Dinka Folktales: Aluel and Her Heartless Stepmother

By Garang Kuot

Aluel was only two when her mother passed away. She was the first and the last child of her deceased mother. Consequently, her custody passed on to her stepmother who had four children. As fate had it, her father also passed away on her third birthday. Instead of providing motherly care to the orphan, Aluel, who had now lost both parents, her heartless stepmother found a slave in her.

The stepmother turned Aluel into a tool of free labor in the house. Despite her young age, it became Aluel’s sole responsibility to do children’s chores in the house while the children of the stepmother played around. She would work from dawn to dusk; constantly doing this or doing that. She had no time to play like her step-siblings.

In the evenings, when she was supposed to rest after a long, yet exhausting day’s work, her heartless stepmother would ask her to warm water for her and her children for their bathing. Young Aluel would then be sitting by the fireside, warming water while her stepmother remained comfortably seated and telling evening stories to her children.

At nights, the little exhausted Aluel would sleep at goats’ kraal. In the mornings, the daily routine resumed. Young Aluel suffered so much that on some occasions she would be too exhausted not to execute certain tasks to her stepmother’s satisfaction. On such occasions, she would be beaten by her heartless stepmother to near-unconscious, for supposedly being disobedient.

At age ten, young Aluel was the sole cook for the family. Any slightest mistake such as excessive salt in the soup would result in a terrible beating and subsequent sanctioning from eating. Aluel’s step-siblings would go to a dancing ground in the evenings while Aluel remained in the house to do one thing or another. That is the life the young Aluel led for fifteen years since the death of her parents.

In the neighbor’s house, lived a young boy who was pursuing his studies in the city. He was ten years older than Aluel. His family was moderately blessed with wealth. He was, thus, the only privileged child acquiring quality city education. He had seen the suffering of this young Aluel for many years. He was very upset about her situation but he was too young to do anything about it.

In a few occasions, this boy had asked his mother why she should not bring Aluel to their house so that she could be treated like other children. But his mother had consistently told him that it was not possible because Aluel was not related to them by blood and that there was no way they could intervene in her situation since her stepmother was her mother, according to tradition. The young boy was left with no way to help but this helpless situation tormented him.

A few years down the road, the boy graduated with an accounting degree, and landed a well-paying job with city’s prestigious Commercial Bank. After three years in his job, he bought a nice three bedrooms’ house. But, not a day had passed without him thinking about the suffering of young Aluel back in the village and why he must do everything to turn her life around. In his opinion, no human being was born into perpetual suffering, everyone had a chance in life.

Return To The Village

When young Aluel turned eighteen, Deng concluded that the moment he had been waiting for had come. However, Deng decided not to approach the heartless stepmother for Aluel’s hand in marriage as per village’s tradition. Instead, he devised a simple, yet intelligent plan to deny the heartless stepmother the honor she did not deserve.

Consequently, one Friday, after he had finished his work at the Commercial Bank, Deng embarked on eleven hours’ drive to his village where he intended to execute his long-held plan to rescue Aluel from her slavery-like condition. On Saturday afternoon, hours after arriving to the village, he saw Aluel going to fetch water at a distance water point. Deng decided to follow her, giving himself safe distance from her in order not to arouse suspicion. On the midway, he approached Aluel. Although the innocent Aluel already knew Deng since they were neighbors, she was surprised that he wanted to have a word with her. This was in light of Deng’s status as the most educated intellectual in the village. Additionally, young Aluel was not used to courting since she was denied the opportunity to attend dancing ground where young people meet and learn the art of courtship.

Instead of initiating courtship, Deng asked Aluel to travel with him to the city that same evening. He told Aluel that she would know the reason he is taking her to the city once they arrive there. He told her not to inform her stepmother about it. Aluel was shocked and confused with what to say. How in the world, she, a bare-footed village girl could be asked to travel to the city – a place she could not even visualize its look – be asked to travel to there that same evening?

“I don’t understand! you mean I travel with you to the city this evening or you are mistaking me for another person?” Aluel finally gathered courage and uttered her first reaction since her shocked over Deng’s travel proposal.

