Nilotic people or Nilotes, in its contemporary usage, refers to some ethnic groups mainly in southern Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and northern Tanzania, who speak Nilotic languages, a large sub-group of Nilo-Saharan languages. These include the Kalenjin, Luo, Ateker, Dinka, Nuer, Shilluk and the Maa-speaking peoples – all which are clusters of several ethnic groups.^[1]

The terms Nilotic and Nilotes were previously used as racial classifications, based on now widely discarded perceptions.^[2] The terms are now foremost used to distinguish "Nilotic people" from their ethnic neighbours (mainly Bantu speaking people), based on ethnolinguistic affiliation.^[3] Etymologically, the terms Nilotic and Nilote (also spelled Nilot) derive from the Nile Valley, specifically the Upper Nile and its tributaries, where most Sudanese Nilotic speaking people live.

Linguistic divisions

Linguistically, Nilotic people are divided into three sub-groups:

• Eastern Nilotic
• Southern Nilotic
• Western Nilotic

Ethnic divisions

Nilotic people constitute a large part of the population of Southern Sudan. The largest of the Sudanese Nilotic people are the Dinka, which includes as many as twenty-five ethnic groups. The next largest group are the Nuer, followed by the Shilluk.^[4]

The Nilotic people in Uganda include the Luo group (Acholi, Alur and Jopadhola), the Ateker (Iteso and Karamojong), and the Lango and Kumam (who are linguistically affiliated with the Luo, but are often culturally grouped with the Ateker).

In Kenya, the Nilotes are often categorised in three subgroups:

• The Plain Nilotes, who speak Maa languages: The Maasai, Samburu and Turkana
• The River lake Nilotes: The Joluo, which is part of the larger Luo group
• The Highland Nilotic or Kalenjin, which includes several smaller groups: Elgeyo, Keiyo, Kipsigis, Marakwet, Nandi, Pokot, Sabaot, Terik, and Tugen

References

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