However, they also share many social and cultural features, not least of [248/249] which is the importance of cattle in their lives.[Note 2] Cattle are not just a food source, but a central factor in all aspects of their social and cultural activities, being used to mediate social relationships through the institutions of bridewealth and bloodwealth, as well as to mediate man’s relationship with God through their role as sacrificial victims. Moreover, the Nuer, Dinka, Atuot, and Mandari share a common history,[Note3] live in geographical proximity, and have extensive interrelations across the ‘borders’ that might be supposed to exist.
