The Jur Modo people came to the United States as refugees from South Sudan. In Sudan, they lived a rural way of life, living in relatively isolated compounds.

Historically, social events that bring the people together included dances, marriage ceremonies, funerals and funeral rituals, work parties, fishing and hunting that brought people from different villages into camps to fish and hunt together.

They speak Jur Modo language, a Nilo-Saharan and Central Sudanic language, though some speakers also use Arabic, Dinka, Moru, Baka, or Zande. There are several dialects of Jur Modo: namely, Lori, Modo (Jur Modo, Modo Lali), Wira, Wetu. The language is a tonal language.

Their principal religion is animism. People offer sacrifices when they become sick or begin a new homestead in a ceremony performed by the fortune teller (boya’da) who then pleads with the spirits of the ancestors.

Please note: The Sudanese people group cluster, numbering over 100,000, includes the Acholi, Anuak, Azande, Bari, Central Dinka, Jur Modo, Kaliko, Mabaan, Madi, Moru, Nuer, Shilluk, plus several other minority people groups. They are socially, culturally, linguistically, and religiously diverse with each having their own unique people group identity.