Qualla: Twic East County

Twic East County: Introduction

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Oxfam East Africa, CC BY 2.0. The Twic people of Jonglei trace their identity to a founding ancestor named Atwï, also called Atwïc Ariɛm. The origin myth is worth knowing: Atwic and his brother Yieu once lived together at a place called Patunduu' or Patundur, west of Paliau. They had a falling out. Atwic left. After his departure, the land fell into an eight-year drought, and only when Yieu asked his brother to return did the rains come back. When Atwic returned, so did the rains - and with them, the chieftainship. That myth is still the frame through which Twic East County understands itself: a community whose wellbeing depends on relationships kept and brothers called home.

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Image: Oxfam East Africa | CC BY 2.0

Twic East County: Where Twi Dinka Country Sits

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Roastedbeanz1, CC0. Twic East County is located in Jonglei State in South Sudan, with its headquarters at Panyagor. Its borders and internal divisions have been unstable. In May 2016, the county was split into five new counties - Twic North, Kongor, Ayual, Twic Center, and Twic South. In 2020, as pa...

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Image: Roastedbeanz1 | CC0

Twic East County: Droughts, Raids, and Food That Doesn't Arrive

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Oxfam East Africa, CC BY 2.0. Like much of South Sudan, Twic East lives with recurring drought that interrupts agriculture and forces reliance on humanitarian food aid. Those supplies have been targeted. In one documented raid, attackers intercepted trucks from the World Food Programme and made off with seven...

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Image: Oxfam East Africa | CC BY 2.0

Twic East County: A County That Produces Icons

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Oxfam East Africa, CC BY 2.0. Twic East has produced more globally recognizable South Sudanese than most parts of the country. John Garang de Mabior (1945-2005), the founder of the SPLA/M and the man who negotiated the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that eventually led to independence, was born in Twic East - ...

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Image: Oxfam East Africa | CC BY 2.0

Twic East County: Panyagor, the Nile, and the Future

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Oxfam East Africa, CC BY 2.0. Panyagor, the county seat, sits on the flat Jonglei plain not far from the Bahr el Jebel branch of the Nile, in the broader Sudd region. Cattle country. Seasonal floods that shape every calendar. An airstrip that functions when the rains allow. The Twi Dinka here are part of the ...

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Image: Oxfam East Africa | CC BY 2.0