SUMMARY

The Dinka are the largest non-Arab ethnic group in Sudan and the Dinka language is the first language for about one tenth of the Sudanese population. In southern Sudan the Dinka is the largest ethnic group. They are mainly cattle pastoralists who live on either side of the White Nile and across Bahr al-Ghazal. Traditional Dinka culture follows the flooding and receding of the Nile waters. The Dinka are divided into different subgroups and sometimes these groups fight against each other but most often unite if they come into conflict with an outside enemy.

The Awan Dinka is part of the Southwestern Dinka and inhabits primarily the Warab state in central Southern Sudan. The current president of Southern Sudan, Salwa Kiir is from the Awan Dinka group.

The Awan Dinka has been involved in the non-state category of the UCDP organised violence.