Traditional African Stories

With the help of the Erie Art Museum, Philip Ajak Malual received a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts to teach his wife, Monica Aluel Ayuen, the stories of their native people, the Dinka Bor of Sudan. All cultures use stories to pass on language, memories, beliefs and traditions from one generation to the next. Although war has severed them from their homeland, both Monica and Philip hope that stories will help them and their children maintain their African roots. They also hope to share their stories with the larger Erie community. Monica and her cousin, James, gave their first public performance on June 20th for World Refugee Day, where they shared a story about a lion. One common Dinka motif is a lion who disguises himself to get closer to his prey. These stories are meant especially for young ears and teach that things are not always as they seem and that strangers cannot always be trusted. Monica and James shared the following tale with Maureen Pritchard, Museum Folk Art Intern:

One day a stranger came to the village and gave a man the gift of a goat. The man tied the goat up in the back yard. The children wanted to play with goat, but when they got near the goat growled and said “Did your father give you to me?” The kids understood that this goat was really a lion in disguise. When they told their father this he just laughed and told the kids it was their imagination. “Look Daddy,” the kids insisted, “Just go and kill that goat. If it’s a real goat we’ll get you a new one.” The father took his spear and went to kill the goat but when he threw his spear it couldn’t touch the goat. “What’s going on?” the man wondered. “I didn’t come here to be killed,” the goat growled. Indeed, the lion had come to the village to eat the children. The man understood that the children were right and so he chased the goat away. Nobody knows what happened after that!

Contact Museum Folk Art Coordinator, Kelly Armor for more information.