Long ago among the Dinka, there lived a woman named Ayak who married a man called Chol. She gave birth to a daughter but died the very same day. Chol, broken with grief, refused to give the child to others. “I will raise her myself,” he said. He named her Aluel and cared for her alone.
He lived on milk and fed her milk, refusing help from women who offered to cook. Aluel grew quickly, crawling, walking, and speaking with wisdom beyond her years. One day she asked, “Father, will I never have a brother or sister? Why do you stay alone without a wife?” Chol explained his fear: “A stepmother may mistreat you.” But Aluel urged him, “If she does, we will face it together. You should not remain alone.”
At last Chol married again. At first the new wife was kind, but soon she grew cruel. She watered down Aluel’s milk and withheld food. Aluel never complained, though her father often noticed her thinness and fed her himself.
In time the stepmother bore a daughter, also named Aluel. The elder was Chol’s child, the younger her half-sister. The stepmother cared for her own child but mistreated the elder. Yet the younger often defended her half-sister, saying, “Mother, why do you treat her so?”
READ COMPLETE FOLKTALE: Aluel and the Sun: A Dinka Folktale of Love, Loss, and Betrayal
As Aluel grew, she again showed wisdom. She told her father he had never visited her mother’s relatives or claimed the cattle owed to them. “You should go,” she urged. Chol feared to leave her, but at last he agreed. Before departing, he warned his wife, “If you mistreat my daughter while I am gone, we cannot live together.” She feigned innocence, promising nothing would happen.
But when Chol was gone, she deceived the girl. Pointing at the setting sun, she said, “Look! That is your father. He has gone there. Run after him if you love him.” Trusting her words, Aluel ran toward the horizon.
Moral of the Story (Part One)
This part reminds us that jealousy and cruelty within families can cause deep harm, while trust between a child and parent is precious and easily betrayed.
Knowledge Check (Part One)
Q1: Who was Aluel’s mother, and what happened to her?
A1: Her mother was Ayak, who died giving birth to her.
Q2: Why did Chol refuse to remarry at first?
A2: He feared a stepmother might mistreat Aluel.
Q3: How did Chol raise his daughter after her mother’s death?
A3: He fed her only milk and cared for her himself without help.
Q4: What trick did the stepmother play on Aluel?
A4: She told Aluel her father was the red sun, making her run after it.
Q5: Why did Aluel encourage her father to marry again?
A5: She wanted siblings and believed a stepmother could be like a mother.
Q6: What theme is introduced in this first part?
A6: The dangers of stepmother jealousy and the bond between father and daughter.
