Deng, also known as Denka, is a sky, rain, and fertility

god In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

Dinka mythology Dinka spirituality refers to the traditional religion of the Dinka people (also known as Muonyjang people), an ethnic group of South Sudan. They belong to the Nilotic peoples, which is a group of cultures in Southern Sudan and wider Eastern Africa ...

for the

Dinka people The Dinka people ( din, Jiɛ̈ɛ̈ŋ) are a Nilotic ethnic group native to South Sudan with a sizable diaspora population abroad. The Dinka mostly live along the Nile, from Jonglei to Renk, in the region of Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile (two out of ...

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

and

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 ...

. He is the son of the goddess

Abuk Abuk is the first woman in the myths of the Dinka people of South Sudan and the Nuer of South Sudan and Ethiopia, who call her Buk or Acol. She is the only well-known female deity of the Dinka. She is also the patron goddess of women as well as ...

.Lynch, Patricia Ann, ''African Mythology A to Z'', Infobase Publishing (2004), p. 29,

(retrieved 17 May 2018) Among the Nuer people, Nuer, Deng is considered to be "a foreign deity" and "a bringer of disease". His daughter is the moon goddess. In

Dinka religion Dinka spirituality refers to the traditional religion of the Dinka people (also known as Muonyjang people), an ethnic group of South Sudan. They belong to the Nilotic peoples, which is a group of cultures in Southern Sudan and wider Eastern Africa ...

, he is a storm and fertility god bringing lightning, rain, and thunder.Jordan, Michael, ''Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses'', Infobase Publishing (2014), p.74

(retrieved 17 May 2018)Andrews, Tamra, ''Dictionary of Nature Myths: Legends of the Earth, Sea, and Sky'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

(2000), p. 55,

(retrieved 17 May 2018) The word ''deng'' means "rain" in Dinka language, Thuɔŋjäŋ. Among his followers, Deng is regarded as the intermediary between humans and the supreme being. Closely linked with the supreme god Nhialic, he was regarded as the son of god and sometimes as the son of the goddess Abuk. In some areas of Dinka country, Deng and Nhialic are "regarded as one and the same".

References

External links

*Lady of the Eart

African gods Dinka mythology Fertility gods Nuer mythology Rain deities Sky and weather gods {{Deity-stub