Nilotic peoples

The Maasai are nilotic

Nilotic is a word that refers to a number of people who speak Nilotic languages. Today they live in Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia. Most of them are farmers, raising cattle.

Occupation and Lifestyle

They live by farming, fishing, and hunting. They mostly eat milk, grain, and milk products. They don't just kill cows for meat. Instead, they use cows as payment or gifts, and having many cows shows how rich and important someone is. They have many words for cows and spend a lot of time taking care of them. They build big shelters for the cows called kraals. Some people even train their favorite cow and give it a name. Cows are important in their religious ceremonies, where they are offered as gifts or sacrifices to ancestors or spirits.

During the rainy season, they stay in villages that are always there, built above where floods can reach. They grow crops and take care of cows near their strong, round houses. In the dry season, they move to temporary camps with their cows near water and fields. They live in shelters to block the wind and spend their time taking care of cows and fishing.

Nilotic Tribes

• Acholi
• Anywa
• Dinka
• Luo
• Nuer
• Shilluk
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