05/10/2025
The First Jieng Great ‘Song-Makers’.
During this time, many songs were composed by the local Dinka composers from the West Bank, Akot, Maleng-Agok, for Agar-Jieng people. This also happened further afield in Panekar in Yerol and back to Gel River among the Gok people. These were the new Missionary Stations founded among the Jieng Anglicans of West Bank, in Bahr El-Gazal. Many great things, such as the development of education and the growth of faith and encouragement of Christians, took place at this time as a result of a new movement of the spirit of renewal and faith, which was reshaped by those songs.
All in all there were lot of songs of praise to God composed as a result of this revival of 1939 which began at Loka intermediate school, led by an English evangelist called Richard Jones. It brought a lot of change within all Jieng Mission stations, even among the Nile divided Dinka of East and West Anglicans. These again were composers from Akot, Maleng-agook for Agaar, and from Pane-Kar, Yerol for Ciec where Daniel Ayup comes from, and River Gel of Gok people, where a lady called Kueny E-Magok comes from. This was from the West Bank and from the East comes many other composers. From Malek there come song-makers and from Kongor comes Deng Bior Duot and finally Duk Deng, where you get a great song-maker Mary Nyaroor Deng, and Chief Lazeroud Jo-Gaak Deng Malual. They were all from Duk Deng with rich and spiritual songs, as you will see below. There were many other song makers coming up in all corners of Jieng land speaking of their new faith inbetween these times (1939s-60s) in our modern history.