“It is you, Aluel, that I want to travel with me tonight and not tomorrow to the city.”

Deng, who knew the innocent, yet tormented Aluel was scared and confused, reaffirmed his resolve to travel with her that same day.

“I have never seen any town in my entire life and so I will be happy to travel with you tonight.” Aluel innocently accepted the travel proposal.

“Perfect,” Deng interjected.

“Here is the plan. When your stepmother has retired to bed later in the evening, sneaked out, and come to the water point, I will be waiting for you over there in my car. No one takes water at night, so I will be alone.” Deng concluded and left as Aluel proceeded to fetch water.

As she continued her walk to the water point, Aluel had the most torturing mental struggle of her entire life, trying to make sense of what had just happened. “Did I just had a wild dream or something?” Aluel would be asking herself in the head as she walked on. How in the world would a mistreated, abandoned village girl be asked by the most respected intellectual in the village to travel with her? And even most astonishingly, she would be traveling in a car, something she never had the wildest dream of ever happening one day in her life. Besides these so many questions in Aluel’s head, there were serious worries as well.

Here was a young girl who never had shoes or decent clothes for fifteen years since her parents passed; how would she travel to the city where everyone wore shoes and nice clothes. She was as tormented as she had always been. Despite her worries and concerns, Aluel console herself on one ground: that she was alone in the world without parents or siblings who could have provided her the basics of life and so she had no reason to blame herself – that she was no one after all but a mere slave in the hands of her heartless stepmother. She concluded, in her heart, that if it meant being taken to the city to be made a slave, she was willing to go since it could be potentially better there compared to what she was going through. And so during the late hours of that same evening, Aluel sneaked out and joined Deng by the water point and the two took off on eleven hours’ drive back to the city.

In the morning, the heartless stepmother came out shouting, on top of her lung, why she didn’t hear anyone sweeping the compound yet the sun was coming up. It was Aluel’s routine job to sweep the whole compound in the early hours of the morning before going to fetch water while the heartless stepmother’s children enjoyed their morning sleep. But Aluel was nowhere to be seen that breezy morning.

Aluel In The City

When Aluel reached the bustling city full of life and activity, she felt as if she had come to an alien world. The busy roads with all kinds of motor vehicles, the tall buildings, the lights, and all manner of city life, made her felt like she was floating in the fantasy world depicted in children’s fables.

Deng took Aluel straight to his house where he had employed a well-mannered, God-fearing full-time maid. He gave Aluel one room and instructed the maid to help Aluel, every step of the way, in her transition to the city life. Given Aluel’s background of hard labor, she was able to catch up as quickly as Deng had anticipated.

After five months of training and coaching about city life, Aluel transformed into a girl Deng could hardly recognize. The beauty that was buried under the heap of stress, depression and hard labor had distinctively resurfaced. Everywhere she passed by in the city, the onlookers would be like “waaw, what beautiful girl, she looks like she was made in a factory.” Deng decided not to talk to Aluel about why he brought her to the city. Instead, he enrolled her in an adult school to learn some basics of education. Deng treated her as a little sister – making sure that she had everything she needed.

After one year in the city, Aluel transformed into a girl she herself could not recognize. She was now at her prime age of nineteen, she was simply the epitome of beauty, to say the least. Deng was beginning to feel that God had a plan, not only for Aluel but also for him. How in the world did he refuse to date and marry one of beautiful and educated girls in the city? But each time such thoughts crossed his mind, Deng would quickly brush them aside because his main intention of bringing Aluel to the city was not so much about the life they would obviously lead together, but it was his sympathy for Aluel over her condition and his resolve to end it.

The hard life Aluel went through in the village became an asset in the city; she excelled so well in adult school that she was made to skip several classes. In all, her transition from village to city life went flawlessly, beating Deng’s expectations tenfold – thanks to a committed maid who tremendously helped Aluel in her initial days, weeks, and months upon her arrival. It had been five years since Aluel went to the city, she had turn 23. Deng treated to her during the five years’ period like his young sister. Not a single day since he brought her to his house had he contemplated any sentiment of romance in his mind. Deng only kept encouraging her to do well on her studies and other life skills. And up to her fifth year in the city, Deng neither informed Aluel’s stepmother nor his family that Aluel was at his house in the city.

