On The Nuer Conquest

Author(s): Sharon Hutchinson and Raymond C. Kelly

Reviewed work(s):
Source: Current Anthropology, Vol. 35, No. 5 (Dec., 1994), pp. 643-651
Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological
Research
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2744090 .
Accessed: 17/10/2012 05:18
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

The University of Chicago Press and Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research are collaborating
with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Current Anthropology.

http://www.jstor.org

Volume 35, Number S, December I994

ture:An international
perspective.
Editedby C. W. Cowan and
P. J.Watson,pp. I43-7I. Washington,
D.C.: Smithsonian
InstitutionPress.
MC CORRISTON,
J., AND F. HOLE.
I99I. The ecologyofseasonal stressand theoriginsofagriculture
in theNear East.
American Anthropologist93:46-69.

V. I989. Paleoclimatesin Centraland South

Americasince i8,000 B.P. based on pollenand lake-levelrecords.QuaternaryScienceReviews8:I-24.

MARKGRAF,

METCALFE,
S. E., F. A. STREET-PERROTT,
R. B. BROWN,
HALES,
R. A. PERROT,
AND F. M. STEININGER.
I989.

P. E.

Late

Holocenehumanimpacton lake basinsin centralMexico.

643

H. E. JR. I993. Environmental

determinism
in Near
Easternprehistory.
CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY
34:458-69.
D. I989. "Domestication
ofthe SouthwestAsian NeoZOHARY,
lithiccropassemblageofcereals,pulses,and flax:The evidencefromthelivingplants,"in Foragingand farming:The
evolutionofplant exploitation.Editedby D. R. Harrisand
G. C. Hillman,pp.358-73. London:UnwinHyman.

WRIGHT,

On The Nuer Conquest

Geoarchaeology 4: I I 9-4I .

J. G. I985. A pollencorefromthe HaciendaLusitania.Pro Calima 4:40-44.

NORR, L. I99I. Nutritional
consequencesofprehistoric
subsistencestrategies
in lowerCentralAmerica.Ph.D. diss.,UniversityofIllinois,Urbana,Ill.
. n.d. "Interpreting
dietarymaize fromstableisotopesin
theAmericanTropics:The stateofthe art,"in Archaeology
in
thelowlandAmericanTropics:Currentanalyticalmethods
and application.Editedby P. W. Stahl.Cambridge:Cambridge
MONSALVE,

SHARON

HUTCHINSON

DepartmentofAnthropology,Universityof
Wisconsin,Madison, Wis. 53706-I393, U.S.A. 23 v 94

RaymondKelly's principalobjectivein The Nuer Conquest: The Structureand Developmentofan Expansionist System(i985) is to isolate that "criticalset of differences" between"the Nuer" and "the Dinka" thatmight
UniversityPress. In press.
D. M., AND D. R. PIPERNO.
account forthe rapid igth-centuryterritorialexpansion
PEARSALL,
I990. Antiquity of
maize cultivationin Ecuador:Summaryand reevaluationof
of the formerat the expense of the latter.Challenging
theevidence.AmericanAntiquity55:324-37.
"the generalapplicability"of ecological models of adapPIPERNO, D. R. I985. Phytolithic
analysisofgeologicalsedi"based on the core concept of a self-regulating
tation
mentsfromPanama.Antiquity59:I3-I9.
system,"Kelly attemptsto show how a sociocultural
. I989. "Non-affluent
foragers:
Resourceavailability,
seasonal shortages,
and theemergenceofagriculture
in Panamasystemthatis highlysuccessfulin "evolutionaryterms"
nian tropicalforests,"
in Foragingand farming:The evolution maynonethelessbe perenniallyout ofsyncwithits ecoofplant domestication.
EditedbyD. R. Harrisand G. Hillman,
logical base.
pp. 538-54. London: Unwin Hyman.
In the openingchapters,Kelly arguesthatall previous
. n.d. "Plantmicro-fossils
and theirapplicationin theNew
WorldTropics,"in Archaeology
in thelowlandAmericanTrop- attemptsto resolve the historical puzzle of the Nuer
ics: Currentanalyticalmethodsand applications.Editedby
"conquest" have been based on the implicitor explicit
P. W. Stahl. Cambridge: Cambridge UniversityPress. In press.
that the conqueringNuer groupswere periassumption
D. R., M. B. BUSH,
AND P. A. COLINVAUX.
PIPERNO,
i99ia.
odicallydrivenfromtheirwesternhomelandsby "popuPaleoecological perspectives on human adaptation in central
lation pressure."He rejectsthis assumptionon the folPanama. I. The Pleistocene.Geoarchaeology
6:20i-26.
199
Ilb. Paleoecological perspectives on human adaptation in central Panama. 2. The Holocene. Geoarchaeology

6: 227-50.
D. R., K. HUSUM-CLARY,
PIPERNO,
R. G. COOKE,
A. J. RANERE, AND D. W. WEILAND.
I985. Preceramic maize from

central Panama: Evidence fromphytoliths

and pollen.American Anthropologist87:87I-78.
RUE, D. j. I989. Early agricultureand early Postclassic Maya occupation in western Honduras. Nature 326:285-86.
C. O. I950. "Cultivated plants of Southand Central
SAUER,

America,"in HandbookoftheSouthAmericanIndians,vol.
6. EditedbyJ.H. Steward, pp. 487-543. Bureau of American
BulletinI43.
Ethnology
. I965. "Americanagricultural
of
origins:A consideration
natureand culture,"in Land and life:A selectionofthewritingsof Carl OrtwinSauer.EditedbyJ.Leighly,pp. 12I-44.

Berkeley: University of California Press.

P. B. i982. Fossil maize pollenin Mexico. Science
2i6:932-34.
Las Vegascultureof
STOTHERT, K. E. I985. The preceramic
coastal Ecuador. AmericanAntiquity5o:6I 3-37.
SEARS,

VAUGHN,
JONES.

H. H.,

E. S. DEEVEY

JR., AND

S. E. GARRETT-

I985. "Pollen stratigraphyof two cores fromthe Peten

lake district,with an appendix on two deep-watertypes," in

Prehistoric
and subsistenceeconMaya lowland environment
omy.Editedby M. Pohl,pp. 73-89. Cambridge:HarvardUniversityPress.
D. I984. "Prehistoric
settlement
WEILAND,
patternsin the
SantaMariadrainageofPanama:A preliminary
analysis," in
in Isthmianarchaeology.EditedbyF. W.
Recentdevelopments
Lange,pp. 3I-54. BritishArchaeological
ReportsInternational
Series 2I12.
WHITEHEAD,

D. R. I965. Prehistoricmaize in southeastern Vir-

ginia.Science 150:881-82.

lowinggrounds(pp.72-73):

