PROCEEDINGS OF THE ANATOMICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL 



SYNOPSIS OF LECTURE BY MR. KATHISH. 



The Dinka tribe had originally been called Junga, after a kind of white 

 wheat which grew there in abundance, which was prized very much, and which 

 indicated their eminence as a pastoral people, possessed of many cows, goats, and 

 sheep. The home of the tribe is on the eastern side of Bhar-el-Gazel, a tributary 

 of the Nile, south of Khartoum. 



After giving a graphic description of the characteristic features of the 

 country, the lecturer went on to deal with the social customs of the people. A 

 tortoise feast was often held, and for this purpose anything from 10 to 200 

 tortoises were killed. The natives all sat down in company in the open and fed 

 on the roasted tortoises. The animals were roasted on their backs, and the 

 shells used for holding the gravy. The flesh was pulled to pieces by the fingers. 



The marriage custom was a mercenary kind of affair, as the bride was 

 bought for so many cows. The dowry paid was from 70 to 100 cows, and a man 

 could hav-e as many wives as he was able to purchase. 



Deer were very plentiful at certain seasons, and the Dinkas had great 

 enjoyment in hunting the young fawns. The great feature of the country, 

 however, was the herds of cows kept for milk and butter, the women of the tribe 

 priding themselves on the butter and other products they made from the milk. 

 Living within fifty miles of the equator, the tribe used a great deal of melted 

 butter to keep themselves from getting chilblains. 



Dealing next with the worship of the Dinkas, the lecturer stated that they 

 were not idolatrous in the commonly accepted sense. Though they had no 

 systematic religion, as in this country, they worshipped Nature and believed in a 

 creator, and their simple religion was very much like that of the ancient 

 Egyptians. They also believed in their ancestors living afterwards, and believed 

 in the air as a life-giving god. They offered animal sacrifice to the souls of 

 their ancestors, but human sacrifice was unknown amongst them. 



In reply to one question, Mr. Kathish stated that the people used no 

 mineral salt, but used instead a vegetable salt, obtained from the burning of 

 certain leaves. 