The Marriage Proposal.

After five years at Deng’s house, when Aluel had transformed into a complete city girl and excelling in her adult schooling, Deng felt, it was time for him to bring up the matter with her. So, one evening as the two were sitting in the sitting room, Deng brought up the topic saying.

“Aluel, I am so proud of how you quickly caught up with life in the city and how you are excelling in school. I have known you from a very young age. I have seen everything you went through since your mother and later father, sadly passed away. You are a strong and determined young lady. If you can remember; when I approached you on your way to fetch water, I told you that you would know the reason I wanted you to come to the city with me once we arrived at our destination. It has been five years now since that day yet I haven’t told you the reason. You might be wondering why the lengthy silence on my side.” Deng paused to allow the effect of his message sank on Aluel’s heart.

“Many years ago, when you were still too young and after unsuccessfully trying to persuade my mother to take you away from your stepmother’s house, I made a promise to myself. I vowed to myself that I would never marry any other girl whether here in the city or in the village. Instead, I promised myself that I would marry you when you grew up despite your condition. The suffering you were subjected to tormented me so tremendously because I saw a lovely human being behind your tortured young self. I never brought this topic up with you since you came here five years ago because you were too young to make an independent decision on this issue. I want to marry Aluel so I become your father, mother, brother, sister and of course, your husband. Will you marry me?” Deng concluded.

Before Deng realized, Aluel had already broken down with tears freely flowing down her cheeks. As Deng tried to help calm her down, he found himself becoming emotional as well. Deng’s marriage proposal, after five long years of staying in one house with Aluel, was not only a sign of unmatched maturity, compassion, and care, but it also reminded Aluel of the life she endured for fifteen years. Being a mature girl then, Aluel composed herself, wiped her face and began saying:

“Deng, I don’t know where to begin. Before you brought me to this house, I had concluded that the world was populated by only mean and heartless people. I never knew there were people of great kindness, care, and compassion until you took me out of my fifteen years of slavery. Because of you, I have become a human being again. I had lost hope in life, I had severally asked God why he brought me to the world in the first place. I was alone in the world until you took me out of the bondage of my stepmother’s abuse and brought me here where I can see a real image of me now as a human being. You have truly been my father, mother, brother, and sister, Deng, the day I arrived to this house.” She paused as she was obviously beginning to get emotional.

“If you cannot marry me, Deng, who else in the world can replace someone like you in my heart? I owe my life to you Deng, without you, I would be gone a long time ago. Even if I could not have ended my life on my own, I would have died of exhaustion or depression. I don’t know how to thank you for your kindness to save my life. And I don’t know how to thank you on your decision to patiently wait for five long years before bringing up this matter. I know your intention was simply for me to pursue my studies and other life skills before we could engage in marital discussion. I will be happy to see you remain not only as my husband, but also as a father, a mother, a brother, and a sister just as it has been in the last five years. There is no one I will ever love more than you in the world, Deng, there is absolutely no one.” Aluel concluded as she broke down crying.

Deng comforted her and they concluded the emotional discussion as they switched the topic about their future as husband and wife. Soon after, Deng opened a business for her. Aluel’s business flourished in the city. She became one of the respected businesswomen around. She was driving her own car as she concurrently ran their family business and pursuing her studies.

Plan To Travel Back To The Village

It has been fifteen years since Aluel left her village. Deng decided that it was time for him to travel back to the village so he could fulfill his traditional matrimonial obligation. He brought up the matter with Aluel one evening, saying:

“Aluel, it has been fifteen years since you left your family. I think I should go to the village and introduce myself to your stepmother and fulfill my traditional matrimonial obligation. Although your parents are not there, it is our customary obligation that I introduce myself to your stepmother and fulfill my obligation. This should have been the first step before we became husband and wife but the circumstances of those days could not allow me to introduce myself to your stepmother. We should make arrangements so that we travel to the village for this purpose.” Deng said.

