Kɔc aɣöc: People are starving in South Sudan
By Majok Arol Dhieu, Juba, South Sudan
March 20, 2017 (SSB) — I stood; with a pair of shoes in one hand and one on another, staring at the man in a well-fitting black suit neatly ironed. He seated in a car with a cigarette in his hand and smoke penetrating his nostrils and his mouth. A man whose name I later learned was Paul. His second name was untold.
He pressed a button that lowered the glass in order to speak to the people whom I was standing with. The imprudent look in the man’s eye gave me way to fear. I goggle-eyed elbow my way through the crowd of the people to the roadside little a bit far away from him because his eyes were starting to betray him as if he was having a different plan for us.
He was asked if there’s something for the day by the people I suspected to be his tribesmen because they were speaking the same dialect, but negatively, he said, “kɔc aɣöc”. I heard, but wasn’t floating my boat since I haven’t familiarized myself with the word.
I whispered to the man on my side if he can belabour enough on the point. He said “kɔc aɣöc”—–is a coined word usually uses by the people from Central Bhar El Ghazal which means “people are starving” and that they will be drag to the garden side soon since it’s a belief from most of Dinka custom that a starved person shouldn’t be bury.
To hammer out, the people who were speaking to the seated giant, speaks Central Bhar El Ghazal dialect. This thing had thrown me into a state of confusion.
First, I was taken aback when I heard them complaining. Hadn’t their brother, Mr. President poured money into their businesses? But then again, I got the point; they are surely using “kɔc aɣöc” to hide their light under a bushel so that other blindfolded societies say, it’s the same old story.
Secondly, judging from Paul appearance, I can’t believe that the likes of Paul would use the word although they’ve appetite of saying it. He is a well-built person who can keep a roof over his head and food on the table for his family, except if he might have got his wealth using wrong fingers to tail off simply in few years.
As an odd man in the crowd, I jumped in with both feet before I know the facts to quick-wittedly concluded that Kɔc aɣöc MUST be a barricade term for blocking people who may need help. The good thing was that, I was speaking to myself. I was also on vigilant whether the two groups were idiomatically talking to the people from other states blanketed in their coined word.
Paul left and the comments I overheard from the crowd after he disappeared into the distance make my ears burn with mixed feelings. I first shot an unpleasant look at them and acknowledged that, none of them was doing perfect completely. Gossips afterward, satisfied me that the crowd were also begging while they’ve their own money each must have pocketed in the deal they’ve won together.
While listening to them carefully with my own analysis, there’s something echoed in my ears, the Dinka say “mɛ̈t thin ku thɔ̈ɔ̈kë”——– which means bring the whole of your portion and stay ravenously. This must be the hidden meaning for “kɔc aɣöc’’.
But supposedly, it’s us from Eastern Bhar El Ghazal who would’ve coined up the term because simple evaluation shows that we’ve no resources fall on our laps from government. The development is zero compared to Central Bhar El Ghazal state that is better off in everything. No business tycoons from our far East of Bhar El Ghazal who received a financial support from government unless one’s fight tooth and nail to get the route into the warehouse.
In the matter of argument, let’s pick trading as an example. Traders from Central Bhar El Ghazal even the very people whom I found recently without proper businesses they were pursuing, have had in these years some businesses increasingly grows in profit on daily basis. That undoubtedly proved they’ve interlinked themselves to their kinsmen in government for financial support.
I’ve the gumption to write to the people concerns that “kɔc aɣöc’’ must to be drop because it’s depreciating our values and cultures. Those who create it for their benefits must to be advise that outwitting others may turn worse one of the days.
Whatever the meaning of coined word may be intended for; it’s the general consensus that ‘what goes around, come around!’ If you play tricks today, pray that tomorrow shouldn’t come, but if it’s come, then your today backdoors will be revealed and therefore, you will no longer be trusted.
Let’s conclude our piece by going through this story of devious person who predicted that he will win two games.
