Ayak was a woman of extraordinary beauty. When she married a man named Chol, their union seemed blessed. Soon after their wedding, Ayak conceived and gave birth to a daughter. But tragedy struck on the very day of the child’s birth, Ayak died suddenly, leaving Chol alone with the newborn.
Grief-stricken, Chol refused to give the baby into anyone else’s arms. “By killing her mother, God has willed that I should suffer,” he said. He named the child Aluel and vowed to raise her himself. They lived in the cattle-byre, where Chol fed her only milk and cared for her alone.
As the seasons passed, Aluel grew. She first crawled, then walked, then blossomed into a bright girl with a gift for words. One day, she surprised her father by asking, “Father, will I remain forever without a brother or sister? If you had married, perhaps I would have siblings, and my stepmother could be like a mother to me.”
FOLKTALE ANALYSIS: The Tragic Tale of Aluel: Love, Loss, and Pride in Dinka Folklore.
Chol was shaken. He confessed he feared the cruelty of stepmothers, who might turn him against his daughter. But Aluel reassured him: “If she mistreats me, you and I will face it together. But you must not remain alone.”
After much discussion, Chol agreed. He remarried, warning his new wife, “If you mistreat my daughter, you will share this home with her still. I married again only because of her words.”
At first, the woman was kind. But soon her cruelty showed. When she milked for Aluel, she would dilute it with water, giving her only thin, tasteless liquid. Often, she withheld food altogether. Aluel never complained, but her father noticed her thinness. “My child, are you hungry?” he asked. She always replied, “No, Father, I have eaten.” Yet Chol could see the truth.
READ: Aluel and Her Loving Father: Orphaned and Raised Alone READ: Aluel and Her Loving Father: Life with the Sun READ: Aluel and Her Loving Father: Return and RuinEventually, the stepmother bore a daughter of her own, also named Aluel. To distinguish them, the elder was called “Aluel the elder” and the younger “Aluel the younger.” The woman doted on her own child while neglecting her stepdaughter. But even the younger Aluel noticed her mother’s cruelty. She confronted her, saying, “Why do you mistreat my sister? Is she not your child as well?” The stepmother brushed off her daughter’s rebukes, but her behavior did not change.
One day, Aluel the elder reminded her father of the bridewealth cattle he had never collected from her mother’s relatives. “You should visit them, Father,” she urged. But Chol feared leaving her alone with her stepmother. After a month of persuasion, he finally agreed to go. Before leaving, he warned his wife: “If you mistreat my daughter in my absence, we will not live together.” She denied she would ever harm the girl, though Chol’s heart remained uneasy.
After he departed, the stepmother tricked Aluel cruelly. As the sun set, she pointed to its red glow and said, “That man is your father. He turned to follow the sun. Run after him if you wish to see him.” Believing her, Aluel chased the setting sun until she reached a great river. The sun had heated its waters, and she nearly blistered in the current. But the Sun himself reached back, pulled her out, and asked, “Where have you come from?”
“My stepmother sent me,” Aluel replied.
The Sun took pity on her and brought her to his home. He had two barren wives, who welcomed the girl with joy. Both cared for her, bathing her, feeding her, and adorning her with oils and bracelets. They often asked which of them she loved most, but Aluel always answered wisely: “I love you both the same.” She grew into a graceful woman under their care.
Meanwhile, Chol returned home to find his daughter gone. His wife told him she had run after a man and never returned. Chol’s worst fears came true. He went mad with grief, refusing food, chained inside the cattle-byre, weeping day and night.
The Sun saw him from the sky and pitied him. Years later, after Aluel had grown, he told his wives, “This girl must return. Her father suffers still. Each day I pass above him, I see his sorrow.” Despite their protests, he resolved to send her home.
That night, the Sun appeared above Chol’s byre. “Man in the cattle-byre!” he called. Chol answered faintly. “Your daughter is alive and with me,” said the Sun. “In three days I will return her. Prepare a place for her.”
Chol, filled with hope, built a special enclosure in the byre. On the third night, the Sun returned Aluel, now radiant with beauty and adorned with ivory bangles. The people marveled, saying, “We thought she was dead, yet she lives!”
But her beauty brought new danger. Many young men sought her hand, especially one named Ring, who declared, “She must be my wife.” Chol refused, remembering the Sun’s warning: “Guard her well.”
Angry, Ring challenged Chol. “If you will not give her, I will take her!” Spears were drawn. The old man and the youth fought bitterly until both lay dying. With his last breath, Chol told his daughter, “Forgive me. My love for you has destroyed me. Remain strong.”
Both Chol and Ring died, leaving Aluel alone once more. Her stepmother rejoiced, but the people mourned and whispered, “She is cursed, for sorrow follows her.” And so Aluel’s story endures among the Dinka, a tale of love, jealousy, and the heavy price of devotion.
Moral Lesson
This tale teaches that jealousy and cruelty bring only destruction, while love—though powerful—can also blind when carried to extremes. It warns of the dangers of stepmotherly envy, the vulnerability of orphans, and the deep bond between father and child.
Knowledge Check
1. Who were Aluel’s parents in the Dinka folktale?
Aluel’s parents were Ayak and Chol. Ayak died at Aluel’s birth, leaving Chol to raise her alone.
2. Why did Chol initially refuse to remarry?
Chol feared a stepmother would mistreat his daughter and turn him against her.
3. How did the stepmother trick Aluel into leaving home?
She pointed to the setting sun and claimed it was her father, urging her to run after it.
4. Who rescued Aluel at the river, and where did he take her?
The Sun rescued Aluel and brought her to his home, where his two wives cared for her.
5. What warning did the Sun give Chol upon returning Aluel?
The Sun told Chol to guard her well, for men would desire her greatly.
6. What was the tragic outcome of the conflict between Chol and Ring?
Both Chol and Ring died in a violent fight over Aluel, leaving her bereft once again.
Source: Dinka folktale, South Sudan
