​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.