Folktales of the KuKu People: Tales from South Sudan

Africa has a lot of good stories to tell. The problem is that most of the stories told about Africa, Africans, and African cultures were told by others, not Africans. Significantly, original folk literature written about the vast African tribes by Africans themselves is scarce, to say the least. At most, it is nonexistent in libraries and other learning centers. Also, the endemic economic, social, political, and civil war woes have disproportionately contributed to the scarcity or lack of original African folktales by Africans. How does a poor person struggling for food find time to read let alone write something about Africa? South Sudan is a classic example. South Sudan, the world's youngest nation to date (born July 9, 2011) is just emerging from a protracted total of more than 40 years of civil war (1955-1972 and 1983-2005). While the need to read, rediscover, and contribute its immense cultures to the literary world is huge, the scarcity and lack of basic necessities of life is excruciating. A lot of information about our history, heritage, culture, and folktales is not recorded, but orally passed down from generation to generation. Unfortunately, the generation of those we rely on to orally pass our heritage is dying out at an alarming rate. If not recorded now, the little knowledge we now have about our history, culture, heritage, or folktales will die with us. Therefore, the main aim of compiling these folktales is to salvage and document some Kuku folktales for future generations. I strongly believe our children and future generations need to know what we know. Let our African brethren also know what stories we share. Let the world enjoy them too.