I was in western equatorial state (WES… or
WEq as I prefer to write it) last week…. Yambio then Tambura- which borders
Congo. The people of WES are relatively
short, for south sudan- or for what we typically take as a Junubin. With my 5’6, I felt quite tall - this gave
me a false sense of ...confidence, security- and belonging, I guess.
I almost forgot that this is a country of
tall ass people
Today? I was rudely reminded.
I went to the John Garang mausoleum for the 2nd anniversary
celebrations, and at one point I had to go looking for the Red-Cross tent. I
swear I got, not only totally disoriented, but also claustrophobic. I kept
looking up to find landmarks but all I could see was bodies. It was like
standing in a forest of trees with no idea of what direction to take next. I
believe the average height in the mausoleum was 6’6- with some Nuer and Dinka -
Agar easily reaching 6’8-7. (I don’t think I am exaggerating).
And the place was fully packed. Everywhere you turn. And nobody was
paying attention to whatever was going on in the podium- I didn’t even realize
that the official program had started – and did they play the anthem? Cause
none of us were aware. (It would have helped to have sound… but no speakers were
installed in the main part of the stadium, so instead people were going about
their business, dancing, singing, beating drums, showing off their culture.). *That* added to the claustrophobia.
Now… why is it that these tall people, 6’6
already, insist on leaping and jumping as part of their dance? Nuer,
Dinka-Agar, Dinka-Bor, Mundari, Toposa etc..
Tall as trees and still trying to touch the sky. Amazing. Another reason
why I kept looking up and seeing bodies- cause there goes another body reaching
for the sky.
After going around in a few circles... i did finally stumble to the tent (i can't ask for directions- i can't speak Juba Arabic- and although the official language is English- you cant tell that to nobody)
But.... after all that, now I see why I am short.
Its not even
because my mom’s family comes from Eastern Equatoria- although that does not
help. No.. the dirty secret is that
Dinka Malual are not tall. I stumbled onto a sign that said ‘Northern
Bahr-el-Ghazal, Pirka Malual Tueng- and no I don’t know what that means- but
these are my people. And lo, and behold- I could see eye –to- eye with most of
the dancers. Not even one 6’’ in sight. And we weren’t even bothering to jump
and leap and touch the sky. No.... we politely tied weights to our ankles (old metal cans filled with ... something that makes sound- basically a percussion instrument) to ground us and were
stamping our feet to make the anklets jingle (these are called anklets, no?). As if to say, no.... we prefer to be close to earth, thank you.
So.. I now clearly see why my dream to reach
6’ was aborted even before I was at the starting line. I think its all very unfair.
nb: i will post some pictures. oh and probably add on a few ramblings later
