ABSTRACT
A dead body is buried at full length, a few paces from the door of the house in which the deceased lived. The grave is usually dug hy elderly male relatives. The body is wrapped in skins, and sacrifices of oxen, goats and fowls are made after the hurial, acco~ing to the family wealth. The mourners hathe in the river; no food taboos are laid on them hut they shave their heads and do not wear ornaments or go to dances during the period of mourning. After a month has passed the mortuary ceremonies are held, a number of sacrifices are made and beer iS.hrewed for the mortuary feast. According to Westermann the horns of an ox are often placed on the grave.(2) THE ANVAK
The Anuak are, like the Shilluk, a riverain people and their villages are distributed along the banks of rivers in the Eastern Sudan and in Ethiopia. In the western regions of Anuakland the ecological conditions are somewhat different from those in the east. The western areas are true savannah, flat, almost treeless grassland, which is flooded in the wet season. In the east there is forest savannah which gradually turns into tropical rain forest. In the rainy season the western half of Anuakland is cut off from the eastern half by deep water-courses and swamps. These factors have had considerable repercussions on the political organisation of the country and largely determine the distribution of the villages and the economy.
