By Lul Gatkuoth Gatluak,
July 26, 2021 — The purpose of this article is to explore the mysterious myth story of Kir-kakeer, a narrated both fiction and nonfiction character who is said to have been broken out of the calabash gourd by Gee the founder father of Gaat-Geeka. Kir’s myth story has been orally told and retold many times over the centuries by countless Nuer generations until when educated foreigners and natives recorded those oral stories. Before dealing with Kir’s myth story, the author would first like to define the word myth. According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, myth is defined as a “traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explanations of some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events.” Over the course of those mentioned centuries, people have transformed ancient myths, folk tales and made them into the fabric of their lives. They consciously or unconsciously, weave the narrative of myths and folk tales into their daily existence.
In reality, all myths are oral stories which exist in every culture and most cultures have their own creation myths, whether they are true or false, they belong to that particular culture. In this article, one has no intention to affirm or deny the authenticity of Kir’s myth. My purpose to explore his background is to have some sort of knowledge and understanding about him adding to what one already heard orally about him. Below is a succinct summary of Kir Kakeer’s background origin as it has been orally told or narrated by a handful of scholars including the renowned Social Anthropologist Sir Edward Evans-Pritchard, who contributed a lot in recording some mythical stories among the Nuer society during his long term field study after he was dispatched by then Anglo-Egyptian condominium government to discovered Nuer livelihood regarding their war field successes and practices as Nuer had been presented to British colonial government as truculent and aggressive warriors.
Initially, the mysterious background story of Kir-Kakeer had been told for many centuries without specific date and duration given, which would indicate when the gourd was found and cut in half or broken by Gee. The reason for the unknown duration is heavily linked to the fact that people were illiterate at the time this remarkable legendary gourd was founded. Scholars who tried to track or trace his background, could not figure out when Kir was taken out of the gourd and relate it to Gregorian dates for the reason that no previous records were available for them to view which entail that historical event.
Few records regarding his myth background story was first written down and detailed from oral hearsay stories by Major Chauncy Hugh Stigand, whose work was (published in 1919), Evans-Pritchard’s work (recorded in 1930s,) and Giet Jal publication (published in 1987). All these researchers gave almost similar depositions and there are several versions relating to Kir origin, the founder father of gaatgankiir clan. One of these numerous accounts focusing on tracing Kir origin stated that, Kir was founded in a floating gourd by a Dinka Ngok man called Yul Kuot. It said Yul saw a stalk of a gourd on a river bank and followed it along the way. After the gourd got closer to the shore of the river, Yul entered the littoral zone and collect the gourd. He then took it to his homestead. In his residence, Yul began to break the gourd. On the heels of several attempts, the gourd could not break. According to the multiple mouthpiece oral stories, whenever Yul cut the gourd, the gourd can bleed with blood and in the meantime, the opened spot may surprisingly close and sealed itself like it has never been cut before.
In that scenario, Yul became concerned and people around him told him to seek help from Gee, the founder grand-father of Nuer who was said to be a well-known gourd breaker at the time. Yul agreed with the people and took the gourd to Gee. When Yul arrived at Gee’s home, he explained the mystery of the gourd and Gee gave it a try. After numerous attempts, the gourd bent a good number of spears and it could not open similar to what was happening to Yul. The struggle of trying to open the gourd continued until when eventually, a group of young men who are said to have left the village in the morning and went to the nearby lake were asked after they came back from their journey, whether they have a spear Gee could use to cut the calabash gourd. They said they had a spear and gave it to Gee. Gee began to use the spear he had just gotten from them.
Precisely, the spear young men had given Gee has its own significant story which goes as follows. When these young men went to the Lake, they saw a fish eagle grabbing a polypterus fish (Jul) in the water. They wanted the fish eagle to let go of the polypterus fish so that they could roast the fish afterward and eat it. The men determinedly ran and followed the fish eagle until it later stopped on a tree. When the young men arrived at the tree, they saw a dead hartebeest animal under the tree and found a spear on the carcass. The gentlemen gave Gee the spear they collected on hartebeest carcass and Gee was able to cut the gourd open with it. This is the reason Jikany-Nuer calls Mut-Thiang! Mut-Thiang Jul, Mut-Guari during Lam or invocation if they feel a misfortune has threatened their religious spiritual being, which can be defeated through formal sacrifices of ox, ram or he-goat. The invocation can be translated as spear of hartebeest, spear of polypterus fish, our ancestor spear before the animal is slaughtered.