If the Nuer were induced to invade Dinka territory

in orderto achieve a reductionof excessivelyhigh
the population
populationdensity(by distributing
over a more extensivearea),then the completeexpulsion of the Dinka would logicallybe theirprimeobjective. However,we have alreadyseen that the
Nuer assimilatedcaptives,migrants,and entire
[Dinka] communitieson a massive scale duringthe
periodof territorialexpansion.... Moreover,each
successive stage of Nuer conquest significantly
reduced Nuer densitiesand thus would have obviated
the need forfurtherterritorialappropriation
promptedby populationpressure.Such pressure
thereforecould not have provideda sustainedimpetus to Nuer expansionunless the Nuer population
was increasingat a rapid rate.
Kelly proceeds to "show," using population estimates

theearlyI930S andI950s, thatthepopcompiledduring

ulation density of the invaded regions remained con-

stantbetweeni820 and I930. Beforeexaminingthis

highly problematic demonstration,I should perhaps

point out that his critique of "earlier explanations" is
founded on an implicit identificationof "population
pressure" (conceived in terms of human/land ratios)
with "population growth."In otherwords,his discussion glosses over the possibilitythat "population pres-

644 1 CURRENT

ANTHROPOLOGY

sure" mightresultfromsudden,flood-induceddeclines of 86% in the populationofNuerlandbetween I930 and

aftermorethan a centuryofstagnation(pp. 63,
in the inhabitableland base ofthe populationconcerned I954-55
as well as fromnatural increase and by so doing gives 94). This conclusion is essential to his later argument
shortshriftto the elaboratelydocumentedenvironmen- that the human population of the regionis limited by
tal hypothesesof Howell (I 954), the JongleiInvestiga- disease ratherthan by food shortage,and this argument
tion Team (I954),1 and Johnson(I980), among others,2 in turnis vital to the claim thatNuer populationdensity
proposingperiodicand sustainedfloodingas highlysig- is limited by the size of the cattle population and its
nificantin the igth-centuryadvance of the Nuer east- stabilityratherthan those of the human population(pp.
ward across the WhiteNile. Kelly assertsthat"the cen- 94-IO9). This apparentpopulationspurtis also incorpotral issue [oftheoreticalconcern]here is whetherNuer rated into his assessments of significantvariationsbepopulationgrowthwas a cause or consequence of terri- tween "the Nuer" and "the Dinka" regardingrelative
torial expansion" (p. 58). Of course,by so phrasinghis "tribalsize," "populationdensities,""cattle per capita"
central concern,he overlooks the possibilitythat this ratios,and so forth.
Kelly attributesthis sudden reversal in population
"populationgrowth"was both.In supportofhis conclusion that "population pressure/growth"is a conse- trendsto "a reductionin mortalitythatis directlyattribquence ratherthan a cause ofthese migrations,he leans utable to a governmentmedical servicesprograminitiheavilyon populationestimatescompiledby the British ated in the i92os" (p. I05; cf. 63 n. 45 and io0 n. 22).
colonial regimeduringthe early I930S and the I95oS as This assertionis surprising;to this day,Westernmediwell as on an extraordinarily
complex series of assump- cal facilitieshave made only the slightestdent in Nuer
and age and and Dinka mortalityrates. During the I930-40S
tions regardingthe probable size, fertility,
there
sex distributionof the Dinka and Anuak populations were at most two or threemissionarydoctorsactive in
thatwere eitherdisplaced or absorbedby the Nuer dur- Nuerlandat anyone time.The colonial administration's
ing the igth century.Althoughhe demonstratesa re- inabilityto cope with the health problemsof the Nuer
markableappreciationof the potentialecological com- and Dinka is apparentfroma surveycarriedout by the
plexities of the region as well as of the relationship World Health Organizationin I949 that revealed that
betweencattle and land, a numberofthese assumptions only 55 % percentofthe childrenbornalive in the Upper
are improbable.Amongthe most significantofthese are Nile Provincereached adulthood (Upper Nile Province
(i) that the formerDinka and Anuak populationof the Monthly Diary, December I949, Universityof Kharinvaded area was at least as large in i820 as the Nuer toum Library).Tragically,thereis no evidence that inpopulation of the same area in I930 (P. 275, n. ii), fantmortalityrates have subsequentlydeclined. Kelly
(2) that Nuer and Dinka mothersare survivedon aver- is, perhaps,somewhat predisposedto this "miracle-ofage by only two childreneach (pp. 57, 6 i), and (3)that modern-medicine"hypothesisbecause it is the onlyone
the numberof Dinka captives was roughlyequivalent consistentwith his claim that the Nuer and Dinka are
to the numberof casualties perpetratedby the invaders disease- ratherthan food-limitedpopulations.
(p. 6i). By invokingthese assumptions,Kelly effectively A farmore probableexplanationforthis apparentinassumes what he is attemptingto prove-namely, that crease in population is offeredby Paul Howell in his
remarksto the figureson which Kelly rethe population density of the invaded area remained introductory
constantbetween i 820 and I 930 and,consequently,that lies (JongleiInvestigationTeam I954:229-300).
Howell
"earlier explanations" rooted in "population pressure" stressesrepeatedlythe extremelytentativenatureofthe
human and cattlepopulationestimatescompiledby the
argumentsare theoreticallyand historicallyinvalid.
Thereare,moreover,severalinconsistenciesin Kelly's team. He explains that, afterhaving attempteda pilot
use of the alleged cattle and human population "cen- populationcensus of the Shilluk,the team decidedthat
suses" carriedout by the Britishcolonial administration "the time involvedwas out of all proportionto the imduringthe early I930S and I950S. On the one hand, he portanceof the subject" (p. 229) and thereforereverted
cites these figuresin supportof his assumptionof zero to "the old methodoftakingadult male taxpayerfigures
populationgrowthamong the Nuer and the Dinka be- (i.e., the names recordedin districttax lists) as a basis
tween i820 and I930. On the otherhand, he makes a and multiplyingby a figurewhich is, in these circumbetweenthe I930S and I95oS stances, purelyarbitrary."Howell also points out that
greatdeal ofthe difference
figures,arguingthat they show a sudden growthspurt "foradministrativepurposes,sometimes the figure4.5
has been used as a multiplier,sometimes 5 and sometimes 4.5 plus io%." Furthermore,
he warns (emphasis
Teamre- added),
references
theJonglei
i. Kellyinaccurately
Investigation
P. P. Howell.Alportsunderthenameoftheteam'schairman,
toconall thewaytoKhartoum
traveled
though
Kellyapparently
availableat severaluniversity No attempthas been made to analyse population
sultthesereports,
theyarereadily
intheAfricana
Collection trends.An increase in adult male taxpayersthroughintheUnitedStates,
libraries
including
ofNorthwestern
University.
out the last 2o yearsmightbe taken to indicate an
ofGabriel increasein population.This assumption-though it
dissertation
doctoral
2. The morerecentunpublished
in thisregard.
Jalis an eastern
GietJal(i987)is relevant
Jikany seems probablethat the over-allpopulationhas inaccountsoftheNuer
oralhistory
extensive
Nuerwhocollected
creased-is, however,an unwise one. In nearlyall arreviewof
thesewithan extensive
andcomplemented
migrations
eas theincrease in taxpayersis really only an indicarecords.
relevant
archival

