Weddings and Funerals

Most South Sudanese people spend a lot of time attending funerals. We hear friends lamenting that it feels that there are so many funerals, and death comes too early and often here. We admire the way that people come together when death happens, and the way that they commemorate the person with multiple gatherings over a period of up to a year. People also take seriously celebrating the joyful occasions in life, like a wedding, perhaps because they know life can not be taken for granted. This month we have attended a few funerals and a wedding, so wanted to share some pictures from this significant part of life in South Sudan.

The funeral service at the church

commemorating Elder Daniel's life

Elder Daniel was an active member and influential leader in the South Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church. He passed away in June after a short period of sickness. He also held a high position in the government, so his funeral was attended by thousands of people. They first held the service in the church followed by burial at the home on the day that his body was brought from Nairobi. A few days later, they had a larger gathering to celebrate his life and pray together. Next week marks 40 days since his death, so another service of ‘final prayers’ will be held at his home.

The all-day funeral prayers for Elder Daniel

held at a field in order to accomodate the large crowd

Today, I visited Elder Daniel’s wife, Mama Achol. She remains at home for 40 days, and some close family members stay with her to keep her company in this period of mourning. Friends and relatives come to visit – today while I was there, several other women came just to be with her and the family. The women shared news and told stories, laughing and lamenting at the same time. We admire the real sense of community in South Sudanese culture and the way that people are present with each other, particularly in times of grief.

The ceremony of the burial at the home of Elder Daniel

Last week, Bob visited a colleague whose son had just died. Bob was not able to attend the funeral, but wanted to express his condolences. Visiting someone who is grieving is an important expression of solidarity. However, suddenly having the expenses of a funeral and hosting visitors can also become a burden to the grieving family, particularly for people wrestling with poverty and in a country where it feels like many people go from one crisis to another.

A joyful wedding in Juba

And then, some celebration! Last week I attended a wedding. It feels like there are far more funerals than weddings in Juba, so it was a rare treat to be invited to a wedding. A wedding also has several components and ceremonies –the dowry or engagement, the traditional ceremony, a church ceremony, and finally a reception. These might all happen on different days, so we admire the time and expense people invest in celebrating these life milestones. I attended the church ceremony last week – a joyful service with lots of singing, words of encouragement by relatives, and an exhortation by their pastor, emphasizing the importance of God being first in their marriage, because God dwells within us.

We are so grateful for the people around us in South Sudan, and the gift of being in relationship. We continue to look for advice sometimes on navigating the cultural protocol around these life events. But we have wonderful models and coaches in our colleagues and friends, and it makes us appreciate the gifts this culture has and the ways people make a great effort to stay connected.

Trip to Kodok

Due to security concerns related to the civil war still raging when we arrived in South Sudan in 2017, and since my role at Nile Theological College does not require travel, I had not left the city of Juba these last five years except for several trips to a Catholic retreat center seven miles outside the city. My understanding of the geography and geo-political realities of the country have come through conversations with my students and fellow faculty members, through studying maps, through reading, and through teaching which requires more reading and ongoing learning.

Map of South Sudan - Kodok is in the
northeastern corner of the country

However, within the last three months God has opened the door for me to make two important trips, including a recent trip to Kodok in Upper Nile State. Kodok is the historic capital of Fashoda County, a region of Upper Nile State which belongs to the Chollo (Shilluk) Kingdom and is the home of the Reth, their king. My colleague John and I traveled to Kodok primarily for doctoral research purposes regarding contextual theology, exploring the intersection of the Gospel and local culture along with the social/political realities and milieu of a people in their context and lifeworld.

We were given a "lift" to Kodok from Malakal by
a humanitarian organization; we ran out of gas 
enroute due to the weight of supplies and people

  

I have selected as one of my case studies the life and ministry of Rev. Johnson Amum. Johnson is the son of Ayik who served as the singer/poet for six Chollo Reths (kings). Ayik groomed his son Amum to take his place as singer/poet for the king, but sickness took sixteen-year-old Amum to the town of Malakal where his life would be forever changed through his encounter with the church and the person of Jesus Christ. While Amum inherited the natural gift of song composition and song presentation from his father, he was encouraged by his pastor from those early years as a young Christian to use this natural gift and translate it into use for the church, to bring praise, honor, and glory not to the Chollo king but to the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings. In Kodok, we spent time with local church leaders, church members, and respected community members who shared about the life and ministry of Rev. Johnson Amum. It was a significant journey.

Standing with Rev. Johnson Amum (to my left in the photo) and 
local church leaders  

What came as a surprise during this trip was how my eyes were opened. After five years of being sequestered in Juba and only hearing stories about displacement and suffering caused by war, I now stood in locations previously described to me by students who fled the fighting in 2014. Rev. Johnson described the ongoing trauma experienced by his daughter due to the crisis and war. When I asked him if he also was traumatized, he affirmed what we have commonly heard, “Yes, all of us in South Sudan are traumatized.” As I think about contextual theology, one cannot avoid the context of South Sudan, a land broken and devastated time and again by war.

In Kodok many such mounds of sand can be found, evidence 
of locations where homes have been destroyed 

On our way back to Juba, we stayed in the major port city of Malakal at the “Hub,” a maze of offices and an alphabet soup of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in the region, serving the humanitarian interests of the people. At the Hub, it felt like everyone was walking a bit faster; an air of importance and urgency permeated the place. Replete throughout was a sense of timeliness, order, speed, technological sophistication, accountability, and other highly prized values of western donors and aid agencies. In contrast to the Hub and its calculated efficiency was the large population inside the massive United Nations “protection of civilians” site (POC). Inside, protected by barriers and armed UN personnel carriers, the POC felt like a very large African village/town, suffused with life in all its strengths, weaknesses, and inherent glory. Children were playing everywhere, shopkeepers were relaxing after a long day, women were cooking local dishes in small restaurants, and almost everyone gawked at the strange “kawaja” (white westerner) walking with his South Sudanese friend to buy dried fish at the market within the POC. 

Displaced youth in Upper Nile (Wau Shilluk, Fashoda County)

Protection of Civilians (POC) site, Malakal

Leaving Kodok, navigating narrow channel out to 
the river (the Nile) 

John and I, returning from Kodok to Malakal

Being in the POC in Malakal reminded me that no matter how squeezed and pushed down a people are by deplorable circumstances related to the devastation of war and displacement, the reality of life and the hope of life will inevitably reveal itself. Lord of life, may the hope of life, the hope for a better life, and the hope for eternal life be the song which keeps our hearts light and our feet moving, one step at a time. In your mercy, hear the cries of your children.