'Marriage competition" that gripped and divided a nation

On a hot June day in Juba, groups of young people sang as they weaved through the slow-moving traffic of South Sudan's capital, the boys carried long sticks while the girls wore colourful beads, skirts and lawas, a long piece of cloth tied on the shoulder.

- Florence Miettaux

With thousands of other Dinka, one of the country's largest ethnic groups, they would dance late into the night at the agam (acceptance) ceremony that celebrates the conclusion of a "marriage competition", the traditional practice in which several men vie for the hand of a marriageable girl.

For months, Marial Garang Jil and Chol Marol Deng, two men in their 40s who came from Dinka clans in Jonglei state but now live abroad, had been vying to marry Athiak Dau Riak.

Athiak's father, Dau Riak Magany, said she was 19 and had consented to the marriage, despite the fact that she was in primary 8 year at school (which children usually start at 13) when the marriage negotiations began in March.

Her mother, Deborah Kuir Yach, who opposes the marriage, said she had proof that her daughter is 14.

The case might have remained a family dispute, but the story went viral after images of gatherings were posted online. After the ceremonial part of the wedding in June, when Athiak was given as a wife to Chol Marol Deng -for 123 cattle, 120m South Sudanese pounds ($44,000) and a plot of landshe was described on TikTok as "the most expensive bride in South Sudan".

"There is nothing wrong with this marriage," her father said at the time.

Garang Mayen Riak, a cousin who travelled from Canada for the ceremony, agreed. "We're an educated family-we cannot force a girl to marry," he said.