Interesting Trip to Riwoto

Riwoto, Sudan

Today has been quite an interesting day.  We left for Riwoto this morning.  (It is in the vicinity of Kapoeta.)  Shortly after we got on the main road, the fuel tank fell out from under the seat of Samuel's Land Rover.  He and Kristine were in one Land Rover.  Lanny, Brian and I were in the other one.  We were traveling behind them.  It was a very odd sight to come up on Samuel sitting in the middle of the road holding a dented up fuel tank to keep it from falling over.

 
Fortunately, the Land Rover had a second fuel tank at the back end.  After a bit of trouble, we were able to transfer the fuel from one tank to the other.  A few minutes later we had to tie off the fuel line that led to the lost tank as it was leaking.  Of course we had to re-prime the engine fuel system.  Later, the manifold started to come apart where I welded it yesterday.  We wired it back up to give it more strength.  Later, we had to park for a while to let a river go down so we could cross.

Later, we met an army truck.  The soldiers needed a tire patch, so we gave one to them.  They gave us some goat meat roasted over an open fire.  It was quite good tasting, but a little tough.  We finally arrived here (after getting stuck only once) at about 5:30 p.m.  This was about eleven hours after our journey began.  The distance we travelled was about 100 miles.  

This place is in the middle of a thorn tree covered plain in Taposa country.  Most Taposa men go stark naked.  The appropriate greeting here is "Mata" said repeatedly while shaking hands.  More tomorrow.

Preparing for Trip to Kapoeta

Lohutok, Sudan

We had planned to go to Kapoeta today but we had too much to do first.  Samuel and I had to fix the exhaust manifold on the green Land Rover.  It was hard to get off and hard to weld as it was some sort of a cast material.  We asked Elijah to have someone plant some sweet potatoes to start a garden for the mission station.  This afternoon I wrote a letter.  I also finished the foot board of the bunk bed for the Arensen girls.  We plan to leave for Kapoeta in the morning.

Out of the Silent Planet

Lohutok, Sudan
 
Today, I read Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis.  It was a very good book dealing partly with man's presupposition that there is no God, leading to disbelief.  It was a different theme than most science fiction.

I slept quite a while this afternoon.  My stomach feels a bit troubled but not too bad.

We ate at Samuel and Kristine's tonight.  Kristine cooked some meat that had been left in the freezer by another missionary.  The package was marked with an "E" which we concluded might have meant it was elephant meat.  It was tender and tasty.

Land Rover Repair

Lohutok, Sudan

I spent most of the morning fixing the switch on the Land Rover.  We were unable to start it with the key.  We had to hot wire it all the time.  The interlock system was messed up.  I took off the switch.  This was a difficult job.  I had to drill and chisel a couple of headless bolts.  I removed the steering and fuel shut-off interlocks and put the switch back on.

In the afternoon I read one of my Michigan State Rural Employment Papers.  I also napped a bit.  I cut out all the pieces for the footboard of the Arensen girls bunk bed.  The metal pieces are ready for welding and then drilling.

This evening I will read one or two more of the Michigan State papers.

Visit to Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) at Hiliu

Hiliu & Torit, Sudan

This morning we left Imatong Bible College.  We stopped at Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) headquarters in Hiliu.  The agriculturalist was not in.  Brian and I gook a self guided tour around Hiliu, looking at agricultural and intermediate technology projects.  A man at NCA's shop explained to us how to remove the lock mechanism on the Land Rover's ignition system.  I wonder if that will be my job?

We had lunch at the home of Dr. Hedda (spelling?), the medical coordinator for NCA.  After we ate with him, he went to Torit with to give us chairs for the Imehijek dispensary.  The chairs were at the cooperative's office.  The coordinator of the cooperatives from NCA was there, so Lanny asked him about getting grain.  We were able to get three bags with the money Lanny and had between ourselves. (The NCA cooperative director said that one bag weighs 90 kilograms.)  The cost was about 22 Sudanese pounds per bag.  I am glad we were able to get the dura (grain sorghum) at such a low price for the people in Lohutok.  The coordinator talked with us a bit about their problems.  One problem is that people getting dura for their areas are having to deal in thousands of pounds of cash, something they are not used to doing.  There is the problem that the dura could be stolen before delivery or the cash could be stolen while the person responsible was carrying it to Torit.  One group did not have cash to buy dura, but could trade bulls for it.  NCA wanted bulls for training as draft animals, so they agreed to the trade.  When asked if they wanted a police escort to Torit, the people said "No, we can do a better job ourselves."  They supplied their own armed guards with automatic rifles for the walk to Torit.