After Gee cut the gourd open, they saw baby Kir, cultural back carrier baby rape skin and a spear. Both Gee and Yul divided the gourd and the ritual material they founded in it. Yul took the right side of the gourd, baby Kir, and the traditional baby carrier rape skin. Gee remained with the left side of the gourd and the spear. Subsequently, Yul’s wife breastfed or suckled the child together with her own baby, Jing or Gying. When Kir grew up, he turned out to be a witch and magician. His witchcraft magician was said to be the reason his biological parents gave him up from the first place for the reason that witch children are regularly killed in their culture and the witchcraft continued to give him problems in his adopted home. Whenever he stared at a creature fixedly, he bewitched them and the animal would die. Due to Kir’s witchcraft power, Yul sons began to dislike him. They tried to kill him because his evil eye powers were destroying their cattle. However, Jing or Gying who was Kir’s tandem nursing sibling did not agree with his brothers that Kir should be killed. He remained Kir’s best friend. He revealed Yul’s children plan of wanting to kill Kir. Gying told Kir, when you were broken out of the calabash gourd, the person who abled to cut the gourd open was Gee. I suggest you should go to him, he may be able to find a way to solve your witchcraft problem. Kir listened to Gying and agree to flee from Yul’s home. Gying also told Kir that, he would one day follow after him and join him.
Kir met Tik, another mythical character, at the Lake on his wandering to find Gee.
Base on the above explanation of Kir background, we have learned Kir background story began when Yul Kuot founded the gourd floating in the river and possess it. Similarly, Tik story began when Kir was chased away from Yul home after his witchcraft started to kill Yul’s cattle. In his wilderness, Kir saw Tik in the lake he was approaching, and this became the starting point of Tik origin. Tik struck the waters of the Lake and separate the water into two and Kir crossed over to the west bank. After they talked, Kir told Tik, he was looking for a man called Gee. Tik said he knows Gee and will take Kir to his residence. Tik also told Kir he lives on a small island in the Lake. After learning of Tik loneliness living condition, Kir told Tik when he found a place to settle, Tik will come and live with him. After the end of their conversation, Tik accompanied Kir to Gee village. When they arrived and met Gee, Kir explained his witchcraft problem, he was told to dig a hole for himself in a termite- mound near the village that doorway was facing the pasture instead of the village to avoid seeing humans and animals and kill them. Gee began to call old people to come and invoke and sacrificed a black ox so that the lethal power of witchcraft might leave Kir’s eyes and enable him to look at people and cattle without killing them.
When the elders had come, the event was made a special social religious ritual ceremony to ask God to get rid of Kir evil witchcraft. They offered the sacrifices and ordered Kir to leave the termite-mound and join them in the village. Eventually, Kir was then given a wife, Nyakwini, who bore him Thiang before he killed her with his witchcraft. He then married Nyabor who bore him Kun. He likewise killed her. The people then gave him a lame woman, Duany, who bore him Jiok. In some versions the three wives were all daughters of Gee, the founder of the gaatgangeeka.
However, in other versions the first two wives Nyakwini and Nyabor. were gaawar and Duany was Gee daughter from Bul-Nuer. Hence, the connection of Jikany with Nuer came through marriage, or Jikany became Nuer through matrilateral link. Many written accounts link Nyakuini and Nyabor more closely related to one another than either Duany. After Duany had borne Jok she killed Kir with witchcraft, for she, also, was a witch. Later Thiang, her dead husband’s eldest son, cohabited with her and begat Nyang.
In all the variants of the Kir myth the parts played by Jing/ Gying and Tik are stressed. Gying was suckled with him and afterwards joined him and lived with him as a brother. When Kir died his eldest sons Thiang, Kun, Jiok and their youngest brother Nyang possessed cattle. However, Tik and Jing/ Gying hat no cattle. The fact that Nyang still young, his elder brothers Mathiang, Kun and Jiok, decided that their uncle Tik must get married. When time came for Tik to finalized his marriage, Kun asked Mathiang whether there is an ox to be killed once the girls have come to their home. Mathiang told Kun his ox should be killed and that Kun, Tik and Jing/Gying where to live together. The reason Kir’s sons allow Tik to get married with their cattle was that, Tik had saved Kir’s life and had gone to live with him before he died. However, a question remains lingering. How could Kir married three times without thinking about letting Tik married while he was alive? Kir should allowed Tik to get married with the cattle his children inherited after his death. Those who may have a clue why Kir fell to approach Tik to get married during his lifetime may help in this juncture.