Volume 35, Number S, December I994

645

tion of administrativeprogressand a more efficient

systemoflisting.In the old days, at any rate, those
who escaped taxation representeda considerable
proportionof the truefigure.3

social and economic organizationthat were instrumental to territorialexpansion [and]remained unalteredby

the massive assimilation of Dinka and Anuak tribesmen" (p. 65, emphasis added). All referencesto and/or
in Nuer comdiscussions of probable transformations
The figuresset forthby the Sudan DevelopmentInvestimunitiesgeneratedbythe absorptionofwhat KellyhimgationTeam (I 9 5 5 [Howell I 9 5 5 in Kelly'sbibliograself estimates to be more than ioo,ooo Dinka in less
phy]) are prefaced with equally explicit warningsthan a centuryare relegatedto the marginsof his text
warningswhich, it would seem, Kelly has chosen to
to Gough[I97i] andBonte[I979] in his
(see references
ignore.Nowhere does he reveal the true basis of the
final footnote).When confrontedwith these historical
population estimates he quotes, nor does he show any
complexities,his methodologicalrule of thumbin this
criticalawarenessregardingthe inherentvalidityof the
book seems to be "assume no change." Moreover,he
he appearsto shift
so-calledcensuses used. Furthermore,
plays down the well-documentedfactthatmuch ofthis
at will between cattle/man/landratios based on the
assimilation was achieved peacefullythroughinfiltraI930S

figuresand thosebased on the farlargerI9505

I980,
(cf.Johnson
tionand intermarriage

I98I;

Gough

And nowheredoes he discuss criticallythe pros

figures.4
I 940, I 95I; Howell I 954). ByporI 97 I; Evans-Pritchard
and cons ofhis fundamentaltheoretical/methodological
expansionofthe Nuer as a miltrayingthe i gth-century
assumption: that human and cattle population estiitary"conquest" (cf. Bonte I987), he also obscures the
matescompiledin theI930S andI950S areaccuraterepfactthat,in manyways, the bridewealthsystemsofthe
resentationsofthe way thingswere morethan I00 years
"conquering" Nuer and the "conquered" Dinka were
earlier.
throughoutthis period.
interdependent
highly
Kelly's eclipsing of historyin this regardis entirely
thus cleared the way foran alternativeexplaHaving
consistentwith his searchfor"the key featuresofNuer
nationofthe Nuer expansion,Kelly shiftsfrom"human
populationpressure"to "cattle populationpressure"(p.
ofcentral
anNuerland
whentheadministration
3. Forexample,
inI943 thatonlyregistered
taxpayers
wouldbepermittedII2), arguingthat the "real" reason the Nuer continued
nounced
theregional
taxrollnearly expandingthroughoutthe I gthcenturyis thattheir"soto raisecasesin localChiefs'Courts,
Monthly
Diary, cial requirementsforcattle" farexceeded those of the
doubledin a singleyear(UpperNile Province
laterelabo- invaded Dinka and Anuak communities. This novel
communication)
MarchI944). PaulHowell(personal
inthe hypothesis is based on the following propositions:
"Thepointaboutthepopulation
statistics
ratedas follows:
hada
was thatthewholeoperation
Report
Jonglei
Investigation
politicalobjective-toassesstheecologicaldamagewhichpart (I) "Nuer bridewealthrequirementsare roughlytwice
in as largeas thoseoftheDinka" (p. II2); (2) Nuerbrideresources
oftheSuddwouldhaveon Niloticgrazing
draining
'remedial
and wealth transactions,unlike those of the Dinka, are submeasures';
thedryseason;toinvestigate
andsuggest
to assessthecosts.TheSudanGovernment
hadbythenassumed ject to a fixedminimumcattlepaymentofsome I8 to 22
told
wouldbe implemented.
Wewerespecifically
thattheproject
cOws (pp. I40-48); (3) these differencesin bridewealth
ourselves
with'development'
(cf.Collinsi988)-a
nottoconcern
instruction
since'remedial
measures'
wouldhavetotake practicesdictateherdmanagementstrategiesamongthe
ludicrous
ofdevelopment.
didnotsetthis Nuer that are "geared toward growth"-and these, in
theform
TheSudanGovernment
toknowwhat turn, "continually push Nuer cattle densities toward
wanted
simply
investigation-they
upas a scientific
andin what ecological limits" (pp. I53-54); and, finally,(4) the exhowmanypeoplewouldbe affected
wouldhappen,
theycoulddemandfromthe
wayandhowmuchcompensation
A censusis a necessary
toany ceptionallyhigh social requirementsfor cattle among
Government.
preliminary
Egyptian
butclearly
in so hugean area,withsuchdi- the Nuer "preclude slaughter as a mechanism for
development
policy,
thedifficulties
ofidentifying
versepeoples,
peoplewhowerecon- achievingherd reductionswhen the cattle population
onthemovemadeitimpossible
inthetimeallotted.
(The approaches
stantly
maximumdensity"(pp.I53-54), whereasno
lines,butI doubtthe such constraintsare experiencedbythe Dinka. UnfortuI956 Censuswas doneon moreorthodox
ofeventhat.)Wetherefore
hadtofallbackontheconvenaccuracy
to applya pretty nately,none ofthesepropositionsappearsto be justified.
method-which
was simply
tionalgovernment
to The firstis based on a highlyselective readingof the
Thesevariedaccording
to listedtaxpayers.
multiplier
arbitrary
administrative
etc.I trieda fewsamplesur- publishedevidence.Kellyreliesheavily,forinstance,on
incentives,
efficiency,
3.5 to6
exceptbetween
veys,butthesedidnotrevealconsistency
about Dinka bridewealth practices
forourpurposes, generalizations
Theyweregoodenough
dependents
pertaxpayer.
drawn
Stubbs
(whose rapid survey of the Western
by
I
theirdubiousaccuracy
stressed.
butinthereport
wasrepeatedly
Dinka in the late I930s yieldedtwo single-authored
artiwas astonished
andhistorical
interpretations
by. . . thetheories
werefrom cles; see Stubbs I934) at the same time as he ignores
Cattlestatistics
[Kelly]puton veryrockystatistics.
timetotimemoreaccurate
becauseofinoculation
campaigns
(e.g., unambiguous statementsscatteredthroughoutthe exin medical tensive
efficiency
to]increased
rinderpest)....[Withregard
publicationsof FrancisMading Deng (himselfa
Theremayhavebeensomeimprovement
butnotenough
services:
in Dinka) as well as those by Howell to the effectthat
in health.Forexample,
to makemuchoverallimprovement
whereI was Commissioner
forfouryears, Dinka bridewealthrates are, in general,farhigherthan
Central
NuerDistrict,
on thoseoftheNuer.According
doctor
therewas oneparamedic
assistant
andonemissionary
to Deng (I97I:258),
ofthearea.Therewas a hospitalin theProvince
theperiphery
whichtoured
theareainter- The amount of bridewealth among the Ngok
anda hospital
steamer
Headquarters
Thiswas forthewholeprovincial
areaoftheUpper
mittently.
[Dinka] is unlimited.... Dr. Howell reportsthat "A
Nile."
man may hand over as many as forty,fiftyor even a
on p. 62 (see
4. Compare,forexample,his use ofthe I950S figures
I930S
figureson p. 65.
esp. p. 279 n. 44) and laterrecourseto the
hundredhead of cattle forthe daughterof an impor-

646 1 CURRENT

ANTHROPOLOGY

I
TABLE
tant man, but the averageappearsto be between
EstimatedDinka and Nuer Human and Cattle
and thirty.This is on the whole higher
twenty-five
Populationsin Area of the Equatorial Nile
than the Nuer average." There are cases in which
Project,.1954
daughtersof chiefshave been marriedfortwo hundredcows. Althoughthe averagetodaymightbe
doubtfulbecause of the decrease in cattle,traditionHuman
to thirtywould seem a Tribe
ally an averageof twenty-five
Population Cattle Cattle:Humans
veryconservativeestimate.