Note:  See photographs of NCA projects at entry dated 16 July 1980
http://dwights-journey.blogspot.com/1980/07/norwegian-church-aid-nca-agricultural.html

At Hiliu, I read in Sudanow that the government took the Taposa's cattle, hoping to use that as leverage to get the Taposa to turn in their automatic rifles.  The Taposa have apparently been trading gold found over in the Kapoeta District for the rifles.  The Taposa say the army men sold their cattle to nearby tribes, so now they are making raids to get back their cattle.  The Lotuho were mentioned as major recipients of these cattle.  The article said that the Lotuho and other tribes are arming themselves.  I have heard that in one instance some Turkana and/or Taposa took on the army and killed four soldiers including a major.  Another time the army had a Taposa camp surrounded to get their guns when the Taposa opened fire on them.

A Market, an Ant Lion and Kenyan Missionaries

Torit and Katire, Sudan

Lanny, Brian and I were in Torit this morning.  Brian and I visited the market.  Much of the processed food appears to be from Kenya: jams, pineapple juice, crackers, syrup, soap, washing powder, batteries, cookies, candies, cloth, cigarettes, etc.  Local goods available included greens of many sorts, tiny red peppers, very little dura (sorghum), potatoes, meat, wood, charcoal, cassava (not much), okra, cucumbers, bananas, smoked meat, smoked fish, sugar cane, corn, groundnuts (peanuts), lemons, limes, bread and one squash.  There were also beans, rice, millet and flour for sale.  The storekeepers seemed unwilling to sell whole bags of dura, millet, groundnuts, etc.

  

Brian showed me an ant lion today.  It is a small insect which makes a pit in the dust, then waits for an ant to stumble in.  It has pincer-like jaws.

  

This afternoon we drove up to Katire.  There were many teak and some mahogany trees along the way.  There were bamboo plants and some bananas at the bottom of the Imatong Mountains.  The climate is much wetter here.  There is some rice growing on the grounds of Imatong Bible College.  They have also planted cassava, maize, beans, papaya and a few other crops.

Photo: Myself Near the Road from Torit to Katire 

Photo: Brian Arensen Near the Road from Torit to Katire

  

I met Peter and Ann Konyi.  They are missionaries sent here by Africa Inland Church (AIC) Missionary Board.  They are the first AIC missionaries to be sent outside Kenya.  They are very warm, open and eager to serve the Lord.  I am impressed.  Thelma is also here.  The Pontiers are in Zaire.  We are spending the night in their house.

My Hut is Finished

Lohutok, Sudan
 
I took the men out to get grass for the peak of my house.  They finished up my house today and were paid.  I finished the metal work for the head of the bunk bed for Katie & Kristy.  I got little else done today.
 
Russ and Steve from Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) stopped by to visit Lanny today.  Russ is stationed at Riwoto and Steve at Chukudum.  Riwoto is a village near Kapoeta in the territory of the Taposa tribe.  Chukudum is a village in the territory of the Didinga tribe between Lohutok and Kapoeta.  SIL is involved in translation and literacy work.  They are affiliated with Wycliffe Bible Translators.

"Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger"

Lohutok, Sudan

Today, the men mudded the inside walls of my hut.  I helped them by bringing some of the water.  I did that so I could mix up the chlordane in the water.  They still have to put the peak on the roof and we may have them put mud on the outside.

I finished re-reading "Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger" by Ron Sider.  The proposals for living a radically simple lifestyle seen much less radical to me than they used to.  I am living without many of the things I used to take for granted and which most Americans consider necessities.  I do not miss those things at all.  In fact, I think I could happily do with less.  The Lotuko have much less than I do.  If I were to become like them, I would miss the adequacy of food, health care, education and opportunity to travel that I have.  Perhaps this makes me a materialist.  I would not really miss the television, big houses (or even dorm rooms), electricity, tractors, combines or "culture".  I think my experience here is making me less materialistic.  I want to seek happiness in the simplicity of my wants rather than in the multiplicity of my possessions.

I started making bunk beds for Kristy and Katie today.  Maybe I will finish that tomorrow.

