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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