CHAPTER XVI 



THE SHILLUK'S CONCEPTION OF GOD 

 AND OF CREATION 



FOR the following synopsis of Shilluk ideas regarding 

 a Supreme God and Creator, I am indebted to the Rev. 

 David S. Oyler of the American Mission on the Sobat 

 River. Mr Oyler is, I believe, the sole white man who 

 has (or who then had) mastered the intricacies of the 

 Shilluk tongue, and these notes the outcome of direct 

 verbal conversations with his savage flock he most 

 kindly gave to me. 



THE SHILLUK CONCEPTION OF GOD 



"On the subject of God the knowledge of Shilluks 

 breaks down. Their conception of God is nebulous ; 

 such Power as His lies beyond their range of thought ; 

 the whole subject is shrouded in a mystery too deep 

 for Shilluk comprehension. Conceptions such as omni- 

 potence and omnipresence, or as Eternity, meaning 

 infinity of Time and Space without limit or bound, 

 surpass the mentality of the stark savage. Can any 

 wonder? The marvel would arise were it otherwise. 

 The savage of course has no external guidance in 

 religion, no aid in the form of writings or prophecies. 

 He gropes in the dark, seeking God, but finds no light 

 to guide him. 



"The Shilluks liken God to a whirlwind, a phe- 

 nomenon so common and characteristic of their far-flung 



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