Living on Earth in the Sky: The Anyuak. An analytic account of the... / The Political Body - Power

The monograph on the history and culture of the Anyuak in eight volumes is the result of over five years of fieldwork during the years 1976 to 1983. It is a well-documented, comprehensive, and accurate description of the spiritual and material world of the Anyuak, a people living in southern Sudan. Fables, oral narratives, stories, maps, genealogies, music and language recordings, and numerous photographs invite readers on an exciting journey of discovery into the fascinating universe of the Anyuak. The Anyuak habitat is located on both sides of the border between South Sudan and Southwest Ethiopia. The Anyuak are related to the better known Shilluk, Dinka and Nuer, but have transformed from mere cattle owners to proud farmers. They are an extremely clever, strong-willed and well-organized people who have succeeded in creating a place of human civilization in the midst of the so-called wilderness. Just as their socio-political system is of special interest, so is their philosophy fascinating: it is based on people and their multiple relationships with nature, wild animals, the environment as well as spiritual, threatening forces. Thanks to their strong, almost desperate belief in the essential goodness of existence and the positive forces of life, the Anyuak - against all external odds - have so far managed to preserve their cultural identity and their pride in their "pure humanity". The first two volumes of the monograph on the Anyuak describe the three spheres of life in the perception of man: the sky with its spiritual forces (the sphere above / Volume I), the earth with its earthly forces (the sphere below / Volume II) and the space of human consciousness in between, where man recognizes himself as essentially different, builds up his own civilization and his identity against all destructive forces.