Now, of course,Kelly would arguethatthese estimates AreasDirectlyAffected

by the Project
Dinka
do not take into account the "reversecattle payment"
Bor
58,I39
82,000a
by the bride's familyto the groom'sfollowingcompleTwi
76,ooOa
45,64I
tion of the marriageamong the Dinka (and some Nuer)
Nyareweng
9,856
25,300a
groups. But here, too, it is importantto realize that
Ghol
9,956
I7,200a
Aliab
6o,oooa
I4,850
Deng's estimatesofthesereversepaymentsarefarlower
Chich
38,250
50,000
than those of Stubbs. Whereas Kelly readily accepts
Ruweng (Paweng)
I2,200a
7,209
Stubbs'sclaim thatreversepaymentsmay rangeas high
Luaich(Luac)
4,792
5,0ooa
as 50% of originalbridewealthcows, Deng states very
Dunjol
8,550
6,000a
clearlythat thereare no fixedrules forthe calculation
Paloich (Paloc)
9,000
8,500a
Nuer
of these proportions,althoughDinka "will readilygive
Gaweir
36,040
49,000a
the correspondingreversevalue of any amount of bride

wealthgiventhemas an example"(I97I:262);

a bride-

Thiang
Lak
Nuong
Doc
Jagey
W. Jikaing

I2,785

36,I03

I5,000a

47,000a
25,000a
47,000a
37,200a
38,800a

I: 4I
I 67
2:57

I 73
4:04
I13I

I:69

i: o6
0:70

0:94
I 36

I: I7
I: 30
I: 89
I 72
.2:68
I: 69

wealth rate of 40 cows, he remarks,would requirea reI3,234

27,400
verse payment of 6 cows. Elsewhere Deng points out
I3,869
thatDinka suitors,unlike Nuer ones, may competefor
20,583
the hand of a particularwoman in a biddingwar with AreasIndirectly
Affected
bythe Project
cattle (Deng I972). This practice in itself sometimes
Dinka
drivesbridewealthoffersto well over ioo cows. In conRuweng (Awet)
7,879
6,ooo
0:76
Ruweng(Kwil)
o 65
II,oooa
I7,0I9
trast,paymentsover 40 head of cattle have neverbeen
Ruweng (Alur)
7,50I
5,500
0:73
documented among the Nuer. Finally, the logic of
Ngok
0:46
7,000a
I 5,300
Kelly's assumptionthat the reversepaymentshould be
Agar
8o,ioo
?
I87
I50,000
subtractedfromratherthan added to the originalbrideThoi
I,926
3,800a
I 97
Rut
2,223
2,300a
wealth payment to determinethe "true" bridewealth
I 03
Atwot
45,900
I:63
75,000
requirementsof the Dinka is challengeable. Though
Abialang
6,300
0:79
5,000a
fails
to
note
there
is
a
firm
Kelly
it,
culturalprinciple
Nuer
governingall such reversepayments:underno circum152,200a
Lou
67,275
e2:26
stances may the bride's familyuse cows receivedfrom
Bul
I 58
3I,599
50,000
Leik
26,059
40,000
I 53
the groom'sfamilyin its reversepayment.Furthermore,
E.Jikaing
I: 00
86,500
86,500
reversepaymentsare oftenmade weeks,months,oreven
years afterthe original bridewealthpayments.Otherwise expressed:whereasthesocial requirements
forbride- SOURCE: JongleiInvestigation Team (1954:tables i28 and i29).
wealth cattle among most Nuer groups are confined a Basedon actual counts.
to the groomand his kin, among the Dinka the bride's
familymust also mustersignificantnumbersofcattlein
orderto completethe marriage.The weakness ofKelly's
argumentin this regardwould thus seem to stem both notes that mothers,divorcees,and formerconcubines
fromhis failureto make an analyticdistinctionbetween were oftenmarriedforconsiderablyless thanthe figures
cattlerequirementsexperiencedat thelevel of"society" Kellyproposes.Because ofthewidespreadand persistent
and those experiencedby specificfamiliesand/orindi- floodingexperiencedby the western Nuer duringthe
viduals and fromhis tendencyto overlookthe time di- Ig60s, bridewealth rates in that region temporarily
mension of these exchangeprocesses.
plummetedto fewerthan io head in many cases, and
Kelly's second assumptionis equally problematic.He similar dips have occurred duringtimes of civil war
musters no evidence other than a hypotheticalstate- (I955-72,
i983-present). Finally,Kelly's argumentsin
ment by Evans-Pritchard
to justifyhis faithin the exis- this regardtotallyignorethe potentialimpact on bridetence of a fixedminimumbridewealthpaymentamong wealth rates of the thousandsupon thousandsofDinka
the Nuer of some I8 to 22 cattle. Evans-Pritchard
him- women and girlsabsorbedduringthe eastwardNuer miself points out that this supposed minimum payment grations.Since manyofthesewomen were simplytaken
was not universallyobserved: powerfulprophetswere on as wives with little or no bridewealthobligation,it
sometimes offeredbrideswithout expectationof bride- would seem reasonable to assume that this influxconwealthcattle.Furthermore,
tributedto a parallel reductionin the "social requireHowell (I954:99, II4-22)

Volume 35, Number S, December I994

ments for cattle" experiencedby the expandingNuer
communities.
It should be clear by now that,in my opinion,Kelly's
centralargumentsarebased on some ratherquestionable
assumptions,and the "statistical" evidence he invokes
to supportthese assumptionsis oftenused highlyselectively. For example, he never presentsthe full set of
"cattle per capita" and "cattle density" figureswith
which he is working.Rather,he appearsto choose from

in the I 954 and I95

amongthefigures

as suits
reports

his immediatepurposes.A glance at the originalJonglei

InvestigationTeam (I954) figures(table i) should make
it clear that, despite his repeatedassertionto the contrary,differencesin cattle per capita were far greater
Dinka groupsthan theywere between
among different
"the Dinka" and "the Nuer."5 In sum, I find Kelly's
analysisofthe Nuer "conquest" provocativebut unconvincing.

Reply
RAYMOND

C.

