Ukwa. These people lived in a far-off country, 

 nobody knows where 



" Ukwa was one day sitting near the river when he saw two lovely maidens with long 

 hair rise out of the river and play about in the shallows. He saw them many times after 

 that, but they would have nothing to do with him and merely laughed at him. It should 

 be mentioned that their lower extremities were like those of a crocodile. 



"One day Ukwa found them sitting on the bank, so he came up behind and seized 

 them. Their screams brought their father, Ud Diljil, out of the river, to see what was the 

 matter. Ud Diljil, whose right side was green in colour and in form like a crocodile, 

 whilst his left side was that of a man, protested mildly, but allowed Ukwa to take away his 

 daughters and wed them, merely giving vent to a series of incorrect prophecies regarding 

 them. 



" Nik-kieya, the eldest sister, gave birth to two sons and three daughters, and 

 Ung-wad, the younger, to one son only, named Ju, or Bworo. The eldest son of Nik-kieya 

 was named Nyakang (Nik-kang or Nyakam) and inherited the pleasing crocodilian 

 attributes of his mother and grandfather. Meanwhile Ukwa married a tliird wife, whose 

 eldest child, a son, was named Duwat. 



" On Ukwa's death there was a furious quarrel between Nyakang and Duwat as to 

 who should succeed Ukwa. It ended by Nyakang, with his sisters Ad Dui, Ari Umker 

 and Bun Yung, his brother Umoi and his half-brother Ju, acquiring wings and flying 

 away to the south of the Sobat. Here they found the Shilluk country inhabited by 

 wicked Arabs, so they drove them out and founded a most successful kingdom 



" Nyakang had a creative power which he used greatly to the advantage of the 

 kingdom. In order to people the vast territory more quickly, he proceeded to create a 

 ' Father Banholzer's list will be found on T^at^c 199 of the first volume of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. 



