ABSTRACT
In all studies of people who live entirely by the direct and simple use of the natural resources around them the conditions of the physical environment are of the utmost importance. The ecological relationship - that intimate connection between a society and the country it inhabits and exploits - is a primary relationship upon which the social structure and organisation are built. The precise relationship between the Nilotic societies and their environment is considered in the sections on political organisation; here, it is proposed to give abrief outline of the type of countryside and the chief products by which the Nilotic peoples live.
