Karo is a group of Nilotic

Nilotic

Nilotic people or Nilotes, in its contemporary usage, refers to some ethnic groups mainly in South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and northern Tanzania, who speak Nilotic languages, a large sub-group of the Nilo-Saharan languages...

 tribes that straddles the Nile

Nile

The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...

 in the Republic of South Sudan and is predominately found in Central Equatoria State

Central Equatoria

-Government:Executive*Governor - Maj. Gen. Clement Wani Konga*Deputy Governor and Minister of Education, Science and Technology - Mr. Manase Lomole Waya *Minister of Education - Lokulenge Lole Lokule...

, and as far South as Uganda

Uganda

Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

 and South-West as Democratic Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

. Karo comprises Nyangwara

Nyangwara

The Nyangwara are an ethnic group numbering between 25,000 and 30,000 people living in the South Sudan in the state of Central Equatoria.. They are part of Karo people which also includes Bari, Mundari, Kakwa, Kuku and Pojulu tribes. They speak Kutuk na Nyangwara....

, Bari

Bari people

The Bari ethnic groups in South Sudan occupy the Savanna lands of the White Nile Valley. They speak a language which is also called Bari. The name "Bari of the Nile Valley" would be fitting because the river Nile runs through the heart of the Bari land...

, Pojulu

Pojulu people

----The Pojulu ethnic groups in the South Sudan occupy the savanna lands of the Nile Valley west of Bari. They are part of Karo people which also includes Bari, Mundari, Kakwa, Kuku and Nyangwara. The neighbouring tribes are Bari to the east, Nyangwara, Moro to the north Kakwa to the south, west...

, Kuku

Kuku people

The Kuku are a tribe from South Sudan. They are part of Karo people. The Kuku speak Kutuk na Kuku. They inhabit the agricultural lands of Kajo Keji County in Central Equatoria State.They are chiefly a farming people relying on mixed farming...

 (or BaKuku in Uganda), Mundari

Mundari people

The Mundari are a small ethnic group of South Sudan and one of the Nilotic peoples.The group is composed of cattle-herders and agriculturalists and are part of Karo people which also includes Bari, Pojulu, Kakwa, Kuku and Nyangwara...

 and Kakwa. They have been erroneously called Bari-speakers by C. G. Seligman, a British ethnologist, whose first contact with Karo was likely with the Bari during British colonial rule in Sudan.

The term Bari is not considered representative in Sudan, and Luka Monoja, a South Sudanese politician, has advocated Karo as a replacement term. Indeed, there is a broad base movement within Karo to redefine the whole tribal affiliation and groups as Woti Karo or Karo people. Woti Karo share a common culture in addition to language, which has been called Kutuk na Karo ('mother tongue').

Reference

• Seligman, C. G., and Seligman, B. Z., ‘Pagan Tribes of the Nilotic Sudan.’ George Routledge & Sons Ltd., London, 1932.
• Collins, Robert O., ‘Land beyond the Rivers, the Southern Sudan, 1898–1918.’ Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1971.
• Regib Yunis, ‘Notes on the Kuku and other minor tribes inhabiting Kajo-Keji District, Mongalla province.’ SNR VII (1) 1936 pp 1– 41.