The Aturwic, the mound shrine of the Shilluk, Fashoda, Sudan

"The Aturwic is the sacred enclosure of four huts built on a mound which dominates the capital. The huts of the Aturwic are rebuilt at the installation ceremonies of each new king, and the mound on which they rest consists entirely of the debris of previous huts. Aturwic thus becomes periodically the focal point of the royal rites and the royal capital itself." [Johnson D., 1990: Fixed Shrines and Spiritual Centres in the Upper Nile. azania. Journal of the British Institute in Eastern Africa]. The photograph depicts Anei Kyr, Reth of the Shilluk people, who is considered a divine king with a royal structure to support his kingship. In the background is the Aturwic. During his trip to Sudan, Elisofon visited the Shilluk people at Fashoda (now Kodok), north of Malakal in the Upper Nile region (now, A`ali an-Nil region). This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for Life magazine and traveled to Africa from January 8, 1947 to end of June 1947.