High Price of New Grain

Lohutok, Sudan

I talked with Tobia this morning.  His mother and sister were able to buy new grain at Imehejek or Mura on Saturday.  One tin (1/4 sack) cost one goat.  That would be about 10 Sudanese pounds per tin or 40 Sudanese pounds per sack.  This is a very high price.  The sellers would not take money in payment.  They said, "Can money drink water?"  Tobia has eight goats which he keeps with some else's herd.  They do not charge him for that.

The men are making good progress on the walls of my hut.  They have most of the sticks and bamboo up for my walls.  They thought they might start mudding the walls today, but that did not happen.

I learned the names of some more wild spinaches from Tobia.  I will record them later when I get a more complete list.

Chief Suggests Draft Animal and Grain Storage Projects

Lohutok, Sudan

Chief Daniel stopped by to talk with Lanny.  He talked mostly about the grain shortage situation.  He also talked about training bulls for plowing.  He seems very serious about this idea.  I think Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) trains bulls through the cooperatives.  Josiah and Daniel also talked about having the cooperative store grain.  They would want to build local type granaries here at the mission.  (I guess they trust us.)  Their idea sounds okay to me, however the membership of the cooperative would need to agree to it.

Daniel sent us some roasting ears from his garden.  It is good to see a little new food coming, but I wish it were in the garden of someone really needing it.

Climbing Asarahai

Lohutok, Sudan

This morning, I gave a talk at the clinic.  It was not very difficult.  I talked about Matthew 5: 21 - 22 and 43 - 46.  I tried to bring out that God demands not just obedience to a few rules, but perfection of deed and thought.  I used a scripture about loving enemies because the Lotuko waste no love on the Taposa.  I was trying to follow the example of Jesus who demanded of the rich young ruler the very thing he was least willing to do.  I wrote my message out ahead of time in simple English so it would be easy for Michael to translate into Lotuko.

Brian Arensen and I left right after my talk to climb Asarahai.  It was about 10:00 am.  Asarahai is the mountain also known as "Three Sisters" because of its three peaks.  The first half of the way was easy going.  There was a good path to follow.  But the last half of the way we had to bushwhack our way through shoulder high grass and bamboo groves.  At the top, we were turned back three times by cliffs before we found a way to the peak.  It was a hard hike and we did not bring enough water.  We arrived at the top about 1:30 pm and ate our lunch.  We started down around 2:30 pm.  We did not find the path again.  We were walking cross-wise along the slopes which gave me blisters on my feet.  I ripped the knee of my jeans.  I was very thirsty. tired, weak and rubbery-kneed.  I was also very wet as we got rained on.  We finally got to Ahaba, the mountain field, and I knew the way back from there.  We arrived home at 6:00 pm.  The bed will feel great tonight!

Photo: Asarahai (left) and Lodyo (right) 

Photo: A closer view of Asarahai's peaks

Photo:  Me standing at the top of Asarahai

Photos:  Three views from the top of Asarahai

Progress on My Hut

Lohutok, Sudan
 
I went to Iboni this morning to take medicine to the community health worker.  I brought my camera and tape recorder hoping that the funeral was in full swing.  It was not.  I got a poor recording of some of the chanting.  I do not know if it is worth keeping.  I hope I can get better tapes later.  Martha  and Marcia were much impressed with my extra small tape recorder.
 
We returned to Lohutok.  All but the peak of my roof is on now.  I really hope they can finish the hut tomorrow so they can get the bonus.  I know they need the money more than we do.

Photo: My hut under construction

  I hope the crops will be ready soon also.  The yields should be good because of the rain we had today.  Today's rain should guarantee a good crop from the mountain fields and the earlier lowland sorghum fields.  It will go far toward producing a good crop on the later fields also.

Funeral at Iboni

Lohutok, Sudan

When I got to Iboni, a funeral was going on under a tree on a dance floor.  There was a vertical pile of wood in the center of the dance area.  A group of women, the deceased man's mother and other relatives were seated near this.  Men, children and a few women were around the outer edge of the circle.  When I arrived, some women were dancing clockwise around the center.  They were making short hops, all together in time to the music.  They were chanting or singing while dancing.  The music was provided by six drums ranging in size from about four feet high and eighteen inches in diameter on down to one about two feet or less in height.  Someone was also playing a wooden, tube-like instrument about eighteen inches long.  Its sound was between that of a flute and a trumpet.  It was a smooth, deep, resonant sound.  I liked the music and rhythm very much.  The tube-like instrument was played only part of the time.  Most of the time, only the drums played along with some chanting.  At one point, a man with a shield and two spears ran in from behind me.  He ran across the circle and threw one spear into the grass at the edge of the circle.  Then he went around the circle for a while shaking his remaining spear.  At one point, one or two women came up behind him when he was standing still and put handfuls of dust on his head.  Shortly after that, he went away from the circle.  Later, a woman picked up the spear he had thrown and carried it back to him.  I do not know the meanings behind any of these things.  Perhaps the man with spears was chasing evil spirits away.

