Shilluk people
The Shilluk, Shilluk English spelling, proper name Colo, Chollo are a Nilotic ethnic group associated with the Southern Sudan. Their language is Shilluk or Dhok Chollo, a Nilotic language.
The settlement area is located north and west of the town of Malakal in southern Sudan, along the western bank of the White Nile about within the boundaries of the state A'ali to Nile. Their population is estimated at 600,000 (as of 2004 ), thus they are the third largest ethnic group of South Sudan after the Dinka and Nuer. Shilluk are mainly fishermen, but also live on agriculture and cattle breeding.
The Shilluk have a traditional leader who is also known as the "king " or Reth and his lineage leads back up to Nyikang, the mythical first king. The King is based in Pachodo near the town of Fashoda. As tribal feature especially male Shilluk wear a horizontal row of protruding points on the face that look like some kind of protruding scars.
In many songs the Shilluk praising the exploits of the mythical king Nyikang and accompany their singing on a five-string lyre, which is called tom. The singer - poet CEK or wau enjoys high social standing. There are three categories of dance ceremonies: Tom called the Rainmaker dances of adult men. Bul are used after the short or long, both sides played cylindrical drum called entertainment dances that are performed only by young people. Ywok are funeral and ancestral dances that are part of the bunk celebrations. Addition to these two instruments are still the leleng tradition. These are kettle drums used in pairs and used as symbols of kingship with the North African naqqaras.
In 2004, approximately 50,000 to 120,000 members of the Shilluk of government militias were distributed under the American Civil War in South Sudan. It fled around 26,000 to Malakal.
A prominent politician Lam Akol is the Shilluk.
In the German -speaking world among other ethnologists Diedrich Westermann, William Banholzer, Julius Konietzko, Wilhelm Hofmayr and Burkhard Schnepel have dealt with the culture of the Shilluk.