KELLY

Departmentof Anthropology,Universityof Michigan,

Ann Arbor,Mich. 48IO9, U.S.A. 25 VII 94
The primaryanalytic objective of my book The Nuer
Conquest is to identify(i) the proximateand underlying
factorsthatprovideda sustainedimpetusto Nuer territorial expansion, (2) the means by which this was accomplished,includingthe source ofthe Nuer advantage
over the Dinka, (3) the process of divergenceand structuralchangethateventuatedin the developmentofthis
Nuer advantage, and (4) the factorsthat account for
Nuer-rather thanDinka-development ofboththe impetus to territorialacquisition and the capacity to
achieve this result. The data and analysis presentedin
the course of this inquiryserve as a basis forconsideration of a numberof theoreticalissues pertainingto adaptation,evolution,the propertiesof expansionistsystems, and the role of material causes and interactions
that transpireover time (i.e.,
in social transformations
in "history").It is importantto note at the outset that
Hutchinson'sreflectionsaddressonly the portionofmy
book concernedwith the firstanalyticquestion.
Hutchinsonbegins by invokingwhat she considersa
potentialalternativeproximatecause ofNuer territorial
expansion,namely,"populationpressure"as a resultof
flood-inducedconstrictionof habitableland area. However,this hypothesisis seriouslyflawed.Johnson(i986,
andhis I989 article
exponent,
I988, I989) is itsprincipal
providesa concise summaryof his views (p. 484):
The physicalcharacteristicsof this regionhave remained essentiallythe same forcenturies,and as
ofthe
myprovision
preclude
spacelimitations
5. Unfortunately,
sectionof the SDIT report(I955:75-82),on
"VitalStatistics"
thesefigures
maybe obtained
whichKellyalso draws.However,
in theU.S.A.
me orfrom
variousuniversity
libraries
from
either
thatholdthisvolume.

647

long as pastoralistshave occupied it therehas been

an enduringpatternof vulnerabilityto a regularsuccession of floods.The succession of naturalcatastrophes withinthe regionis a constantfactof life.
Times of major naturaldisasterare partof the collective livingmemoryof the Nilotic peoples; I collected informationon Pilual in i98i-2 fromsurvivors of that floodwho could compareit with their
directexperienceof Pawer and with theirparents'accounts of the greatfloodsof I878 and the I89os.
Rarely,however,is a catastropheuniversal,as we
and
have seen in both the high floodsof I9I6-I8
I96I-4.
There are usually reserveareas of cattle and
crops on which othersdraw,even if the marginof
surplusis narrow,and even if it is a surplusonly in
relativeterms.The peoples of the Zarafvalley and
the Duk ridgeare periodicallyforcedto relyon peoples of the Sobat hinterlandforgrainand cattle. In
turnthe peoples of the Sobat hinterlandare periodically forcedto relyon some of the more secure agriculturalareas of the Sobat valley and the White
Nile.
There are several readilyapparentdifficultieswith this
perspectivefromthe standpointof explanation(as opposed to historicaldescription).If periodicfloods have
been a constantover centuries,then how can they account forthe directional,chronologicallyspecificprocess of igth-centuryNuer eastward expansion? Why
would periodicfloodcause the Nuer to expandat Dinka
expense ratherthan the reverse,and why at this time
ratherthanearlieror later?Whywould periodicflooding
donecessitatea fourfoldincreasein the Nuer territorial
main during the relativelybriefperiod from i820 to
i88o? The alleged cause is mismatchedwith the scale
of the phenomenonto be explained.
Johnsonextensively documents the point that the
movedto other
"peoples" ofa floodedlocale temporarily
areas thatare unaffectedand that"when thewaterssubsided old settlementswere reoccupied" (i986:I38). He
adds, in the second half of this sentence,that, in the
Nuer case, "the new easternsettlementswere not abanis
doned." However,this retentionof occupied territory
not in anyway explainedby floodconditions,and retention is the factorthat is manifestedin territorialappropriation.Thus periodicflooddoes not explain Nuer territorialexpansion, even though it may be possible to
adduce oral traditionsthat contain some instances in
which an eventofperiodicfloodis followedby a relocation. Documentation of a sequence of events in which
B follows A does not renderA the cause of B (just as
a ritual beforedawn does not cause the sun
performing
to rise). I would certainlyagree that the capacity of a
particulararea to supporthuman and cattlepopulations
varies with hydrologicalconditions and that fluctuations in such conditionscause population movements.
However,it is a logical fallacyto conflatelocalized,temporaryand reversiblefluctuationsin hydrologicalcondiNuer territorial
tionswiththe causes ofa fourfold
appropriation. These fluctuations cause temporary and

648 1 CURRENT

ANTHROPOLOGY

reversiblepopulationmovementsthatare quite distinct

fromappropriation.Moveover,theydo not explainwhy
the Nuer moved into Dinka territoryratherthan the
reverse.
It is also importantto note that major floodsin the
Upper Nile Basin reduce "population pressure"insofar
as theyreducethe cattlepopulation.Underfloodconditions the limited areas of high groundon which cattle
are grazedduringthe wet season are furtherconstricted
by higherthannormalwaterlevels. Under extremeconditions "the cattle starved when their pastures were

coveredbywater"(Johnson
I989:474).

with
Confronted

these circumstances,the Nuer typicallyculled weaker

animals fromthe herd so that an inevitableherdreduction would be a selective and managed event (see Kelly
I985:IOO-I05

foran extendeddiscussionof Nuer re-

sponses to both wet- and dry-seasongrazingshortages).

However,floodconditionsalso increasecattlemortality

due to disease. Thus Johnson(i989:472)

surviveand recoverfromthe naturalcatastropheswhich

are endemicto theregion"(i989:474) byrelianceon kin,
by tradingcattleforgrain,and, duringthe igth century,
byraidingforcattleand grain.He thusextensivelydocuments my point that the Nuer population was not
food-limitedduringthe historicalperiodsunderconsideration,and his I989 articlecan be read as an exemplificationof the argumentpresentedin my book with regardto this issue (see Kelly I985:96-99).
The linchpinofHutchinson'scritiqueis the demographyofthe Nuer populationduringthe periodfromi820
to I955. More specifically,she is highlycriticalof my
argumentthatthe Nuer human populationwas diseaselimitedratherthanfood-limitedduringthe i820 to I890
periodof Nuer territorialexpansionand thus grewprincipally throughassimilation of Dinka captives,immigrants,and enclaves. While I attributethe governmentreported86% increase in the Nuer populationbetween

