The Human Being
The Anyuak - Living on Earth in the Sky
Herausgegeben von Conradin Perner
Vol. 3 Conradin Perner

The Human Being

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The Anyuak live in one of the most remote areas of the southern Sudan. They are close relatives of the better known Shilluk, Dinka and Nuer but have turned into fervent agriculturists. The Anyuak are a highly intellectual people who have succeeded in creating, in the middle of wilderness, a centre of humanity. If their sociopolitical system is of a particular interest, their philosophy is equally fascinating: it centres on the human person and governs his or her relationship not only within human society but also with animals, earthly matters and spiritual forces. Thanks to their stubborn, almost desperate belief in the essential goodness of existence and the positive forces of life, the Anyuak have – in spite of all pressures from outside – up to now succeeded in preserving their cultural identity and maintained their pride of being “pure human beings”.

The monograph on the history and the culture of the Anyuak is the result of more than five years’ fieldwork. It is a well-documented, detailed and sensitive description of the Anyuak’s spiritual and material world; numerous myths, oral traditions, stories, photographic pictures, maps, genealogies and records make the study of an easy and pleasant access even for readers who are more generally interested in foreign cultures.

While the first two volumes of the monograph described the relationship between the humans and the spiritual forces residing in the sphere of the above (volume I) or in the earth (volume II), the third volume focuses on the Human Person who has a difficult stand between the two contrasting spheres of existence and who can only survive because of his or her self-consciousness of being neither a purely spiritual being nor an animal. What is a truly Human Being? The third volume tries to answer this question. The volume includes notes on kinship which is the basic human condition to eternal life.

 

Bevorstehende Veranstaltungen

Bibliographische Angaben

Reihe The Anyuak - Living on Earth in the Sky
Seitenanzahl 317 arabisch, 15 römisch
Info mit zahlreichen Abbildungen
Format 21.5 x 30 cm
Bindung Buch, Gebunden
ISBN 978-3-7965-1272-8
Erscheinungsdatum 22.09.2003

Autor/in

Conradin Perner is a Swiss scholar with professional experiences in the fields of literature, ethnography, peace-building and humanitarian work. He lectured at a number of African and European universities and worked as a delegate, consultant and advisor in Africa and Asia for the International Committee of the Red Cross, Unicef, Unesco and the Swiss Foreign Department. Since January 2000, C. Perner took an important part in the peace-making processes in the Sudan, first as a Commander of the Joint Military Commission in Kauda in the Nuba Mountains and subsequently as a special senior advisor to the Swiss Government.

For his fight for the respect and the dignity of the people of South Sudan during the long years of Civil War, for the crucial role he played in the dramatic rescue operation of the so-called “lost boys” and, last but not least, for his significant role in the promotion of peaceful co-existence amongst the various ethnic communities in the Sudan, his personal engagement in the restoration of cultural values and the enhancement of human rights, C. Perner has earned the respect of all Sudanese, as an experienced scholar, a courageous humanist as well as a trusted friend. The most prominent project initiated by him is the website www.gurtong.net which provides unbiased information on the peoples and cultures of South Sudan.