It’s said that there lived in a village a man who was betrothed at the age of eighteen. His father and the rest of the family were admiring his fiancée, but he was not loyal to the relationship. He started to build another very good relationship with a girl from the neighbour village.
Each time he met his own chosen fiancée, his subject was ‘’show me your loves’’. One fine day, he was passing by and saw his fiancée pounding type of edible nuts in the shadow of traditional tower—-a house erected using tall and hard wood that are not easily eaten up by ants. He greeted and leering at her as if he would swallow her.
Without securing who is who and which is which, he said, today, we’ve to consummate our romantic relationships. If nothing happened, then we are going to have a break away, he added. His fiancée forged a smile and said, I accept it dear, but take me onto your neck and follow your nose up to that cluster of sorghum where we shall be romanticizing each other while in hiding.
Happily, he took her onto his neck as light as a feather and made his way as instructed. His thing—–the umbilical cords’ neighbour in the perineal area without ears starts protruding outside.
In the said cluster of sorghum, a man who was weeding weeds woke up hurriedly when he noticed something ear-splitting to where he was. He then saw a man with his daughter on his neck coming towards him. He first asked himself where this man might be taking his daughter to.
The perilous girl-hunter came to notice the father of the girl some yards away. He got frightened till he was about to lost his balance.
The erected image in his perineal stand still in spite of the bottlenecked huge figure carries an axe in his right hand and a weeding hoe on the other.
This thing of the girl-hunter didn’t control its anger yet. Perhaps, it’s because it has got no eyes to see what was happening to its host.
And unfortunately, no one was around to apply tradition way of stopping it. In those dark days without clothes, if something of that kind happened, the host’s leg has to be hit by some-one present using a stick so that its anger dies down. Both have rudely entered into a knock-down-drag-out fight with a rough conclusion afterward
The father of the girl looked at him with undisguised contempt, and then asked, my friend, where are you taking my daughter to? He struggled but all his attempts to answer the man on this subject were met by prevarication. In reply, he said I am bringing her to you Sir, because I found her lying on the floor suffering from malaria and I don’t know the clinic in your village here. So, I’ve decided to bring her to you.
The father of the girl scrutinized, cleared his throat and said, ‘’I see, but what about this erected one, seem to have already blackmailed your answer’’? No, Sir, don’t skin me alive due to that unfriendly idiot, I came with it since morning from my village (the name of the village withheld for genuine reason or you are left to google it).
He was a brave man to withstand the scorching heat under the sun, heavy object on his neck and the problem at hand but he handled both successfully.
The father of the girl was bamboozled but he knew a lot about the bad-faith conducts. Nevertheless, the representation from the fornicator was interesting although he was left at low ebb. He was then dismissed from the sight, and in non-resistance behaviours, the barefaced liar made his way to his village.
So, after you read the story. What is the lesson? The girl-hunter was cheating his father, fiancée and the father of the girl. He was lastly caught red handed and was found to be a double-faced person. He lastly lost his own game and the betrothal.
There’s no problem about concocting something to help ourselves out of status quo, but not to the extent that we undermine our cultures.
Moreover, our God is always watching us in our daily activities. Should we say “kɔc aɣöc” to the needy, we are not ready to help anyone in need and this in turn will affect us. We can easily lost God trust like the girl-hunter.
More importantly, mind your Ps and Qs since it’s said that ‘’he who laughs last, laughs longest’’. Although you seem to have controlled the situation, those who will control it at the end will be successful also and that all will be recognised as achievers regardless of the ladders you’ve used. Let’s stop deceiving and talk realities.
For me, if I want not to give anything out, I use to say to the people seeking assistance that I’ve no enough cash today and let’s hope for tomorrow because “kɔc aɣöc” is more harmful and frustrating word.
I salute you. We meet next time.
You can reach the author via his email: Majok Arol Dhieu <majongaroldit@gmail.com>
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