notes that the earlyI930S

and I955

to reducedmortality
during

"Contagious Bovine Pleuro-pneumonia (CBPP) in- this period,she arguesthat therewas no populationincreased partlybecause of wetter conditions caused by crease but only improvedenumeration.Although she
widespreadflooding"and "trypanosomiasisalso spread contestsmy demographicmodel, which entails an abas game, fleeingthe floods, came into closer contact sence of significantintrinsicgrowth(due to a greater
with cattle." Both cattle deaths due to disease and in- number of birthsthan deaths) prior to i920, she emcreased slaughteras a responseto grazingshortagesadd bracesthe entirelycompatiblenotionthattheNuer popto the flood supply duringperiods of flood conditions. ulation did not increase between the early I930S and
While floodingcharacteristicallyreduces crop yields, I955 but was simplymorecompletelyenumerated.Here
the cattle population constitutesa dependable reserve again,the componentsof her argumentare logicallyinthat can be drawn upon under these conditionsof re- consistent.An absence ofpopulationgrowthafterlargestrictedgrainsupplies. The net effectof periodicflood- scale Nuer assimilationof the Dinka ceased, duringthe
ing is thus a periodicreductionin the cattlepopulation. colonial period,would perfectlyfit my argumentthat
This reduces "populationpressure"by reducingthe ra- the Nuer population grew throughassimilation. The
tio of cattle to grazingland. Although displaced resi- high infantmortalitydue to disease that Hutchinson
dents of a flood-affected
locale returnwhen the waters reportsis equally consistentwith that model and with
subside, it may take a number of years for the cattle the disease-limitedstatus of the Nuer population.Ifshe
populationto increase to formerlevels. In the interim, is proposingthat the Nuer did show intrinsicgrowth
cattle densityis reduced.Periodicfloodingthus cannot (excludingassimilation)duringthe periodfromi820 to
logically provide an underlyingcause of the sustained I930 but subsequently
ceased to growfromI930 to
impetusto Nuer territorialappropriation(just as it can- I955, then she will need to account forthis dramatic
not providea proximatecause). The decline in "inhabit- shift in fundamentaldemographiccharacteristics(in
able land base" that Hutchinsoninvokes is matchedby termsof a reducedbirthrate or increaseddeath rate or
a decline in the cattle populations,with the resultthat both).
there is no "population pressure" in these terms.The
The essential point here is that it is not sufficient
human population consumes the cattle that die or are to make a series of unrelatedassertionsconcerningthe
slaughteredin orderto tide it overperiodsofgrainshort- demographyof the Nuer at variouspointsin time withthereis also no "populationpressure" out attendingto the question of whetherthese asserage, and therefore
in human terms.
tions are logicallycompatible.Whatis requiredto eluciHutchinson proposes that the Nuer population is date Nuer territorialexpansion is the constructionof a
food-limitedratherthan disease-limitedas I arguedin model specifyingthe operation of demographicpromy book. If the Nuer population were food-limited, cesses over time that systematicallyinterrelatesall the
floodingwould engenderfamine conditionsleading to available data. The constructionof such a model necesstarvationand a reductionin the human population,ob- sitatesthe explicitformulationofthe values ofthe releviatingthe "population pressure"that Hutchinson in- vant variables so that the plausibilityof each of these
vokes as a cause of Nuer expansion.This is to say that can be scrutinizedand evaluated. Hutchinson's critiHutchinson's argumentis logically inconsistent.The cism of such model constructionas "an extraordinarily
Nuer population must be disease-limitedratherthan complex series of assumptions regardingthe probable
iffloodis presumedto produce"population size, fertility,
food-limited
and age and sex distributionof ... populapressure"ratherthan population decline (in that land tions" is misplaced. It is preciselysuch an exercisethat
area is supposedto be reducedwhile the human popula- rendersthe basis of my argumenttransparentto the
tion is not). Johnsonshows that "the Nilotic peoples readerand makes it possible to evaluate the available

Volume 35, Number S, December 1994

data pertainingto each component.Moreover,such a
model bringsout the systematicity
ofinterrelated
demographicvariables and thus precludesthe logical inconsistenciesof Hutchinson's shotgunapproachto critical
evaluationas well as the limitationsof introducingpartial data. Consider,forexample,Hutchinson'sintroduction of the figureof 55% infantmortality.With a high
birthrate, the Nuer population would neverthelessbe
increasing,whereas an accompanyinglow birth rate
would entail population decline. By itself,the infant
mortalityfiguretells us nothingabout the plausibility
of a reported86% populationincrease.
Hutchinsonmisreadsthe argumentspresentedin my
book on a number of points. She begins by asserting
thatI seek to show "that the populationof the invaded

649

are consistentlyreferenced.I should add thatinasmuch

as I am concernedwith accountingforall the available
data, I use all the available data (i.e., both I930S and
I950S
figures).The endnotes contain extensivediscussion of sources. For example,in endnote2 (p. 280) I discuss the comparabilityof data sets and addressissues of
reliability,includingthe potential effectsof underenumeration.
Hutchinsonalso alleges thatI "nowhere" discuss the
assumption that "human and cattle population esti-

matescompiledin theI930S and I950S areaccuraterep-

resentationsofthe way thingsweremorethan ioo years

earlier." However, I do not make this assumption.As
noted earlier,the demographicmodel I develop entails
a decline and subsequentincreasein human population
regionsremainedconstantbetweeni820 and I930." In densities.Moreover,I posit a fundamentaldemographic
contrast(Kelly I985:I07),
transitionfroma periodof populationgrowthprimarily
attributableto assimilation of the Dinka (and Anuak)
The populationdensityof the Nuer as a whole fell
priorto ca. i920 to a periodofpopulationgrowthattribdramaticallyfromthe early i800's to I890 as the
utable to an excess of birthsover deaths fromi920 to
Nuer proceededto quadrupletheirtribaldomain to
I955. In otherwords,I explicitlydevelop the argument
thousand square miles throughterritorial
thirty-five
that demographicprocesses applicable to the I930S and
appropriation.Althoughlargenumbersof Dinka (and
were not representativeof the earlierperiod of
I95OS
Anuak) were added to the populationthroughcapNuer expansion,when a different
configurationof deture,migration,and the incorporationof Dinka linmographicprocessesprevailed.
eages, the rate of populationincrease laggedfarbeThis posited demographictransitionis directlyrelehind the rate of territorialgains.
vant to the issue of accountingforthe census data that
Hutchinsonthen groundsher criticismin her misread- recordan 86% increase in the Nuer population,"from
ing by arguingthat "Kelly effectively
assumes what he 247,000 in the circa I930 census to 460,ooo in the
is attemptingto prove-namely, that the population I95 5-56 census" (p. 94). I attributethisincreaseprimardensityof the invaded area remainedconstantbetween ily to a general inoculation programinitiatedin i92i
i820 and I930." But I have not triedto provethisat all. I
(see p. 284). Such inoculationprogramsrequireonlylimexplicitlystate thatthe demographicmodel constructed ited personnel,who travelfromplace to place, but they
entails estimatedpopulation densities of I 4 to i5 per- have a verysignificantimpact on mortalityrateswhen
sons per square mile in i8oo, decliningto 5.7 in I890
such rates are high and infectiousdiseases are responsiand thenincreasingto 7.9 in I 930 and I4.7 in I 95 5 (pp. ble fora substantialcomponentof this elevatedmortalI07-8). Hutchinson's characterizationof my "assump- ity. These conditions pertain directlyto the southern
tions" is also inaccurate.Inasmuchas herargumentthat Sudan.In thisand otherrespectstherecorded86% popuI assume what I attemptto proveis foundedon a misun- lation increase over 25 yearsis entirelyconsistentwith
derstandingof the latter, a discussion of the former what one would expect fromthe literatureon the dewould only serve to belabor a point alreadysufficiently mography
ofAfrica.Hill (I975:II2) succinctly
summaestablished. However, it should be emphasized that rizes the generaldemographicfeaturesof the continent
Hutchinson's assertion that "Kelly's methodological as follows: "Fertilityand mortalityare both higherfor
is constant
rule of thumb in this book seems to be 'assume no Africathan forany othercontinent;fertility
change"' is based on misreadingssuch as the one illus- or risingslightly,mortalityis fallingfairlyrapidly.The
tratedabove. Chapter 5 addressesorganizationaldiffer- rateofnaturalincreaseofthepopulationis ... estimated
entiation of the Nuer and Dinka, divergencein eco- by the United Nations to be 2.6 percentper yearforthe
nomic organization,and structuralchangesin the Nuer periodI965 to I970." Hill also notesthat"thedecline
of the Nuer is the in mortalityhas probablybeen goingon forsome considlineage system.The transformation
main subject of this chapter.
erabletime,since earlyin the presentcentury,although
Again,Hutchinsonassertsthat "nowheredoes [Kelly] thepace ofthe declinehas almostcertainlybeen accelerreveal the true basis of the population estimates he atingoverrecentyears"(p. iii). An 86% population
quotes," yet in the firstsentenceof the same paragraph increase in 25 years requires only a 2.5% increase per
she refersto populationfiguresof the JongleiInvestiga- year. The rate of increase necessaryto account forthe
tion Team "on which Kelly relies." Likewise, in n. 4, Nuer population growth indicated in administrative
referencedin this same paragraph,she encouragesthe census data is thus entirelytypical of the overall rate
readerto comparemyuse ofI930S and I950S figures
at forAfricaduringthisperiod.Moreover,it is veryconsiddifferent
points and indicates some of the footnotesin erablyless than the growthrate reportedin the Sudan
mybook in which these sourcesare discussed.Thus she national governmentcensus of I955-56 (based on the
herselfshows that the sources of the figuresI employ differencebetween mortalityand fertility)and some-