All in all, there is a further story of how Tik and Jing/Gying had lived together and that bond had been followed by their offspring. One day, Tik and Jing were threatened by an ogre to the point they were afraid of living apart. They decided to share a hut together and became like brothers. After that, the two men told each other that their lineages must not intermarry. It has been indicated that, Jing/Gying and Tik are the forbearer fathers of Cie-Reang; where Cie-Kuooth are the lineage descendent of Tik and Cie-Dhilleak are the lineage descendent of Gying Evan Prichard (1930). The myth also tells how Jiok and Nyang are sons of the same mother, Duany, Jiok being begotten by Kir and Nyang by Thiang. Both Jiok and Nyang formed the nuclei descended from Gaat-Jiok from Jiok and Gaat-Guang from (Nyang); Thiang from Mathiang and Gaat-Guong are from Kun.
Who were Kir’s biological parents?
In the above paragraphs, we learned Kir was floating in a gourd which was later on discovered by a Dinka Ngok man called Yul Kuot. Kir’s biological parents had not been identified. In a study conducted by Major C. H. Stigand, a certain Dinka called Rueng living near Lake No. on the Bahr el Ghazal married a wife and she gave birth to a son. At that time, a Pumpkin plant was growing over the hut and this plant bore a pumpkin on the roof. One night the child, the son of Rueng, in the house cried and when he cried, a child also cried from above, from the roof. The woman told her husband, something cried like a child on the roof at night, Rueng said, all right, I will sleep in the house tonight. There was a full moon that night and Rueng slept in the hut and during the night, his child cried and when he cried, a child also cried from the top of the roof. Rueng went out and found out that the crying came from the pumpkin on the roof. Next day, he gathered all the Dinka together and told them the story. They then took down the pumpkin from the roof and split it open and found a child inside and the child had a spear in his hand. The child was brought up with Rueng’s son and he was called Kir. After ten years, Kir quarreled with Rueng’s son and struck him and killed him. Rueng wanted to kill Kir, but the brother of Rueng’s wife warned Kir and told him to run away. Kir ran away and came to Bul-Nuer. Kir was poor, carrying nothing but his spear. He grew up amongst Bul Nuer. In this version, we can figure, Kir biological parents are Dinka.
Another mythical story is that there was a mysterious person called Lekor who was living in the small pool near the Anywaa of Ngiche, (Jor). He had a golden canoe and fishing spear. One day, the Anywaa Kwaro (Kuar) came to him and asked him to come to the village. Lekor agreed. In that village, there was a beautiful girl who had declined many marriage offers. When she saw Lekor, she said that is the man I have been waiting for. Lekor knew all languages as he is a man of the river and is related to god. He slept with that girl and he told her that when you give birth take my child (Kir) on the shore of the river because Ker (calabash) will come and take him away. He told her to put kom (chair) and then the child Kir, then kuac (skin) and mut (spear) in the gourd. The next day, he returned to water. When the girl gave birth, she did as she was told. He took Kir to the gourd and the gourd opened, where she placed all mentioned ritual material in the gourd. Kir already started speaking while he was in his mother’s womb. Kir became a strange child. His eyes were bleeding and he killed people when he saw them.
The third version is similar to the above second version. There was an Aqua man who lived in the river. He had the ability to breathe both on land and underwater. One day, he came to the shore of the river and met a girl. That girl was an Anyuak Kwaro (kuar) daughter. The girl fell in love with Aquaman who later impregnated her. When the girl’s mother discovered her daughter was pregnant, she and the daughter kept the pregnancy secret because they were afraid of her husband who was a king to know about the pregnancy. The Mother told her husband your daughter is very sick. When the daughter gave birth, her mother put the child in a gourd and eventually threw the gourd in the river. The daughter became a girl again without her father knowing she had been impregnated.