On hearing this, Aluel kept quiet for a while, looking down thoughtfully. She was obviously lost in deep thoughts over Deng’s decision to finally introduce himself to her abusive stepmother and arranging a traditional marriage. Without Aluel knowing it, she found herself crying. Deng comforted her saying:

“Don’t cry Aluel, I know what is going on through your mind but please understand that, despite what happened in the past, it is my traditional obligation to fulfill the requirements of our tradition. It brings blessings to our children if your stepmother benefits from your braid prize. I know the past had been painful for you but don’t cry. We need to make arrangements to go to the village. I am sure you will also be happy to see how your stepmother has been doing in the last fifteen years since you left her.” Deng stopped as Aluel wiped her eyes.

“I am not objecting to your proposal to travel to the village and organize a traditional wedding Deng, I know it is our cultural requirement for this to happen. But this discussion reminded me of my past. When I think about my stepmother, I think of fifteen years of enslavement and agony. Deng, you will never understand what I endured in the hand of this woman. If not for God’s grace, I would not be alive today. The fifteen years during which my stepmother mistreated me would never be understood by anyone in the village, let alone you, who stayed most of the time in the city. I have seen hell if there is one in those fifteen years. Deng, there were occasions when my tender muscles could no longer allow me to move things around due to exhaustion and on such occasions, my stepmother would beat me, while her children giggled at my agony, until I was unconscious. Sometimes, it would take a long time before I could regain consciousness. Sometimes, if a goat went missing, she would send me out at night to look for it in the bushes.” Aluel paused as she got emotional.

“She cared less about what would happen to me in the bushes, full of snakes, wild animals, and thorns. My stepmother was prepared to see me dead, she had no sense of sympathy and mercy. She made sure I saw the worse in its full glory and I saw it. The more I think about everything I had to endure in the hands of this heartless human being, the more I find it hard to forgive her and …”

Before she could conclude her reaction, Aluel broke down crying.

While holding her hands, Deng said:

“Aluel, I feel your pain, I really do. You didn’t deserve what you went through, no human being should be treated the way you were treated. But, you will have to forgive your stepmother. You never know the ways of God; her actions could have been God’s plan to bring two of us together. Remember, everything happens for a purpose. Please forgive your stepmother and move on. You surely know now that she has failed in her hate-filled agenda to see you dead and you have won. I won’t be surprised to see you grip with compassion and empathy for her when we arrive in the village given the likely condition we shall find her in. Please forgive her, I know she will be very sorry to see the new you when we arrive there. Let’s start making travel arrangements. We will have to drive two cars since we will carry much luggage.”

Deng concluded as Aluel saw sense in his reasoning and the two began their travel preparations in earnest. Deng and Aluel are still making arrangements to travel to the village for traditional matrimonial wedding.

The Village Fool and Arrogant Chief

In the Savanna Woodland village lived a village fool and an arrogant Chief. The village fool was born into poverty and had no means of acquiring wealth. In this village, the poor had no say in the affairs of the community. The poor were not even invited into the community meetings where important matters were discussed and if they attended such meetings, they would not be allowed to talk as they had nothing worthy to offer in terms of ideas and materials.

It was this cultural setting that this man was born in. He was so despised that he accepted his condition and started avoiding community gatherings and functions since everyone saw him as not worthy of a seat in community meetings or events. And so began his ordeal where he disgracefully earned his nick-name: the village fool.

However, in this same village where culture was pro-rich and the wealthy, lived an arrogant Chief who saw this culture as a welcomed norm. The arrogant Chief had started aging and had begun contemplating on his successor. But despite his arrogance, he wanted the best candidate to lead the village after he was gone. His counsellors and advisors where eyeing his seat but he didn’t see any of them qualified enough for the job. Then he devised an idea as he tried to find the right replacement for his seat. He conceived a difficult test with hope that the best mind would emerge among his community members that he could appoint as his replacement.

After thinking over his difficult idea, he invited his village members for an important general meeting. Everyone came to listen to him. When everyone had gathered and seated, the Arrogant Chief raised up to address the gathering.

“My people”, the Chief began.

“I invited all of you here today to inform you of a very important assignment I would like one of you to undertake. This assignment is very important for me but it has both great benefits and huge risks.” He paused as everyone listened keenly.