Later, I asked Michael about funerals.  He said that the songs at funerals may be about evil spirits.  If the deceased died fighting Taposa tribesmen, there may be songs about this.  If he was young, the mother may sing about her boy being taken away.  There may be songs about an ancestor (perhaps a father) coming to take the deceased to be with him.  This indicates the Lotuko have a concept of an afterlife.

Very Little Grain Gets Through to Lohutok

Lohutok, Sudan

This morning there was a big meeting where Josiah and the two teachers from Iboni explained what happened to the grain.  The grain was put under the care of the teachers from Iboni to distribute along East Lopit from Loming to Imehejek.  They were able to get transport from Torit to Keyala courtesy of a loan from Chief Daniel.  However, they were not able to get transport on to Lohutok.  They got tired of waiting for transport (mosquitos, expense for accomodations, etc.) so they started selling grain to people from East Lopit who came to Keyala.  The people from Lohutok were asking pointed questions but in a courteous manner.  In the end, it was acknowledged that the people who came on the truck (Josiah, the teachers from Imehejek and others) had rights to the grain.  I think many people here at Lohutok are discouraged about the grain situation.  They had hoped a truck would bring some grain for them, but it did not.

After the meeting, I used the Land Rover to give several people a ride to Iboni. They brought five and one-half bags of grain with them.  They gave us a chicken and a ram as a gift for doing so.

Installing Doum Palm Roof

Lohutok, Sudan

  

The Digunas are amazing.  They pulled the pump up, put the new cylinder on and got the whole thing back down the well last night.  It is already pumping water today.

We went out to get the rest of the doum palm fronds for my house.  We got about 1 3/4 loads on the Land Rover.  The builders have collected quite a bit of bamboo as well.  Most of the framework for the house is up.  Installation of the roof is well underway.  All the bamboo and much of the doum palm is in place.

Photo: Installing doum palm fronds on the roof of my hut.

Tobia killed a squirrel-like animal when we were out getting doum palm.  It was the first time I have seen a spear used.

  

The Diguna truck that went to Juba returned today.  It had a few bags of grain, but they were apparently already sold to people on the truck.  I do not quite understand all the facts (or rather mystery) surrounding the grain deal.  I think I will wait until later to try to explain it.

Kabisa Trouble Installing the Windmill

Lohutok, Sudan

I drove Tobia and his crew to an area where they could cut doum palm fronds for the roof of my hut.  We got two and one half Land Rover loads.  I need to drive them there again tomorrow to get more.  They also brought some bamboo for the hut.  If they finish it this week, they are to get a bonus.

Photos:  Cutting and Loading Doum Palm Fronds

The missionaries here had a birthday party for me this afternoon.  Janis Arensen made a very good orange cake.  Arensen's gave me an Asterix comic book and McConnel's gave me a card.

The Diguna's had trouble - "kabisa" trouble as Phil would say - in putting up the windmill.  ("Kabisa" is Swahili for "utterly" or "completely".)  The welder broke down in the morning.  Then it appeared that the windmill pump rod was too long.  Therefore they first took the welder engine all apart and put it back together. It worked, but they left off the muffler and shields so it was kabisa noisy.  They did this in little more than one hour.  Then they cut a piece out of the pump rod and welded it back together.  This time it seemed too short.  We started checking and discovered that the cylinder was too short for the length of stroke of the windmill.  Tonight at 8:30 p.m. they were just starting to pull up the pipe out of the well to put on the other cylinder with a longer stroke.  (The cylinder is on the lower end of a long pipe that extends from the surface to the bottom of the well.  The cylinder is connected to the overhead windmill by a steel rod inside the pipe.  When the windmill spins in the wind, the rod goes up and down, causing the cylinder to pump underground water through the pipe to the surface.)  I think the Diguna's will need to work most of the night to finish the installation.

