Bari in South Sudan


Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge

Introduction / History

The Nyepo (sing. Nyepotot) are a music loving people as a characteristic of all human beings. Their traditional dance is full of styles and song lyrics. Their songs cover historical events, love, lamentation, praise, education, religion etc. The wore (dancing field, pronounced as wohreh) is frequently visited during the dry season as it is a taboo to organize for a dance during the rainy season. This is because it would interrupt people from cultivation. Once the drum is hit during the rainy season, it would postpone the rain till the breacher is identified and punished. The time for dance is always welcomed by everyone since it is the opportunity for the youth to learn new things - how to approach ladies for future wives, how to beat the drum, how to dance, how to sing and how to associate with non-family members. The dance is also necessary to keep the tribe together. The dance is always danced at night and throughout the night. When the youth are over excited, they may dance for a week consecutively. Boys who are interested to learn how to beat the drum can do so at the evening times of the dry season since the night time is not allowed for learning.


What Are Their Lives Like?

The Nyepo band consists of the löri ngote (mother drum), kengere (open ended drum) and the kikili or kikililö in plural (small drum) which are sometimes two in number and hit by one person altogether and the gwele (metallic gongs), gwirya (rattles) and toryo (horns). The Nyepo generally have four types of dances based on specific occasion - feasts, wedding, funerals, victory over an enemy or disease or plentiful harvest. Namely, Kore, bula, tibidi and nyale. A brief explanation for such types of dance is provided below. The Kore consists of several dance divisions that are associated with different situations. 1. Kil 'di: This is a war dance. It gives the fighters the moral and vigor needed in a successful fight. This can be compared to the rock and blue genre in modern music. 2. Kisonde: This is a dance of praise especially in honor of a hero after war or in honor of a lover. This is where one shows off styles and skills of dance. 3. Lominimini: This is a competitive dance. It tells who is the most energetic dancer. This is judged from whether a person is able to endure the dance for long or whether the dancer is able to jump the highest. One may win a mate for being envied by several persons of the opposite sex. 4. Ryoket: This is a slow dance whose purpose is to boost energy of the dancers after dancing for a long time before dawn. 5. Gwele: As its name suggests, this dance happens after a group of youth contributes food items to be eaten together and results in a dance bearing the name gwele (contribution). In this dance, people usually dance it at day time (dawn or dusk) because it involves scoring of goals. BULA This is a dance that is danced without any drum but with hand clubs and singing. It is usually danced during child naming ceremonies. Excited kids may initiate it but latter may explode into a great dance. TIBIDI This and the Bula are the dances that tell the Nyepo from the other Bari speaking tribes. It is mostly danced during funerals. NYALE This was practiced during the early years of the Nyepo as a tribe. As of current, it is not longer practiced. The Kore is a name that is given to difference dance types according to the tribe one belongs. The correct meaning is chore. This Nyepo dance was inheritted from the Bari. The Nyepo can easily combine with the Bari and dance together as if they are one tribe. the name bula may be shared by other tribes but the dances can never be the same.


Prayer Points

Scripture Prayers for the Bari in South Sudan.


Profile Source:   Anonymous  

People Name General Bari
People Name in Country Bari
Alternate Names Fajulu; Kuku; Nyangwara; Nyepo; Nyepu; Nypho; Pojullo; Pojulu
Population this Country 672,000
Population all Countries 837,000
Total Countries 4
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 4
Unreached No
Frontier People Group No
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed
People ID 10808
ROP3 Code 101283
ROP25 Code 300896
ROP25 Name Bari (Nilotic)
Country South Sudan
Region Africa, East and Southern
Continent Africa
10/40 Window No
Persecution Rank Not ranked
Location in Country Central Equatoria State, Juba, Kajo Keji, and Lainya counties; both banks of the Nile, south of Terakeka on west bank, Mongalla on east bank, to Kajo Kaji escarpment.   Source:  Ethnologue 2016
Country South Sudan
Region Africa, East and Southern
Continent Africa
10/40 Window No
Persecution Rank Not ranked
Location in Country Central Equatoria State, Juba, Kajo Keji, and Lainya counties; both banks of the Nile, south of Terakeka on west bank, Mongalla on east bank, to Kajo Kaji escarpment..   Source:  Ethnologue 2016
Primary Religion: Christianity
Major Religion Percent
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 7.00 %)
95.00 %
Ethnic Religions
5.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
0.00 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
Primary Language Bari (672,000 speakers)
Language Code bfa   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 1
Primary Language Bari (672,000 speakers)
Language Code bfa   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 1
People Groups Speaking Bari
Photo Source RJ Tidwell 
Map Source Joshua Project / Global Mapping International  
Profile Source Anonymous 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.



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