“Have you seen that donkey over there?” He pointed at a donkey that he had tethered at the vicinity of meeting venue.
“And have you seen these many cows over there too, actually 150 to be exact?” He pointed at 150 cows he had also brought to the meeting venue.

“Anyone who would volunteer to teach this donkey how to talk within three years’ period will be rewarded with all these cows. But if you take on this assignment and in three years’ time, the donkey failed to talk, you will be executed.”
He paused as everyone looked at each other over the paradox of the assignment.

“I give you 30 minutes to think about it and if any of you decides to take up this assignment, please raise up you hand and come forward.” The arrogant Chief concluded his comment and sat down on his big wooden chair.

There was murmuring everywhere as people were discussing how possible one could teach a donkey to talk within three years and especially the penalty that comes with a failure to make the donkey talk during the specified period.

The village fool who had attended this meeting and who was sitting at the very back of the meeting saw an opportunity in the arrogant Chief’s mission-impossible assignment.

Despite his condition and the contempt associated with it, he was endowed with brain. He knew you could not conceivably train an animal to talk but you can train it to obey your orders. So he conceived a brilliant idea and decided to take on the challenge.

The village fool raised up his hand and walked forward. The arrogant Chief just looked at him as he moved forward. The entire gathering was murmuring over the madness of this known village fool. The arrogant Chief shouted at everyone to keep quiet and suddenly the meeting venue went silent.

“I am ready to train and make the donkey talk within three years, honorable Chief.” The village fool confidently announced.

“Did you really understand the conditions involved in this assignment?” The arrogant chief asked him contemptuously.
“Yes honorable Chief, if I make the donkey talk in three years’ time, I would acquire this cattle wealth and if I failed to make the donkey talk during the same time frame, I would be executed.” He emphasized.

“Well, it seems you know what you are doing and in that case I give you the assignment. Go over there take the donkey. I will summon you to bring it over in three years’ time to present your work. Good luck.” The arrogant Chief concluded his remarked and he dismissed the meeting.

The word of village fool taking on this impossible assignment went out like a wild fire. The entire village concluded that the village fool had finally displayed his foolishness in present of everyone. The village fool took the donkey and walked away with it.
On his way, one of his friends in the village came over to him to find out if he was mentally sound:

“Are you out of your mind my friend? Why in the world would you take up such an impossible assignment? You have proven your stupidity to the whole village today my friend, rest in peace in advance.” He concluded.

The village fool looked at his friend scornfully then he said:

“look! None of us is in control of our destinies, three years is a long time, a lot of things can happen. For example, the donkey could die or I could die or even the Chief himself could die. Don’t worry about me, I will execute this assignment as satisfactorily as the chief would like it done. Thank you though for your concern.” He concluded and walked away with his donkey.

Soon after the people in the village forgot about the village fool and his impossible assignment. The village fool who was skillful hunter, as his survival depended on bush meat and fruits, put his hunting skill into use. He started hunting for a male lion cub to steal from his mother. As luck had it, he was able to steal one newly born lion male cub and started feeding him in his house without the knowledge of anyone in the village. The lion started growing and as it grew, he started training him. He could command the baby lion in any way he wanted and, the innocent lion which knew nothing else in the world accept this man, started obeying the village fool and his commands. He could shout at the lion to run and the lion would run and shouted at him to stop and he would stop. He could order the lion to attack anything and the lion would attack and he could order him to stop attacking and the lion would do as ordered.

In the second year as the lion had grown big, he was very happy with how much he had been able to tame the lion into his own liking. Then one day as he was happily looking at his tame male lion laying down asleep, the village fool found himself speaking alone in his head:

“People of this village and their arrogant Chief don’t understand that they are the real fools, I will show them what a man with brain can do. A man cannot train an animal to talk but he can train him to obey him. I can’t wait for the three years to elapse.” He stopped as he realized he had mentally been speaking to himself for too long.

The village fool cared and fed the donkey very well. He had also fed his tamed lion so well that the lion became huge and strong but he made sure, no one in the entire village discovered he was raising a lion.

