SOUTH SUDAN: THE MUNDARI

SOUTH SUDAN – THE MUNDARI PHOTO TOUR

South Sudan’s magical Mundari people are the original warriors of the White Nile.  As some of the tallest people on earth, they roam South Sudan’s wilds living in an almost symbiotic relationship with their giant Ankole Watusi cows. In 2026 Inger Vandyke will lead an exclusive Mundari photo tour that will uniquely focus on the lives of Mundari people with their cows.  We will also be exploring their lives outside of the nomadic camps.

On this Mundari focussed tour we will be visiting them in villages, exploring their unique architecture, their sacred ceremonial poles, traditional dress and also their culture of wrestling and fishing.

If you have ever wondered where the Mundari go when they are not in their cattle camps, this expedition is for you.

Mundari Traditional Dress

In 1984 the then Islamic government in Sudan stopped the Dinka from wearing their traditional corsets, collars and jewellery under the guidance of Sharia.  Since then, both the Mundari and the Dinka, who traditionally wore these items, abandoned them in the name of covering their bodies for modesty.

These spectacular decorations were worn to indicate age and social status in Mundari culture and during this expedition we will be carrying antique pieces from Inger’s private collection for local people to wear during our photo shoots.

Wrestling

For young boys who are raised in Mundari culture the act, or sport, of traditional wrestling is used to both form kinships and also build strength. These wrestling matches are a traditional way to hone their fighting skills and they are a serious pursuit of young Mundari men, who must always be ready to defend their families and their cattle.

Mundari Village Life

During this expedition we will be searching for traditional Mundari homes in villages.  Whereas young men and women live semi-nomadic lifestyles with their cattle during the dry season, Mundari elders keep a more sedentary life in around twelve main settlements – Terekeka, Gemeiza, Mangalla, Muni, Tombek, Tindilo, Tali, Rego, Tijor, Rijong, Koweri, and Nyori.

We will be visiting Mundari villages to photograph and explore this other side of their way of life and we hope to see a Mundari traditional hut which consists of grass walls and a conical roof fashioned out of neatly cut layers of yellow grasses.

On the banks of the White Nile we will also be searching for fishing activities in Mundari culture.

Other cultural facets we will explore include the Mundari sacred poles, their pottery and markets.

The Cattle Camps

During our entire expedition we will be camped alongside a large, bustling cattle camp.

The Mundari’s world is centred around looking after their magnificent Ankole Watusi cows which are handled by people from the time they are born until the time they die.  So special is this relationship that a Mundari man will often sleep beside his favourite cow and if you gently ask someone to take their photo, they will hold their arms in the air in the same position of the horns of their beloved cow. The Mundari nomadically herd their cattle to places that are close to grazing and water sources, setting up cattle camps which are a frenzy of activity from dawn to dusk each day. A typical Mundari day starts with dusting their cows with ash from fires that burned overnight to keep both cows and animals free of mosquito bites.  The ash from fires helps to protect Ankole cows from the harsh heat of the African sun.  Young Mundari children will run around collecting milk from their favourite cow or freshly laid dung which they transport in buckets to special piles that are dried during the day for fire fuel.  Some children will drink milk directly from the udders of cows while others will take a shower in the urine of a cow which acts as a sterilising agent and also as bleach for their hair! During the day, young men and women will take their cows out to feed and water for the day.  As the sun gets lower they return and the children are tasked again with tethering their cows overnight.  Women will then gather the dried dung to make fires for cooking, warmth and to repel biting insects.  This is the Mundari cycle of life and it is at its most spectacular during the dry season where fire smoke and clouds of dust stirred up in the cattle camps create an almost ghost-like atmosphere, allowing for unrivalled photographic opportunities each day.

These hardy and resilient people are fascinating to learn about through our conversations around our camp.  We will establish our expedition base right next to a cattle camp allowing enough free time to wander through the cows, meeting people and taking photos without rushing.

Our expedition has been timed to ensure we are in South Sudan at the peak of the heat and dust season in Mundari camps allowing us to fully immerse ourselves in their world while staying in one of the most charismatic photography situations in all of Africa.

Accommodation & Road Transport

The hotel we use in Juba is a good standard with hot showers, air conditioning, wifi and ensuite facilities. During the expedition, we will stay in tented camps. There will be 2-man tents (but each person can have their own tent: couples may prefer to use one tent for luggage) and a dining table with chairs. All meals will be provided and cooked by our support staff. A shared shower tent and a toilet tent with seated pit toilet is provided. Your camp will be set up and taken down for you by our camp staff in each place.

The transport for the South Sudan Mundari expedition will be by 4×4 vehicles. Roads in South Sudan are only reasonable in the cities, the few tarred highways are usually dotted with potholes. For much of our journey we will be on dirt roads and tracks so our transport is in 4WD expedition vehicles.

Walking

The walking on this tour is mostly easyon flat ground in the cattle camps and villages

Climate

The weather in South Sudan will be hot. There is likely to be a mixture of sunny and overcast conditions. Rain is unlikely.

Photographic Equipment

For most photography of the people in South Sudan, a travel lens of around 24-105mm on a full-frame DSLR or mirrorless body will be essential. A wide-angle lens of around 16mm or smaller will be perfect for working with people inside smaller huts.

If you prefer to photograph people from a distance, then please consider bringing a larger zoom or telephoto lens. It is our experience that sometimes people can feel a bit intimidated by large cameras and lenses so you may wish to bring a smaller sized zoom lens like a 100-400mm which doesn’t appear as intimidating as a large fixed focal length telephoto lens. Such a lens can also be useful for the ceremonies we will attend as you will often be standing in a crowd and a longer lens will allow you to shoot past other onlookers.

If you bring a good quality bridge camera instead of a DSLR or mirrorless it will be best if it has an optical zoom of 18-20x or more, combined with a reasonable wide-angle at the other end of the zoom range.

If you have a phone or tablet that can be used for photography, you may find these quite useful around people. Similarly, if you have a Polaroid camera like the Leica Sofort or an Instax Mini, these are wonderful to have on hand when you spend time with tribal people. If you decide to bring one of these, please bring lots of film with you as the photographs you produce will be quite popular!

Please note the use of drones in South Sudan is strictly forbidden.

If you would like to talk over suitable equipment, please contact our office. We will be happy to advise.