The Story of the Co-wives
There were two co-wives. One of them was very jealous, so she went to a traditional doctor (kujur) and asked for a medicine to make her husband love her more than her co-wife.
The kujur asked her to bring him a lion whisker. He instructed, “Bring the lion whisker and I will make the medicine that will ensure your husband will never leave you and never look at any other woman. In three days you have to bring the lion whisker.”
So, she went into the forest and she found the lion. He was awake and she feared him, so she returned home.
On the second day, she found the lion was playing with his kids.
On the third day, she found the lion was sleeping, so she went carefully and cautiously and pulled a whisker from the lion.
Since the kujur had given her a 3-day deadline, she ran fast to the kujur, announcing loudly, “Here I come!”
Immediately, the kujur said to her: “Have you brought the whisker?”
She answered: “Yes.”
She showed the kujur the whisker, which still had attached to it some flesh and blood.
Now, imagine what he told her then? He said, “My sister! I don’t have a medicine to give you so that your husband would love you, but with the same way that you managed to get the whisker from the lion without fearing that he might eat you, you can also make your husband see you as a mother of his children and love you and always flirt with you in the house.”
Storyteller Reflections
I have co-wives. The Bible tells us to ask for wisdom, and if you don’t have patience and strength you can’t live with co-wives, this is one; and two, I have sons and daughters of my co-wives and I managed to bring them on my side, and that’s something my mother taught me.
Now I have children, but I don’t call my husband by the name of one of my children, not because I can’t call him with my son’s name but because out of respect [for my co-wife], I call him by the name of his eldest son, the son of the elder wife, and those children also call me mama.
Sometimes you face problems and difficulties in life and you sit still doing nothing. But God gave you a brain to bring someone from this side and another from the other side to get busy and to adjust your life and to live in difficult situation. Seriously, we are living in a hard situation, but if we just sat and did nothing [and as people of Juba say] you will be dull. But you need to use your mind to live your life and to overcome the existing problems.
The Story of the Co-wives
Submitted Folktale Details
Storyteller: Rose Zakaria
Language: Arabic
Place: Juba (Hai Tarawa)
(as told to Elfatih Atem via phone)
Date: 2016