Tennet people
The Tennet people ('Tennet' in early language survey) are an ethnic group in South Sudan. Their language is also called Tennet. Their neighbors, the Lopit as well as the Lotuho, refer to them as "Irenge", the name they called to Buya also. Tennet had adopted the culture of Lopit but they have their own traditional dances such as Lalu, Nyaliliya, Loduk, etc. Tennet people are multilingual. They can speak the languages of the neighboring communities such as Lopit, Lotuko, Pari, Buya, Murle, and Toposa. But they have maintained a strong ethnic identity and resisted assimilation from the neighboring  communities by maintaining their culture and language among themselves. They continue to speak Tennet. Location. The Tennet home area consists of fifteen (15) villages in north of Torit in Eastern Equatoria). Tennet population is estimated at about 30,000 people. Early history. The Tennet have an account of how they were once part of a larger group, which also included what are now Murle people|Murle , Didinga people|Didinga , and Laarim Boya people|Boya , the other members of the Surmic|Southwest Surmic language family. Members of a hunting party speared an oribi , but after cooking it, they drank the broth themselves instead of giving it  to the elders according to custom. A disagreement arose, and in the end, they separated, splitting into four smaller groups. The other three groups have similar stories. Some estimates place this event in the early nineteenth century. The Tennet learned iron-working from the Bari people. However, during Sudan's Second Sudanese Civil War|civil wars , blacksmith activity decreased. Language. Tennet is a Nilo-Saharan languages|Nilo-Saharan , Eastern Sudanic languages|Eastern Sudanic , Surmic languages|Surmic language. It has several of the features common in other Surmic languages: Implosive consonants , multiple strategies for marking number on nouns, a marked nominative case system, and Verb –subject–object|VSO order but sentence-final question words. Culture. Economy. The Tennet people practice swidden agriculture . They grow sorghum mostly on the plains below the villages, but they also cultivate fields on the mountainsides. They raise cattle, which are the main measure of wealth and are used for bride wealth , and they also hunt, fish, and raise goats and sheep. However, they are primarily dependent on sorghum, and drought can cause severe food shortages. Governance. The Tennet communities are governed by the ruling age set, called the Machigi Looch , (this word means the rulers and the owners of the land ). The Members of the Machigi Looch are young men who are old enough to participate in warfare (cattle raiding and defense of the village). They make decisions, but they are also held accountable by the retired Machigi Looch, the elders. A new group of Machigi Looch is initiated about every twelve years. Music. Tennet music is pentatonic scale|pentatonic which is "Rugumon" . Carved flutes are common around the villages, and drums are used during dances. External links. Category: Ethnic groups in South Sudan