NUER  , a Nilotic

negro people of the upper Nile, dwelling in the swampy plains south of Fashoda and at the Bahr-el-Ghazal confluence, and having for neighbours the Dinka, whom they resemble . They are long-legged and flat-footed, and live, like the aquatic birds, on fish, roots and river plants . They tattoo tribal marks on the forehead, and the women pierce the upper lips . A few Nuer families live on the floating islets of grass and reeds brought down by the river in flood .