65 I CURRENT

ANTHROPOLOGY

what less thanthe rate of 2.7% thatDemeny (i968:508)

arrivesat forthe "Central Southerners"(i.e., the Nilotic
tribes)on thebasis ofhis extremelysophisticatedreanalysis of the Sudan governmentcensus. Moveover, Demeny argues for "the strongprobabilityof ratherhigh
ratesofpopulationgrowthforseveraldecades preceding
the census" (p. 472) due to gradualdecline in mortality.
This deduction,based on evidenceinternalto the census
survey(e.g.,completedfamilysize), independentlyconfirmsthe growthindicatedby the administrativecensus
data spanning the period I930 to I955-56. In other
words,the analysis of specialists in the fieldof African
demographyand the demographyof the Sudan confirm
the key points in my model of Nuer demographyover
time,includinga gradualtransitionto intrinsicincrease
due to decliningmortalitybeginningseveraldecades beforethe I95 5-56 census.
It is importantto keep in mind that the I955-56 nationalgovernmentcensus was not based on the administrativecensus that Howell refersto (which relied on a
multiple of listed taxpayers).The national census was
independentlycompiledfroma surveyquestionnaireadministeredin accordancewith stratifiedsamplingtechniques. Thus underenumeration
due to tax avoidance is
not a potential source of errorin the national census.
Moreover,the national census lists a provincialpopulation only 2.5 % greaterthan the administrativecensus
ofabout a yearearlierreportedbythe SouthernDevelopmentInvestigationTeam. The national census thus independentlyconfirmsthe accuracyofthe administrative
census despite the problems of tax avoidance. This is
probablybecause of the use of a multiplieroffivetimes
recordedtaxpayersin the administrativecensus that
compensatesforunderenumerationby a high estimate
of fivedependentsper taxpayer(ratherthan something
on the orderof threeplas or minus a fraction,both fathers and their adult sons being potential taxpayers).
Howell wrote the cautionarypassage that Hutchinson
quotes in I954 (or earlier),beforethe national census
was completedand the resultspublished. His remarks
are thus recontextualizedby the subsequent independent evidence of the national census.
Hutchinson's discussion of my comparativeanalysis
of Nuer and Dinka bridewealthcontains additionalerrors.I directlyconsiderreportsof extremelylargebridewealth payments among the Dinka: "Titherington
mentionsone hundredcattle,Deng (I97 :E262) re(I927)
portsthe same figure(witha reciprocalpaymentofforty)
and Howell (i95i:280)
states 'a man may hand over as
or even a hundredhead of cattlefor
manyas forty,fifty,
the daughterof an importantman"' (p. I39). I also explain in the followingparagraphwhy average Dinka
bridewealthpayments tend toward the low end of a
rangethat is broaderthan that applicable to the Nuer.
It is, of course,averagepaymentsthat dictatecattle requirementsfora community.I explain (pp. I42-43) that
the size of the reciprocalpaymentvaries with the size
ofthe bridewealthpaymentand cite the specificvalues.
I specificallydiscuss Deng's accounts. However,I also
note (pp. 287-88) that it is difficultto determine

whetherhis data representa compositepictureapplicable to the Dinka as a whole or a variant of the Ngok
ideal. Hutchinson herselfdescribes Deng's statements
on bridewealthas "scattered."I relyon Howell's data on
Ngok bridewealth(whichDeng himselfcites)because it
is strictlycomparable to Howell's data on the bridewealth paymentsof eightNuer tribesand thus ideal for
comparativeanalysis (see p. I36).
Hutchinson's assertionthat I do not attendto cattle
requirementsat the familyand/or individual level is
simplyincorrect.For example, I specificallydocument
the point that, among the Malwal Dinka, the bride's
immediatefamilyreceives6 of40 bridewealthcattlebut
contributes5 to the reciprocalpaymentof 2o fora net

additionof i animalto thefamilyherd(p. I35). I use

Stubbs's data on the Malwal Dinka preciselybecause

theycontain this level of detail on cattle requirements
at the level of the bride's immediatefamily,matrikin,
and patrikin.I also explain that everyfamilyretainsa
certainnumber of cattle forsubsistencepurposes that
arenot deployedin social payments.However,the cattle
that provide this subsistence minimum are substitutable. Thus the Malwal Dinka bride'sfamilyexemplified
here could utilize the 6 bridewealthcattle received as
the basis of the familyherd while contributing5 of its
original family herd to the reciprocal payment. The
bride's familythus does not need to accumulate cattle
beyond subsistence requirementsin orderto complete
the reciprocalpaymentwith cattle different
fromthose
received.It could possess (forexample) 6 cattle before
receivingits bridewealthshare, i2 immediatelyafterwards,and 7 aftermakingthe reciprocalpaymentsome
time later. The Dinka paymentthereforedoes not require the bride's familyto accumulate cattle in excess
of subsistencerequirements.

Evans-Pritchard
(I940:222)

reportsthat a female

Dinka captive "becomes a daughterto her captor" and

that she is marriedto someone else for bridewealth.
When a woman of an incorporatedDinka lineage or unincorporatedDinka enclave is married,bridewealthis
given to her Dinka family.(Eitherway, the childrenof
the Dinka woman will have recognizedmatrikin.)This
controvertsHutchinson's undocumented claim that
"thousands upon thousands" of Dinka women were
taken as wives withouttransferof bridewealth.Hutchinson likewise providesno basis forquestioningEvansPritchard'sconcept of a Nuer minimum bridewealth
paymentrequiredto validatea sociallyrecognizedunion
(althoughtransferof a portionof this may be deferred
until a later date duringperiods of hardship;see Kelly
I985:2o0-22

andEvans-Pritchard
I95 I:80).

