Kuol the Cannibal

by South Sudanese Folktales | Oct 7, 2018 | 0 comments

Kuol the Cannibal

One day Kuol stood at a distance from the village, and when he was asked “Why are you standing over there?” he said, “My parents are all dead and I have been moving from village to village, but no one could accommodate me.”

So he was welcomed and accommodated, and given a plot at the centre of the village. The villagers gave him some boys to look after his calves, and girls to milk his cattle.

My parents are all dead and I have been moving from village to village, but no one could accommodate me.

Kuol would come and knock the shoulder of one of the girls whilst they were milking. As the girl tried to turn to look and see what the matter was, Kuol would hold the neck of the girl tightly, causing pain, and with the intention of killing her. He would hold on until unfortunately the girl died. Then Kuol took the dead girl to his house where he made a hole and started eating the dead body. This became a continuous routine for him, eating almost all the girls who were given to him, and the whole community were saddened and wondered why their girls had been disappearing. So they organised a group to search for the cannibal, yet he was among the people who were searching for the cannibal!

On one particular day they found out that he was the one who had been eating girls. Some young boys went to his home and they were playing and one of them had a small spear which he speared down next to Kuol’s cooking place. When the boys were trying to leave the one who speared the spear tried to remove it from the ground. But as he removed it came with a piece of flesh and it was smelly. And so a rumour went around the village saying ‘Kuol had been eating our girls’.

Kuol has been eating our girls!

The community leaders said, “When Kuol comes, give him his milk and oil as usual.” So, when he came he was given his oil, milk, and water for bathing as usual. He took his bath, and smeared himself with the oil.

Meanwhile the whole community was gathering outside the house of Kuol to come and kill him, but while he was inside the house he peeped outside and saw the community gathered around his house and knew they were ready to kill him. He came out and told them, “Let me go and tie my cattle…” But before he finished he escaped! They all tried to run after him, but they could not find him anywhere. The villagers came back and sat down and they distributed the cows among themselves: families whose girls were eaten were given fifty cows for compensation; the other villagers were given ten cows.

Reflections:

1) What do you think of the ending of this story?

2) Can compensation help a conflict from escalating?

Storyteller: Nyadoal

Storytelling Session Details

Storyteller: Nyadoal
Language: Nuer
Commmunity: Nuer (originally from Rubkona, living in UNMISS PoC at the time of this project)
Story Researcher: Nyechuol Ruai
Place: Juba PoC
Date: 2015

The Story of the Young Man and the Skull

by Na'eesh Mabadh Team | Na'eesh Mabadh Radio Programme

A Wife Demands the Death of her Mother-in-Law

by South Sudanese Folktales | Oct 7, 2018

A Wife Demands the Death of her Mother-in-Law

Read this story Listen to the Na'eesh Mabadh

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A couple had been in a courtship for years and one day the guy told his girlfriend that they should get married. She agreed, but she gave him a condition: “Unless you kill your mother, you cannot marry me.”

Unless you kill your mother, you cannot marry me!

The young man took his spear and went back home to kill his mother. But before he entered the house where his mother was with his siblings, he peeped through the window and he saw his mother was eating. Then his baby brother defecated; the mother wiped her son clean and she continued eating. After a while the same baby boy vomited and again she wiped him, then after she continued eating without washing her hands. The son was emotionally touched while he was peeping from outside. Then he entered the house and asked his mother, “So, this is how you have been nurturing us?”
His mother answered, “Yes.”
Again the son asked her, “This is how exactly you have been nurturing me?”
“Yes, my son,” the mother said.
“Mother, when I was coming home I had my spear and I wanted to kill you
because I have a girlfriend whom I want to marry. She told me that I should
first kill you so that I can marry her, but I was emotionally touched when I
saw you wiping my baby brother after he defecated and vomited, and you
didn’t wash your hands and you just continued eating.”

The young man decided to shift his mother and siblings to a different village and made for them a new home. Then he came back and he paid a full dowry and married his girlfriend telling her, “I have killed my mother as you asked me to”.

After some months, the new wife got pregnant. While in her seventh month of pregnancy, the husband told her, “We are going to construct our two houses and you will be the one carrying all the building materials like grass used for thatching the house, but also you have to do the domestic work.”

She replied, “I can’t do all this work alone because I am pregnant. Maybe I will get one of my sisters at home to help me.” But the husband insisted, reminding her, “You asked me to kill my mother who could have been of help to you, and so you should do the work.”

This became a routine even during her second, third, and fourth pregnancies, and she complained to her husband, “Whenever you know I am pregnant, that is when we demolish the houses and construct the new ones!”

I can’t do all this work alone because I am pregnant. Maybe I will get one of my sisters at home to help me

The husband asked his wife, “Do you love your mother?”
“Yes,” she said.

“Then why did you ask me to kill my mother? Because she would have helped you during all this time, but instead it seems you wanted to be alone.”

He decided to bring his mother and siblings back and when the wife saw her mother-in-law coming from a distance she ran to hug her.

The following morning the wife brewed alcohol and they called a gathering of all the in-laws, and the entire community was present. The husband stood up in front of the gathering and told them, “My people, I called you here because years back my wife asked me to kill my mother so that I could marry her. I faked my mother’s death so I married my wife, but whenever she becomes pregnant I tell her to re-construct our houses.”

My people, I called you here because years back my wife asked me to kill my mother so that I could marry her. I faked my mother’s death so I married my wife, but whenever she becomes pregnant I tell her to re-construct our houses.

Everyone was saddened by this story and afterwards they slaughtered three cows: one for the return of the mother, a second one for reunification of the family, and the third one for the faking of the mother’s death. They lived happily with their family; the wife took care of the whole family including the mother in-law, and even sometimes even bathed her.

Reflections:

1) Why does the wife ask her husband to kill his mother?
2.) Have you ever been angry or jealous enough to wish death on someone? What did you do when you felt this way?
3) When a woman is pregnant is it fair to expect her to do all the work without assisting her?
4) Should the husband have spent so long preparing his revenge? Were his actions fair?

Storytelling Session Details

Storyteller: Nyadoal
Community: Nuer (originally from Rubkona, living in UNMISS PoC at time of project)
Story Researcher: Nyechuol Ruai
Place: Juba PoC
Date: 2015

The Wife Demands the Death of her Mother-in-Law

by Na'eesh Mabadh Team | Na'eesh Mabadh Radio Programme

Enjoyed A Wife Demands the Death of her Mother-in-Law? Listen to the Na’eesh Mabadh adaptation of this folktale for radio.

Na’eesh Mabadh is a peacebuilding project inspired by South Sudanese folktales.
Learn more about this project on the Na’eesh Mabadh page.