Roofing in South Sudan

South Sudan, independent since 2011, is a country of savanna, forest and the vast Sudd wetland. Its characteristic dwelling is the tukul, a round hut of mud and poles under a conical thatched roof, and household survey data show that thatch remains by far the most common roof.

Climate and hazards

The climate is tropical with a long rainy season. In the south, heavy rains make sloping grass roofs necessary, and mud walls erode quickly: a new mud hut is said to last about one to two years, depending on rainfall and erosion.

Roofing history

Early 20th-century photographs give a documentary record. Between 1927 and 1930 the anthropologist E. E. Evans-Pritchard photographed Zande builders at Yambio in Western Equatoria working thatch of bingba grass (Imperata cylindrica) onto the framework of a hut roof that had been laid on the ground.

Traditional and vernacular roofs

• Tukul: round hut built of mud, grass, millet stalks and wooden poles, with a thatched conical roof (see Tukul).
• Moru tukuls: in Moru communities, walls are built from mud with stones, grass and cow manure, and builders are noted for making grass roofs watertight. A family home is usually a group of several tukuls arranged around an open space, for parents, children and a kitchen.
• Sod and palm roofs: recorded as separate categories in household surveys.

Roofing today

The second South Sudan Household Health Survey (2010, a MICS survey) recorded the main roof material for about 9,400 households. Unweighted shares of sampled households (not official estimates) were:

Main roof material	Share of sampled households
Thatch / palm leaf	60.2%
Wood	9.9%
Palm / bamboo	6.6%
Sod	6.1%
Wood planks	4.2%
Other	3.9%
Metal	3.2%
No roof	2.9%
Rustic mat	1.4%
Roofing shingles	1.3%

Cement and tile roofs were almost absent from the sample.

Local roofing terms

• tukul: round thatched hut.
• bingba (Zande): thatching grass, Imperata cylindrica.
• hotnhial: name given for the round hut in South Sudan in one encyclopedic list (language not stated).

Sources and gaps

Little archaeological information on roofing was found in published sources. No national building or roofing code was found. No information on domestic roofing manufacturers was found in published sources. No landmark roofs were documented in published sources.

Survey percentages are unweighted counts from one 2010 survey sample and predate independence and later conflict and displacement. Roof traditions of the Dinka, Nuer, Shilluk and other peoples: published information is limited.