Dinka folktales

The Rope Between Heaven and Earth

African Folktales·East African Folktales·South Sudanese Folktales

In the earliest days of the world, when the earth was fresh and the sky hung close above, there was no great distance between humans and Nhialic, the supreme god of the Dinka people. A long rope stretched from the ground to the heavens, and it was said that men and women could climb it whenever they wished. The rope

Parchment-style illustration of Tik watching strange pink creature eat grass; Dinka folktale from South Sudan.

Dinka Folktales·East African Folktales

The Origin of Hunger

Long, long ago, in the time before time had fully settled into its rhythm, the world was a very different place. People lived without the gnawing sensation we now call hunger. They ate when they wished, not because their bodies demanded it, but simply because food was pleasant and gathering