The rigins and culture blacksmiths in Kuku society of Sudan, 1797-1955. pp.169 - 186.

The Kuku are a large ethnic group in the southern region of the Sudan. They belong to a cultural and linguistic group called the Easter Nilotes. The Kuku are one of the last waves of the Eastern Nilotic group that occuped the territory now known as Kajo-Kaji. This land was originally inhabited by a Sudanic group of people called Mory-Madi. When the Kuku people crossed the River Nile from the east, they absorbed some of the clans of this group. Over time, the Kuku people interacted with the Bari people to the north, the Madi and Lugbara to the south, and the Kakwa to the west. This inter-mixing resulted in trhe creation of unique Kuku traditional values, norms, beliefs, and customs.The lifestyle of the early Kuku migrants was simple. The Kuku people collected wild fruits and vegetables, and also practiced a little agriculture. Before the advent of iron in ancient times, the Kuku people used pointed sticks for cultivation. This meant that food production was on a small scale, and the population was relatively small. However, the discovery of iron in the Kuku society revolutionized agriculture, marriage, and warfare. This also led to the consolidation of the Kuku political, economic, and social institutions.The Kuku blacksmiths occuped a paradoxical position in the society: they were respected and despised. They were highly revered for their technical skills, but were despised because they deviated from the Kuku values and norms. They worked and danced naked: they never nathed, and ate their food without washing their hands; they drank strong liquor, and smoked marijuana in long pipes; they sang that ridiculed women, and were also renowned for their being promiscuous; and they never owned farms, livestock, or proper houses.