Deng, also known as Denka, is a sky, rain, and fertility

god In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

Dinka mythology Dinka spirituality is the traditional religion of the Dinka people (also known as Muonyjang), an ethnic group of South Sudan. They belong to the Nilotic peoples, which is a group of cultures in Southern Sudan and wider Eastern Africa. The Dinka pe ...

for the

Dinka people The Dinka people () are a Nilotes, Nilotic ethnic group native to South Sudan. The Dinka mostly live along the Nile, from Mangalla-Bor to Renk, South Sudan, Renk, in the region of Bahr el Ghazal (region of South Sudan), Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nil ...

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

and

South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...

. He is the son of the goddess Abuk.Lynch, Patricia Ann, ''African Mythology A to Z'', Infobase Publishing (2004), p. 29,

(retrieved 17 May 2018) Abuk is considered the first woman to fertilize the land and providing nourishment for the people. Her role is significant in Dinka mythology. Among the Nuer people, Nuer, Deng is considered to be "a foreign deity" and "a bringer of disease". His daughter is the moon goddess. In

Dinka religion Dinka spirituality is the traditional religion of the Dinka people (also known as Muonyjang), an ethnic group of South Sudan. They belong to the Nilotic peoples, which is a group of cultures in Southern Sudan and wider Eastern Africa. The Dinka pe ...

, he is a storm and fertility god bringing lightning, rain, and thunder.Jordan, Michael, ''Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses'', Infobase Publishing (2014), p.74

(retrieved 17 May 2018)Andrews, Tamra, ''Dictionary of Nature Myths: Legends of the Earth, Sea, and Sky'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

(2000), p. 55,

(retrieved 17 May 2018) The word ''deng'' means "rain" in Dinka language, Thuɔŋjäŋ. Among his followers, Deng is regarded as the intermediary between humans and the supreme being. The spirit and modern world cannot be separated, as they are connected to Deng. Closely linked with the supreme god Nhialic, he was regarded as the son of god and sometimes as the son of the goddess Abuk. In some areas of Dinka country, Deng and Nhialic are "regarded as one and the same".

References

External links

*Lady of the Eart

African gods Dinka mythology Fertility gods Nuer mythology Rain deities Sky and weather gods {{Deity-stub