Running away from Malakal, by Yoannes Amum Nyiker

At the center of this item is an audio recording (wav file) in Shilluk of a narative by Yoannes Amum Nyiker, who tells about an experience he had as a child. The audio recording is accompanied by a detailed time-aligned annotation, which includes the Shilluk orthography; English translation; phonological transcription; morpheme glosses; and comments. Yoannes was a child when he ran away from Malakal Town, leaving his mother behind. He did not know what was happening, but he heard the gunshots and he saw people running. He was very frightened, and left his mother in the market. He had to run away with his stepmother who happened to be in the house. But when they reached the forest, his stepmother wanted to run to the south, and he said no, because the sound of the guns was coming from that side. So, he ran to the north alone. Luckily, he caught up with a woman who happened to know him, and they ran together. The woman was going to Dingjol, a Dinka village. They went together. A thorn pierced his foot, but it was not a serious thing to him at the time. Then they turned to the Shilluk villages before dark. They found many people who had run away from Malakal. Among the women, they found a woman from Panyikango. She knew him, and then he joined her, leaving the one going to Dingjol. They spend the night at Waw, on the Eastern Bank of the Nile, and in the morning they crossed the Nile. They spend another night in Waw West, where they learned that Malakal is good. When they reached Bokyeny, he ran back to Malakal. There he was reunited with his mother and also with his father, who had come from the village. The annotation of this narrative took place with the financial support of the Leverhulme Trust, through the grant "Suprasegmentals in three West Nilotic languages" (RPG-20202-040) to Bert Remijsen (PI). Further details can be found in the metadata file, and the excel sheet.