Tennet people

Ethnic group in South Sudan

The Tennet people (referred to as "Tennet" in early language studies [1]) are South Sudanese. Their language is sometimes referred to as Ngaarit. Tennet traditional dances are divided into the following categories: Lalu, Nyaliliya, Loduk, and so on

The majority of the Tennets are reported to be bilingual. They speak the languages of the neighbouring communities. They are bordered by Lopit to the east and west, Pari to the northwest, Greater Pibor and Bor to the north, and Toposa and Laarim to the northeast. They have, nevertheless, maintained a strong ethnic identity and resisted absorption by neighbouring communities by conserving their culture and language. They are still using Tennet.

The Tennet home area consists of fifteen (15) villages in the north of Torit in Eastern Equatoria. Tennet population is estimated at about 30,000 people.

The Tennet have an account of how they were once part of a larger group, which also included what are now Murle, Didinga, and Laarim Boya, the other members of the 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 ironworking from the Bari people. However, during Sudan's civil wars, blacksmith activity decreased.

Tennet is a Nilo Saharan, Eastern Sudanic, Surmic language. It has several of the features common in other Surmic languages: Implosive consonants, multiple strategies for marking numbers on nouns, a marked nominative case system, and VSO order but sentence final question words.

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.

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 defence 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.

Tennet music is pentatonic which is "Rugumon". Carved flutes are common around the villages, and drums are used during dances.