Historical Background of Mading Aweil:

Prior to the demise of the Mahdiyya state in 1898 and the subsequent conquest of Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces, there never existed any single geo-political area known as Aweil comprising of the five countries as it does today. The name Mading Aweil is a corrupted Dinka’s name taken from Mading Ayuel. The name Mading Aweil was derived from an event in which a bull coloured “Mading” was slaughtered as a sacrifice by somebody called Ayuel, a man from the Paliej (paan Achiec) clan, a clan that first settled in what is now known as Aweil town. (This was before they lost control of their cattle camp Mading-Ayuel to Pahol clan, who later claim the ownership of the land which now lies entirely in Ajuet Diing Akol area. It was referred to as Aweil Akot Aru, a then Deputy Paramount Chief of Ajuet.)

Before the total establishment of Anglo-Egyptian rule in Sudan at the end of the nineteen century, Aweil had already established a relationship with the Mahdiyya state, through some of its first influential traditional leaders such as Chak-Chak, also known as “Dengdit”, a grandfather of Sultan Albino Akot Autiak. The country of origin of Chak-Chak is not known, but it was believed that he had come from Central Africa Republic (CAR). Chak-Chak allied himself with a renown Ja’ali’s slave trader, Zubier Rh’ama Mansour (Zubier Pasha), at around 1883. This alliance with Zubier Mansour cemented Chak-Chak’s powers when he was armed by Zubier Mansour. As another slave trader, Chak-Chak managed to establish his slave compound around Nyamlell and Shelkou, the present day Aweil west. In his quest to maintain peace and harmony with the local people living in the area, Chak-Chak heeded advice from Parek clan not to enslave anyone around the area in which he resided. With exception of some periodic raids on Lou Land (Jur Col), resulting in many Lou being taken into slavery, Chak Chak overall maintained a good relationship with his Dinka neighbours.