My Culture

I am Lemi Peter Joseph, I work for Japan Emergency NGO, South Sudan programme Yei, as a Hygiene promoter.

I am from a very small village located in west of Yei Town of Central Equatoria State and the village is called Tokori named after the tallest mountain in that area.  The people who live in that village are called Pojulu ti Kirikwat/Kowu na Lukudu. “Pojulu ti Kirikwat” means the Pojulu tribe in Kirkwat and “Kowu na Lukudu” means the people who belong to the first Chief of the community.

The most outstanding thing in my culture is the way to honour the dead. If a child died in the household, the whole family would be filled with deep sorrow and the mother/father would remove his/her clothes and attach leaves to his/her body.  They would not eat or bathe till the corpse would be buried. If a partner died, the widower/widow would not bathe and his/her hair would not be shaven for six good months (the custom is called “tereka”) and he/she would only smear his/her body with ash. This implies that he/she adores his/her partner on the first day in 6 months she/he goes to bathe and shave her/his hair. Goats and chicken would be slaughtered and plenty of alcohol locally-brewed (Kwete) by the bereaved family is made for those who would come to share the grief with them who lost a family member. This makes my culture a bit unique from other communities.
However, this practice has faded out due to civilization these days. Likewise, it is no longer seen in the community where I come from. 

The above picture shows how Pojulu ti Kirikwat /Kowu na Lukudu prepare their meals. They use firewood and three ovens for cooking. They prefer cassava flour and cowpeas of favourite food.



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