The last version one would like to state is also involving Anyuak, Kir’s parents are said to be Anyuak. His father section uses to fight with their neighbors. It happened that, Kir’s section were all killed, old and young. Their enemies were also waiting for Kir’s parent’s section children still in their mother’s wombs to be killed. If the child is a boy, it would be killed. When Kirk’s mother was pregnant with him, she said, what can I do? How my descendent would survived? She prayed to God to let the child she pregnant with to be a boy. She also prayed, when the time come for the child to be born, let the calabash gourd open so that I placed my child in it. When she gave birth, she went to the garden where the calabash gourd located. Then, she opened the calabash and put Kir, spear and baby carrier skin and sent the calabash gourd to the river. She said, all my offspring are always killed. May this child grow and multiply my discontent on the other side of the world and may the person who will feed and take care of my child be powerful. Similar oral version is told that, Kir’s mother always give birth with witch babies and Anyuak identify witch babies when they are born. In their culture, they killed witch babies when they are infant. In that regard, Kirk’s mother outcry that, my children are all killed, when I give birth to the child I am pregnant with, may this calabash gourd open so that I put my child in it and this child can multiple my descendent in the other side of the world.
In summing, Kir-Kakeer, the apical ancestor of Jikany-Nuer background remains mysterious. No one knows for certain who his biological parents are. However, in all above versions, Jikany-Nuer appear to have originated from Anyuak more than they could have originated from other Nilotic groups. In his study, Jal hypothesized that many groups who formed Jikany-Nuer are believed to be originally Anywaa who were dropped on the migration routes during the Anyuak migration to Sobat Jal (1987: 18-19). We can conclude in this study that Kir is biologically an Anyuak who was adopted by Gee after he fled Yul Kuot home following his witchcraft evildoer. I ask those who have more knowledge about Kir to correct my shortcomings and elaborate on what would be the correct version of Kir’s mysterious background.
Respectively,
Lul Gatkuoth Gatluak
The author can be reach at lulgatluak09@gmail.com or lgatluak01@hamline.edu
References:
Collins, Robert O (1971): Land beyond the Rivers; the Southern Sudan, 1898-1918: Yale University Press.
Collins, Robert O (1983): Shadows in the Grass: Britain in the Southern Sudan, 1918-1956 Yale University Press
Evans-Pritchard, Edward. (1935). “The Nuer, Tribe and Clan Sections VII-IX.” Sudan Notes and
Records 18: 37-88.
—. 1936. “The Nuer: Age-Sets.” Sudan Notes and Records 18: 232-269
—. 1939. “Nuer Time-Reckoning.” Journal of the Intenational African Institute 12 (2): 189-210.
—. 1940. The Nuer: A Description of the Modes of Livelihood and Political Instutituions of a
Nilotic People. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
—. 1940. The Political System of the Anuak of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. New York: Percy
Lund, Humphries Co.
—. 1948. The Divine Kingship of the Shilluk of the Nilotic Sudan. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
—. 1951. Kinship and Marriage Among the Nuer. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
—. 1956. Nuer Relgion. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Heasty, J. A. (1937) English-Shilluk, Shilluk-English Dictionary. Philadelphia: American
Presybterian Church.
Howell, Paul. 1948. “‘Pyramids’ in the Upper Nile Region.” Ma
Howel, Paul. P. (1954). A Manual of Nuer Law. London: Oxford University Press.
Hutchinson, Sharon. (1996). Nuer Dilemma. University of California Press.
Jackson, H.C. (1923). The Nuer of the Upper Nile Province: Sudan Notes and records 6(1): 59-107
Jal, Gabriel Giet. (1987). The History of Jikany Nuer before 1920. PhD. Dissertation, History Department, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
Johnson, Douglas H. (1994): Nuer Prophets: A History of Prophecy from the Upper Nile in the nineteenth and twentieth Century. Oxford: Clarendon Press
Stigand C. H. (1919: The story of Kir and the white spear; Sudan Notes and Records
Vol. 2, No. 3 (JULY 1919), pp. 224-226 (3 pages)
Published by: University of Khartoum
Thompson, Paul. 1978. The Voice of the Past: Oral History. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
—. 2000. The Voice of the Past: Oral History. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Tuchman, Barbara. 1972. “Distinguishing the Significant from the Insignificant.” Radcliffe
Quarterly 56: 9-10.
