page_title: Toposa people
section_title: Culture
hierarchical_section_title: Toposa people / Culture
caption_attribution_description: Toposa Elder in South Sudan
context_page_description: The Toposa are an ethnic group in South Sudan, living in the Greater Kapoeta region of the erstwhile Eastern Equatoria state.
  They have traditionally lived by herding cattle, sheep and goats, and in the past were involved in the ivory trade. They have a tradition of constant low-level warfare, usually cattle raids, against their neighbors.
  During the Second Sudanese Civil War the Toposa helped the Sudan People's Liberation Army at times, and at other times helped the Government of Sudan. After the war, sporadic clashes with neighboring tribes continued. The Toposa way of life is slowly being modernized and traditional social organization is eroding.
context_section_description: The Toposa language is a Nilotic language. 
  It belongs to the Turkana group, which also includes Karamojong of Uganda, Nyangatom of Ethiopia and Turkana of Kenya.
  The Turkana and Toposa languages are so close that they are mutually intelligible.
  Other names for the Toposa language are Akara, Kare, Kumi, Taposa and Topotha.
  The Toposa economy and social life revolves around herding livestock, including cattle, camels, donkeys, goats and sheep. The Toposa also pan for gold and other precious minerals in the stream beds.
  Boys are first given care of goats and sheep, then graduate to looking after cattle when they come of age.
  They may travel considerable distances seeking water and pasturage.
  Possession of cattle, along with possession of a loaded gun, are the main measures of status and wealth. Cattle are central to Toposa culture.
  The Toposa have always competed for water and pasturage with their neighbors, and have always engaged in cattle rustling.
  The traditional Toposa weapon was a long throwing spear, used in raids in conjunction with a shield. The attacker would run forward zigzagging to dodge missiles, hurl his spear and then retreat, ready to ambush a pursuing enemy.
  The Toposa share the habit of constant low-level warfare, mainly to capture cattle, with their neighbors. According to P.H. Gulliver, writing in 1952, "Turkana made war on all their neighbours with the exception of the Jie, with whom they occasionally allied themselves against the Karamajong and the Dodoth. Karamajong similarly made war on all their neighbors with the exception of the Dudoth, with whom they occasionally allied themselves against the Jie. Jie claim friendship with the Toposa, but since they have no common boundaries this would have been of little importance. Toposa and Donyiro did not fight each other, and are known to have formed an alliance against the Turkana. Toposa and Jiye were enemies".
  Women are expected to remain at home farming, cooking, raising children and caring for the elderly.
  This division of labour can be inefficient. When an NGO introduced ox cultivation, at first they decided it would be easier to have men undertake the ploughing, although cultivation was women's work, than to have women intrude into the men's world of animal husbandry. Later they decided that women should be allowed to plough, but councils of elders rejected the notion. However, Toposa elders have limited power and the NGO went ahead and trained some women in ox ploughing, mostly widows and orphans. The experiment ended in 1985 when rebel forces arrived in the area, a disaster the elders naturally attributed to letting women manage cattle.
  There is no clear political organization among the Toposa, although respect is paid to elders, chiefs and wise men.
  Most decisions about the clan or community are made in meetings attended only by the men, traditionally held in the dark hours before the dawn.
  Matters of war and peace are decided by the sections councils of the elders, and the elders have sacral power over rain and drought.
  Captain King, a soldier of the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium who conquered the Toposa and ruled them for sixteen years, wrote: "There seems no doubt that prior to the advent of the Abyssinians even the idea of 'the Chief' was entirely unknown to the Topotha; the affairs of section and nation were regulated by the leaders of the ruling class, next but one above the warrior class... Gifted individuals such as Tuliabong or Lotukol, himself an elder, might by their force of character or prowess come to exercise unusual sway; but this was purely personal and there was no concept of it passing on his death to his son".
  The Toposa believe in a supreme being and in ancestral spirits, who may assist in overcoming problems such as drought or epidemics of disease among their herds.
  They believe that men originally lived with "Nakwuge" in the sky, but many slid down a rope to earth. The rope then broke, separating them from heaven.
  As of 2000, perhaps 5% of the population could read.
  The Toposa culture is orally transmitted through songs, danc
caption: Toposa Elder
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