The recent inauguration of the Madan as the new ruling age-set within the Pari community marks a pivotal moment in their rich history. This periodic transfer of power, an entrenched element of the Pari social habitus, ushers in a new generation of leaders who must navigate the complex intersection of deeply cherished tradition and the urgent demands of modernization in a nascent South Sudan.
The challenge for the Madan is not merely to maintain law and order, but to use their authority to steer the Pari peaceful to modernization, a right banner for development, resilience, and integration into a changing world.
The Pari society utilizes a dual authority system: a hereditary chieftainship, commanded by the influential rwadhi-koth or rain-chief, and the robust wegi-pac age-set structure. These institutions have historically provided social cohesion, defense, and the administration of customary law. The Madan Pari ruling age-set inherits this powerful legacy—a source of cultural capital that formal government structures—often perceived as distant or ineffectual, typically lacked. This inherent trust is their greatest asset in driving change.
Nevertheless, modernization for the Pari people is not about abandoning their cultural identity; it is about adapting their governance mechanisms to tackle the 21st Century challenges that the traditional system was not designed to address. The Madan must become the architects of this adaptation.
The wegi-pac system per se, with its cyclical transfer of power, inherently allows a diachronic shift in leadership perspectives, making it uniquely suited for progressive change. This new leadership has a fresh mandate to help the community turn a corner.
The Madan age regime faces a litany of interconnected crises that demand an immediate, forward-looking approach. The community expects them to hit the ground running to address these urgent issues, organized here by priority:
The most immediate threat is physical safety. Widespread small arms from decades of conflict have militarized traditional practices of cattle raiding, escalating simple disputes into deadly confrontations and leading to an alarming increase in child abductions and highway robberies. The Madan must use their authority to enforce local ceasefires, lobby the return of abducted children, and inspire the voluntary peace initiatives through structured community dialogues and coordination with local government and security agencies.
The Pari people, especially those living in rural areas, face severe food insecurity due to the combination of ongoing conflicts and erratic weather patterns linked to climate change, particularly floods and drought. Bad enough, the Pari people, since time immemorial, have been depending on rainfall for agricultural projects and other essential activities. Dependence on rainfed agriculture has made the community highly vulnerable to external shocks.
As officially mandated to make the community policies, the Madan Pari should instantly promote climate-smart agricultural practices, diversify crops and farming techniques, manage communal food reserves, and coordinate with humanitarian partners to ensure emergency food aid reaches the most vulnerable populations, thereby mitigating famine risks and building resilience.
Rural areas in Lafon County suffer from an acute scarcity of health facilities, essential medicines, and medical professionals, meaning preventable diseases often become fatal. The new age regime should advocate vigorously the establishment of primary healthcare units, mobilize community labor for the construction of these facilities, and collaborate with the government at all levels and NGOs to ensure staffing and supply chains are established.
The lack of robust educational infrastructure, qualified teachers, and learning materials results in low literacy rates and limited opportunities for youth development, perpetuating cycles of poverty. On many occasions, the youth in Lafon County find themselves trapped in an information vacuum, vulnerable to manipulation and radicalization. To mitigate this, the new leadership should prioritize the construction of schools, advocate teacher deployment and incentives from the State Ministry of Education, and implement community awareness on the importance of education.
The general absence of infrastructure, particularly impassable roads during the rainy seasons, isolates the Pari people, hindering access to markets, aid, and essential services, stifling economic activity. The new wegi-pac should engage the state-level authorities for road maintenance and construction funding, while organizing community-led efforts to clear critical local pathways to ensure connectivity, access to markets, and emergency access are maintained year-round.
The Madan age regime can leverage its legitimacy as a bridge between the local populace and the formal government structures (local, state, and national) to address these challenges. Establishing formal channels of communication with the County Commissioner and local police can ensure coordinated crisis responses. This synergy between traditional and formal authority can be a game-changer.
Furthermore, the new age regime can engage State ministries proactively, making it difficult for state officials to ignore their needs and preventing the Pari land from being left in the dark ages. Engaging with national agencies can initiate development and secure support for traditional leaders in local peace and planning, ensuring they are not “so near”, yet so far away from it.
By seizing these opportunities and leveraging their foundational legitimacy, the Madan age regime can transcend the role of mere cultural custodians. They can become vital architects of a peaceful, prosperous, and resilient Pari land, demonstrating that traditional governance is not a relic of the past, but a dynamic, essential force in modern South Sudan. The responsibility now rests with the Madan to ensure that continuity and change secure a prosperous future for Pari land, a feat that would be a true feather in their cap and a testament to their leadership.
The writer, Amaju Ubur Yalamoi Ayani, is a South Sudanese teacher and political commentator. He can be reached via email: amajuayani@gmail.com
The views expressed in ‘opinion’ articles published by Radio Tamazuj are solely those of the writer. The veracity of any claims made is the responsibility of the author, not Radio Tamazuj.