people The Rek are an ethnic group in South Sudan, a subgroup of the Dinka. Its members speak South-Western Dinka, also called Rek, a Nilotic language. Many members of this ethnicity are Christians. Some estimates put the Rek population at or exceeding 500,000 people. Cultural and religious beliefs The Dinkas' pastoral lifestyle is also reflected in their religious beliefs and practices. The Dinka religion, just like most other Nilotic faiths, are Polytheistic, but have one creator God, Nhialic, who leads the Dinka pantheon of gods and spirits. He is generally distant to humans and does not directly interact with them. The sacrificing of oxen by the "masters of the fishing spear" is a central component of Dinka's religious practice. Age is an important factor in Dinka culture, with young men being inducted into adulthood through an initiation ordeal that includes marking the forehead with a sharp object. Also during this ceremony, they acquire a second cow-color name. The Dinka believe they derive religious power from nature and the world around them, rather than from a religious tome. Dinka diaspora The experience of Dinka refugees was portrayed in the documentary movies Lost Boys of Sudan by Megan Mylan and Jon Shenk and God Grew Tired Of Us, Joan Hechts' book The Journey of the Lost Boys and the fictionalized autobiography of a Dinka refugee, Dave Eggers' What Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng. Other books on and by the Lost Boys include The Lost Boys of Sudan by Mark Bixler, God Grew Tired of Us by John Bul Dau, They Poured Fire On Us From The Sky by Alephonsion Deng, Benson Deng, and Benjamin Ajak and A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. In 2004 the first volume of the graphic novel Echoes of the Lost Boys of Sudan was released in Dallas, Texas. Notable Dinka William Deng Nhial, a political leader of Sudan African National Union, SANU and co-founder of Anya Anya military wing of the liberation of Southern Sudan Abel Alier, known as "Abel Alier Kwai", the first southerner former president of the High Executive Council of Southern Sudan and Vice President of Sudan (1972-1982). Hussein Abdelbagi, one of the Vice Presidents of the Republic of South Sudan. Deng Adut, defence lawyer and former child soldier Aliir Aliir, Australian Rules Footballer Mathiang Yak Anek, 19th-century female chief and escaped slave Adut Bulgak, First South