Module 1: "Loss of Culturally Vital Cattle..." and "Water for Sudan"

The dancing begins at 7:25 a.m. as the thump of a drum splits the cool morning air in the Mangalatore camp for the displaced.

Young men run and leap, legs splayed, Jordanesque, heads rising above the hopping, singing, chanting, ululating crowd.

Hundreds of Dinka tribesmen and women have gathered at the Duk-Fuel family compound for a traditional dowry celebration.

Hundreds of Dinka tribesmen and women have gathered at the Duk-Fuel family compound for a traditional dowry celebration.

But the occasion is marred by what is missing: There will be no cattle given to the Duk-Fuel family today, historically the central transaction at this ritual.

Both girls will marry soon, although the next day’s dowry ceremony is primarily for Nyandier.

The men say the absence of cattle has transformed the dowry process.

Negotiations [agreements; discussions] used to be held in which the boy’s family agreed to give cows, sometimes as many as 100, to the Dinka girl’s relatives; several families would make such overtures [proposals; offers] toward a single girl, in a process akin to competitive bidding.

Negotiations [agreements; discussions] used to be held in which the boy’s family agreed to give cows, sometimes as many as 100, to the Dinka girl’s relatives; several families would make such overtures [proposals; offers] toward a single girl, in a process akin to competitive bidding.

The result is a village renewed by its own efforts with increased confidence that its people can continue to transform their own lives.