Photos:  Erection of New Windmill at Lohutok

Wild Plants Used for Food

Lohutok, Sudan

Today, I did some more reading, including Barbara Catherwood's paper written for Professor Thomas T. Poleman's Ag Econ 660 "Food Population and Employment" class at Cornell University.  It was about development schemes in Africa, including Sudan's Gezira Project.  I also read Professor Poleman's book "Food, Population and Employment".

I talked a bit with Tobia.  I learned a few names of wild plants used for food.  They are as follows:

* Malwa (singular Mulé) - a nut from a tree.
* Ebonge - tree leaves eaten as spinach.  This is the big tree by the church.
* Eduti - tree leaves eaten as spinach.  This tree is at the east side of my hut.
* Ingore - plant with leaves eaten as spinach.
* Amagwe (singular Magi) - plant with leaves eaten as spinach. It is similar to groundnut.
* Emoloto - plant with leaves eaten as spinach.
* Ehaya - pumpkin leaves which are eaten as spinach.
* I did not learn the Lotuko word for cassava leaves which are also eaten as spinach.

Grain is Coming

Lohutok, Sudan

We heard this morning that Josiah is at Keyala and that there are forty bags of grain there with him.  He wanted us to come to pick it up, but we decided to let the Diguna truck coming back from Juba pick it up on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday.

Eliha offered to teach a class for some of the girls.  Martha and Lanny felt it would be good for her to do that even though she is pregnant without a husband.  I agree.

I finished reading Jeal's book about Livingstone.  I read a Newsweek magazine.  Wow!  Information from the outside world!

A Monkey Trap

Lohutok, Sudan

The plane left this morning.  After that, I walked up the valley to our west.  I walked for a ways up the dry, sandy stream bed.  As the stream got rockier, there was water babbling through it.  Parts of the stream were quite pretty with boulders and rocks, pools of clear water, small waterfalls, tiny rapids and grass and trees overhanging the bank.  After about forty-five minutes of walking, I came to the mountain gardens near the head of the valley.  The place seemed drier and sandier than Ahaba.  There was quite a bit of ometi (bullrush millet) mixed in with the osingo (sorghum).  I walked up to a small hut built up in one of the lower fields and said "mong" (a Lotuko greeting) to the young girls who were there.  I always get amusing reactions when I do that.  They were cooking some angiria (sorghum porridge).  I climbed up a rock for quite a ways.  People in some of the fields below me were playing flutes, pounding a drum and singing.

I saw a monkey trap made from a rock, sticks, bark string and a bit of sorghum used as bait.  The following sketch of the trap is my best attempt, but is not quite accurate.  I am not a very good artist.  If the monkey pulls the sorghum, the sticks propping up the rock fall allowing the rock to tumble and pin the monkey's arm.

I saw a young man and woman on a rock in the shade near a sorghum field.  They were talking and smiling.  It was the closest thing I have seen to romance so far.  The man was eating some holé  (or ahulé?) and gave me some to try.  It was a clearly a cucumber, but much shorter and chunkier than the ones we have in the U.S.A.

This afternoon, Martha, Marcia, Brian and I walked over to Lohofan.  This is the place to our east which reminds me of Buttermilk Falls in Ithaca, New York.  (There is photo of this area  at my blog entry dated June 27, 1980.)  I should mention that Brian Arensen is Lanny's younger brother.  He is  here on a short visit.

Community Health Worker in Iboni

Lohutok, Sudan

I drove Martha and Marcia to Iboni this morning to give medicines to the community health worker.  It seems that he has only given out medicine on four days during the past month.  We went to his compound. There was a bit of tobacco being grown there.  Most of the compounds had some sorghum or maize growing in them.  The sorghum looks very good in the flat area near the Iboni turnoff.

Photo: Tobacco Growing in a Lotuko Village

I wrote letters to several friends.  I have nine personal letters and one letter to Dr. Poleman to go out on this plane.  I got letters from Mom and Dad and from Uncle John and Aunt Opal.  I was disappointed that there was no letter from Dr. Poleman.  Mom and Dad said the wheat harvest at home is going rapidly.  It is only making about 25 bushels per acre on average.  Dad cut about thirty acres on each of two days.

We are having a goat barbeque today.  We received no potato chips or other such goodies on the plane.  No big loss.