Toposa in South Sudan
Photo Source:
Michael French
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Map Source:
Joshua Project / Global Mapping International
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| People Name: | Toposa |
| Country: | South Sudan |
| 10/40 Window: | No |
| Population: | 325,000 |
| World Population: | 354,200 |
| Primary Language: | Toposa |
| Primary Religion: | Christianity |
| Christian Adherents: | 90.00 % |
| Evangelicals: | 2.00 % |
| Scripture: | Portions |
| Ministry Resources: | No |
| Jesus Film: | Yes |
| Audio Recordings: | Yes |
| People Cluster: | Nilotic |
| Affinity Bloc: | Sub-Saharan Peoples |
| Progress Level: |
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Introduction / History
Most Toposas live in South Sudan, although others are in Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia. In the 1800s they were ivory traders who traded and inter-married with the Swahili.
What Are Their Lives Like?
Most raise cattle, sheep and goats that graze on shrubs and grass. Their homeland is dry and rugged with hills and ravines. During the rainy season, they have much-needed streams. Rain is sporadic, and when it rains it pours, sometimes causing floods and soil erosion. When the rainy season ends, men take their livestock to areas where there is still vegetation while the women remain in their villages to grow sorghum, their primary crop.
Toposa society is divided into age-sets. Men from different age groups commonly sit under a shade tree, drinking homemade beer and discussing issues that concern them. Among women, their age-set friends celebrate with them when they marry. They make a feast of an ox slaughtered by her future husband. Women are involved in settling disputes between tribes.
What Are Their Beliefs?
The traditional beliefs of the Toposas involve Nakwuge, a supreme being who lives in the sky and has little concern for them. They also pray to and make sacrifices to a network of ancestral spirits that they call upon when there are natural disasters such as droughts and epidemics. There is a Catholic and some Evangelical presence among the Toposas.
What Are Their Needs?
As herders with a lack of adequate water and good land, the Toposas and their neighbors often raid each other s herds, especially in South Sudan. Each tribe spies on the others to find out their weak points. For generations, the situation has led to bloodshed.
During times of drought, many of their cattle die. Since cattle are given as bride wealth, that leaves men unable to pay for a wife. The Toposas then engage in pre-marital sex without a proper wedding. Children born of these unions become part of the mother s father s group.
Prayer Points
Pray that God would send believers from neighboring tribes that speak similar languages to share God's story and make disciples.
Pray for godly Christian leaders who can serve as animal veterinarians, community health educators, and agricultural experts.
Pray for water experts to drill for water so the Toposas and their neighbors will have adequate water.