Safari Tour To Jiye/Jie People, South Sudan Cultural and Wildlife Safaris and Tours | Getting To Know The Jie Tribe of South Sudan Safari
Travel with Ultimate Wild Safaris and get to know the Jiye people, also known as Jie, an ethnic group living in the Kathangor Hills in Eastern Equatoria state, South Sudan. They speak a dialect of the Toposa language. The Jiye are related to the Toposa but now they are enemies. The Jiye are a minority and have special traditions such as the fortress-type villages and their upper lip piercings and scarifications.
The Jiye neighbor their kins, the Toposa to the south, Murle and Kachipo to the north, and east. Cattle rustling and competition over the scarce resources of water and pasture have determined the relations between the Jiye and the Murle.
The Jiye like the Toposa belong to what has been called the "Karamojong cluster", which also includes the Karamojong people of Uganda, the Nyangatom people in southwestern Ethiopia, and the Turkana people of Kenya. Also, the Jiye like the Toposa tribe continues to dress in their traditional clothes (leather-beaded skirts) and pierce their lips and scarify their arms, chests, and faces. Each scarification is a work of art.
History of the Jiye people:
The Jiye people originally came from Kotido Najie in the Karamoja region of Uganda. They left the area in search of water and pasture. They passed through several areas but moved on after being attacked by the Toposa. They settled in Naliimtiira for a while and grew, but were eventually driven off by neighboring tribes (the Nginyoro and Ngipeta).
Their leader, Natuliasia, advised them to divide into four groups to avoid being attacked as a large group. These four groups eventually became the clans of today: The Ngikurono, who worship wood ash and live in Lorumute; the Ngisirae, who worship the cheetah and live in Kesegor Hill; the Ngimokodol, who worship the millipede and live in Lopeat; and the Ngitarakaboon, who worship the hyena and also live in Lopeat.
Jiye Culture:
The Jie society is organized into exogamous agnatic lineages. The most important social events that bring the Jiye together in celebrations include marriage, hunting, cattle raids, and warfare. The Jiye share certain totems and body marks. The male adults attend meetings, gatherings, and functions in which important decisions concerning the clan or whole community are made. Respect for the elders among the Jiye is mandatory for the younger generations. They pierce and scar their bodies as marks of beauty. The women wear beaded headbands in colors that represent the clan of their husbands.
The Jiye are seasonal pastoralists who mainly raise cattle. Women and children generally live in settled villages while men leave the village for the season to feed the cattle on pastures. In the villages, women engage in farming and cultivate crops like cowpeas, maize, millet, and tobacco. Cattle play a major role in Jiye culture and are incorporated into the religious system of the Jiye.
The Jiye culture is orally transmitted through songs, dance, music, poems, and folklore. Being pastoralists, they have perfected their art of war and cattle raiding. They can spy and gather with precision information about the enemy, water, pastures, etc. The young men take great care and beauty of their hair.
The Jiye like the Toposa have no clear political organisation and functions. The chiefs, sub-chiefs, elders, fortune-tellers, medicine men, and witch doctors wield administrative and spiritual powers.
Jiye people's religious beliefs:
The Jiye are animists- they believe in a supreme being named Apayok, who resides in a crater in Mt Kesegor. They believe if you commit an offense against him, Apayok will not give you water when you visit him there. They believe Apayok sent a sorcerer named Natidiita to protect and guide them. They also believe in the spirits of their ancestors, with whom they communicate through a medium.
Book and arrange with Ultimate Wild Safaris for the Jiye People cultural safari tour in South Sudan.
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