Mabaan is an ethnic group in
South Sudan
South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...
. Most of its members are
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
s. The number of persons in this group is at about 50,000. They speak
Mabaan, a
Nilotic
The Nilotic peoples are people indigenous to the Nile Valley who speak Nilotic languages. They inhabit South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. Among these are the Burun-sp ...
language. They live in the
Upper Nile.
Culture
The Mabaan people are mostly farmers and shepherds. Men and women work together to cultivate crops such as
millet
Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...
,
sesame
Sesame ( or ; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a flowering plant in the genus ''Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cu ...
, and
beans
A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...
. The men also engage in hunting and fishing, while women collect fruits and grain.
A 'rain chief' acts as the headman of each village. He possesses both political and religious power. His dwelling is characterized by village drums, heirloom weapons, and other symbolic insignia related to old Mabaan culture.
Related Luo People
The Jumjum people are closely related to the
Burun and the
Mabaan people.
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Ethnic groups in South Sudan