Then came the third year and the arrogant village Chief who had now reached advanced age sent a message for him to bring the talking donkey. A day was set for the entire village to come and listen to a talking donkey. The village fool was very happy that the big day had finally arrived. But the people in the village were preparing to witness the execution of the village fool on the material day because no one expected him to have succeeded in making the donkey talk. The excitement in the village was both mixed and unprecedented.

Being the genius he was, the village fool had timed the sequent of his ideas and plans very well. He properly timed his arrival at Chief’s house. And so on the evening of a day before the D-day, the village meeting day, he came to arrogant Chief’s house to spent the night with the donkey. The Chief welcomed him and gave him a room to sleep in. The fatten donkey was tethered outside where it would spend the night.

In the middle of the night, the village fool sneaked out of his room when everyone, including the Chief, was asleep and he went straight where he had secretly kept his tamed lion. He ordered his tamed lion to follow him. Upon reaching the Chief’s compound, he ordered him to attack the donkey and he quickly went to his room. The noise of a roaring donkey walked up everyone in the Chief’s house.

The lion had already brought down the donkey and started shocking it with his powerful jaws. Everyone rushed out to see what was happening to the talking donkey and saw that it was being attacked by a powerful lion. People, including the Chief, rushed back to their rooms for fear of being attacked by the angry lion.
But to the surprise of everyone running to the rooms for their dear lives, it was the village fool who charged forward and shouted at the lion in an incomprehensible language. The lion stopped attacking the donkey and remained lying down. The village fool came over and removed the rope halter with which the now dead donkey was tied to a wooden peg and tied it on the lion’s neck and tethered it on the same wooden peg. The lion, a well-trained, tamed animal, obeyed his master, the village fool.

The village fool asked the chief to come out of his room assuring him that he had taken care of the situation. The Chief nervously came out of his room and he informed him that the donkey was regrettably dead but he had arrested the lion that killed him. He asked the Chief to go back to his room and sleep, telling him he would watch over the lion until morning. The Chief couldn’t comprehend what had just happened but he went to his room where he spent sleepless night.

In the morning all the Savanna Woodland villagers arrived to a meeting venue to witness a talking donkey or execution of a village fool who took up the challenge three years earlier. But to the surprise of everyone, the village fool came to the meeting venue fooling a huge lion with a rope. He was accompanied closely behind by the Chief. The village fool tethered the lion near the meeting venue, people were not believing what they were witnessing.
The Chief began addressing the gathering.
“My people”, the Chief began.

“Today, I am going to make a very important announcement but before I do that, I would like to inform you that this village has people you must be proud of. Have you seen this lion over there, it was arrested by one of your own? How many people in the entire Savanna Woodland region have the kind of power as to be able to arrest a lion?” He paused.

“Last night, the village fool brought the donkey that he has been training for the last three years. Unfortunately, in the middle of the night as we were sleeping, this lion came and attacked the donkey killing him instantly. Seeing his three years’ effort destroyed at the very last day, the village fool successfully arrested the lion. The donkey died but the culprit is arrested and he is right here with us.” The Chief paused again as people clap while many more cried out of happiness.

“If this man can arrest a fully grown male lion my people, who among us here can doubt that the dead donkey was not able to talk?” The Chief asked.

“No one, no one, no one, no one…” Came the answer from chorus of voices among the villagers.

Then the Chief turned to the Village Fool with his head bowed down, saying:

“young man, my hat off for you, we misunderstood you, you were never a Village Fool, you were always the Village Genius, forgive us for misunderstanding you. Today, I crown you in front of the people of Savanna Woodland Village as their next Chief. I have been looking for my replacement since I am getting too old and can no longer deliver on behalf my people. Please use your intelligent to serve your people. Come and sit on this big wooden chair, it now belongs to you.”

Then the Chief turned to the people, saying:

“People of Savanna Woodland Village, from today onward, this young man, sitting on the big wooden chair here, is your next Chief, please support him so he can serve you better.”

Everyone clapped and shouted as women conducted the longest ululation ever, a true sign of acceptance by the standard of Savanna Woodland Village.

And that is how the Village Fool became the Village Chief in the Savanna Woodland Village.

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