Bari People

Bari People

The Bari ethnic groups in South Sudan occupy the Savanna lands of the White Nile Valley. They speak a language which is also called Bari. The name "Bari of the Nile Valley" would be fitting because the river Nile runs through the heart of the Bari land. This definition would also distinguish them from any other ethnic groups that may be using the name Bari; there are apparently such groups in Ethiopia and Somalia, although no information exist as to whether they are all anthropologically related, as well as in India and Pakistan.

The Bari of the Nile are sedentary agro-pastoralist. They exploit the savanna lands along the river Nile, and up to 40 miles east and west of the Nile. The Bari economy is based on subsistence mixed farming; their domestic livestock (small and large) are mainly raised for supplementing food, but mostly as a socio-economic and financial investment. Notably, livestock are exchanged as gifts in marriages, and other social functions or sacrificed in celebrations, and funerals; and whenever the need arises they are sold for cash.

The Bari are consistently under pressure: now from modern urbanization annexing their green lands and infusing different cultures into their lifestyles; and historically the Baris have been devastated by slave traders, and forced by Belgians (especially from the Lado enclave) into labor camps and used as porters to carry ivory tusks to the Atlantic coast. The two Sudanese Civil Wars (1955–1973; 1983–2005) have also affected the Bari social, economic and financial dynamics.

War (intertribal or resisting foreigners) is not alien to Bari history. Generally, the Bari have co-existed well with the neighboring ethnic groups, but have had to pick up arms to defend their land against slave traders, and plundering warriors. There is documentation of Bari resistance against invasion by Dinka, Azande (Zande), and numerous encounters with Turkish slave traders.

Traditionally the Baris believe in one almighty God and existence of powerful spirits (good and evil). Today the Bari's demography is made up of Christians (Catholics and Protestants), Muslims, and followers of traditional religions (not organized).

In the past it was a fashion among the Bari to undergo initiation ceremonies. Both boys and girls subjected themselves to removal of lower front teeth. The girls, in addition got tattoos: around the belly area, the flank, the back, and the face (on the temple) in the form of arrow shapes, or simple flowers.

Along the banks of the Nile, in the heart of the Bari land, lies the historical villages of Lado, Gondokoro (Kondokoro), and Rejaf (Rageef). The capital city of South Sudan, the town of Juba, is also in the Bari land, situated ten miles to the south of Gondokoro, and seven miles to the north of Rejaf.