Sudanese group tells stories through dance at Ethnic Festival

The equipment used by the Dinka Malual dance group at the Grand Island Ethnic Festival on Sunday afternoon was quite simple -- wooden sticks, rags, pom-poms and rings of crushed pop cans around the ankles.

But amid the stomps, singing and the cans' ringing, the group's performance was also communicating a profound message.

As Garang Deng of Grand Island sang, he told stories in his native Dinka language about the tribe's history and homeland in southern Sudan -- many of which recounted the persecution and violence the tribe has seen, sometimes in graphic detail.

Still, the songs were sung to a relentlessly celebratory beat, as the dancers reminded themselves and each other of the freedom they now share.

"We feel some kind of pain in it," Deng said of the songs and dances. "But it's exciting, because we did it -- we came out of it. What it means is we need to go ahead and do more for the protection of our community, to improve our country, to make our people feel more at home."

Sunday's performances were the first in town for the group made up of people from Grand Island and Omaha.

The group's members are from the Malual tribe of the Dinka ethnic group in southern Sudan, an area that has been racked by slavery and war for decades.

The tribe has long passed down its stories through songs and dances rather than the written word, said John Thuch of Grand Island, the dance group's leader.

Now that many Dinka Malual have been refugees in the United States for several years, the ritual is a way to pass on the tribe's history to their children who may have never lived in Sudan, said Marco Ajang of Grand Island, a leader of Nebraska's Dinka Malual population.

Deng said it also stirs up pride for the Dinka's homeland, as well as an appreciation for the freedoms offered in the U.S.

"We have discord in our country, but we still love it. We're still going to celebrate it," he said. "And we do love the United States because it's a multicultural country."

Deng said the dance can be performed almost anywhere -- at community celebrations, Christmas or Easter.

When they perform it before multicultural audiences like Sunday's Ethnic Festival, though, the group's leaders said the dance is their way of identifying themselves, representing their tribe and showing their appreciation for everyone in attendance.

"When we show you our culture, you know where we come from, and what we think about this city," said Mayen Deng Akoon of Grand Island, another one of the group's leaders.