The data containedin tables 128 and I129 oftheJonglei

InvestigationTeam reportthat Hutchinson reproduces
providesubstantialconfirmationof the analysis developed in my book. I arguethatin any givenenvironmental contextthe Nuer will push cattle densities toward
ecological limits because of the effecton herdstructure
ofbridewealth-related
social requirementsforcattleand
the effectofherdstructureon cattleper capita holdings.
Thus "a givenunit ofgrazingland capable of supporting

Volume 35, Number S, December 1994

1 65I

a fixednumberof cattle will supportfewerNuer than

Dinka" (p. I 5 3). I do not maintainthatall tribaldomains
are equivalent in theircapacity to supportcattle. Substantial differencesamong differentDinka groups are
particularlyexpectablebecause the Dinka occupy quite
in theirpasdissimilarenvironmentalzones, differing
turecharacteristics.The relevantcomparisonsare thus
between the Nuer and Dinka groups inhabitingmore
ecologically comparable domains (see p. 75). Thus a
comparisonof the Lou and Gaweir Nuer with the adjacent Ghol, Nyaraweng,Twi, and BorDinka yieldsa cat-

ysisofthe I 955 /5 6 census," in The demography

ofTropicalAfrica. EditedbyW. Brasset al. Princeton:PrincetonUniversity
Press.
FRANCIS
MADING.
Traditionand modernization:
DENG,
I97I.
A challengeforlaw amongtheDinka ofSudan. New Haven:
Press.
Yale University
. I972. The Dinka of Sudan. New York:Holt,Rinehart
and Winston.
E. E. I940.
EVANS-PRITCHARD,
The Nuer.Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress.
I195 I. Kinshipand marriageamongtheNuer.Oxford:
ClarendonPress.
KATHLEEN.
"Nuer kinship:A re-examination,"
GOUGH,
I97I.
in The translationofculture.EditedbyT. 0. Beidelman,pp.
tlepercapitaratioofI.95 fortheNuerand i.62 forthe
London:Tavistock.
79-I2i.
Dinka, as expected.Moreover,the median forall listed HILL, K. H. I975. "Populationtrendsin Africa,"in ThepopulaDinkagroupsis I .3 I cattlepercapitaas opposedto I.58
tionfactorin Africanstudies.EditedbyR. P. Moss and
ofLondonPress.
R. J.A. R. Rathbone.London:University
forall listed Nuer groups. This is preciselywhat one
would expect if the Nuer displayeda tendencyto push HOWELL, P. P. I95 I. Notes on theNgorkDinka. Sudan Notes
and Records32: 239-93.
cattle densities toward environmentalcapacity in any
. I954. A manual ofNuerlaw. London:OxfordUniversity
area theyoccupied. In short,these data supportthe conPress.
cept of system-characteristic
differencesin the animal JAL, GABRIEL GIET. I987. The historyoftheJikany
Nuer beforei920. Ph.D. diss.,SchoolofOrientaland AfricanStudies,
husbandrypracticesof the Nuer and Dinka. This lends
ofLondon.
University
supportto the employmentof this concept in accountDOUGLAS.
I980. Historyand prophecy
JOHNSON,
amongthe
ing for Nuer territorialexpansion during an earlier
Nuer ofsouthernSudan.Ph.D. diss.,University
ofCalifornia,
period.
Los Angeles,Calif.
Nuer: Primary
sourcesand theorigin
. I98I. The fighting
Hutchinson'scomplaintthatI "eclipse history"raises
ofa stereotype.
Africa5 I: 5 08- 27.
issues pertainingto anthropologicalobjectives in the
. I986. The historicalapproachto the studyofsocieties
overtime.The firstchapstudyofsocial transformation
in the easternUpperNile plains.Caand theirenvironment
terof my book is entitled"The Historyof Nuer Expanhiersd'EtudesAfricaines26: I 3 I-44.
sion." It contains an account of the characterof Nuer
. I988. "Environment
and historyin theJonglei
area,"in
The JongleiCanal: Impactand opportunity.
EditedbyP. P.
territorialacquisition and a chronicleof the dates and
Howell,M. Lock,and S. Cobb. Cambridge:CambridgeUniverphases ofNuer expansionchartedin termsofthe movesityPress.
ments of tribalpopulations. The principalobjective of
. I989. Politicalecologyin theUpperNile: The twentieththis chapter is to delineate the phenomena to be excenturyexpansionofthepastoral"commoneconomy."Journal
ofAfricanHistory30:463-86.
plained. In otherwords,historyas a sequence of events
TEAM.
I954. The EquatorialNile
is a compilationofdata thatservesas the pointofdepar- JONGLEI INVESTIGATION
in theAnglo-Egyptian
and its effects
Sudan. 4 vols.
tureforan analysis of the process of social transforma- Project
London:SudanGovernment
Printer.
tion. It is the internaldynamicsof this causal process KELLY, RAYMOND.
The Nuerconquest:The structure
I985.
itselfthatis of special interest.In this sense both a parand developmentofan expansionistsystem.AnnArbor:UniversityofMichiganPress.
ticularisticlocal historyand a regionalethnography
are

DEVELOPMENT
INVESTIGATION
TEAM.
I955.
subjugatedto largertheoreticalpurposes.I would argue SOUTHERN
Naturalresourcesand development
potentialin thesouthern
thatanthropologyshould not be satisfiedmerelyto emprovincesofSudan: A preliminary
report.London:SudanGovulate historiansbut should aim to "eclipse history"by
ernmentPrinter.
theorizingthe underlyingprocessesofsocial transforma- STUBBS, J. N. I934. Beliefsand customsofMalwal Dinka. Sudan Notes and RecordsI7:243-54.
tion.Nuer territorial
expansionis ofgeneralinterestpreG. W. I927. The Raik Dinka ofBahrel Ghazal
TITHERINGTON,
cisely because it providesscope forsuch a development
Province.Sudan Notes and RecordsIO:I59-209.
ofanthropologicaltheory.Moreover,the capacityto employ a controlledcomparisonof Nuer and Dinka over
time providesa superiormethodologicalframeworkfor
theorybuilding(see Kelly I985:4-6).

On TheorizingHuman Sexuality

ReferencesCited

ABHIJIT

GUHA

AND

SATINATH

BHUNIA

DepartmentofAnthropology,VidyasagarUniversity,
territorial
"Pastoral
PIERRE.
organiza- Midnapore,West Bengal, India 721102. I VII 94
BONTE,
I979.
production,
in Social
in segmentary
tion,andkinship
lineagesocieties,"
and ecologicalsystems.EditedbyP. C. Burnhamand R. F.

Ellen,pp.203-34. NewYork:BarnesandNoble.

. I987. Reviewof: The NuerconquestbyRaymondC.

ofMichiganPress,i985). Africa
Kelly(AnnArbor:University
57: T-23.

COLLINS,

R. O.

DEMENY,

PAUL.

sityPress.

Okami and Pendleton'sreport(CA

35:85-9I)

on the

multidisciplinarysymposium "Theorizing Sexuality:

Evolution,Culture, and Development" includes obserof Paul Abramsonand GilbertHerdton human
vations
Canal. Oxford:OxfordUniverI988. The Jonglei
sexualityresearchwhich deservecloser attentionfrom
oftheSudan:Ananal- anthropologists.According to Okami and Pendleton,
I968. "Thedemography