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Instructional Materials

For K12

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ENGLISH

SAO-ENG08-G3-WK21-29-A

EXPECTED SKILLS:
To do well in this lesson, you need to remember and do the following:

Listening/Writing: Use syntactic, lexical, and context clues to supply items not
listened to. Write an analysis of how an African character depicted in a literary
selection respond to the challenges of modernity.

Speaking/Writing: Engage in communication situation based from a selection

read and infer the functions of utterances and respond accordingly taking into
consideration the context of the situation and the tone used.

Reading/Literature/Vocabulary/Study Strategies: Produce a frequency word list

and come up with an evaluation paper on selected African literary selection.

Grammar/Reading/Literature: Make an e-journal based on the impressions

reflected in an African literary selection.

Viewing/Writing: Make an interactive feedback blog expressing ones insights

and comments.

LEARNING GOALS AND TARGETS:

For you to accomplish the activities in this lesson, write your goals and
expectations in the box provided.

KNOW:
Lets start the module by examining how far you have gone in Afro-Asian
Literature, particularly, African literature.

Activity 1: PICTURE HOOK

In this activity, you will answer questions based on the picture shown. Write
your answers on the template provided; afterwards share your answers with the rest
of the class in a freewheeling group discussion. Try to relate your answers to the
essential questions:
1. What does literature reveal about Asian and (African) character?
2. How do Asians and Africans respond to the challenges of modernity as
reflected in their literary selections?

http://www.tower.com/escape-from-slavery-true-story-my-ten-years-edward-tivnan-paperback/wapi/101449218

1. What role does Nelson Mandela play in the political landscape of Africa?
2. Aside from being a political figure or leader, Mandela, as a writer in his own
world, has etched an indelible mark in African literature. What do you think
are his contributions in the literary realm of Africa?
3. Based on Mandelas words As I walked out the door toward the gate that
would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didnt leave my bitterness and hatred
behind, Id still be in prison, what does it reflect about the temperaments
and psyche of the Africans?

Activity 2: CHARACTER ANALYSIS

Now, read the informative text below for you to have a clearer mental
picture of Nelson Mandelas life, works, and contributions in Africa.

Nelson Mandela Short Biography

Nelson Mandela was born at Qunu, near Umtata on 18 July 1918. His father
was chief councilor to Thembulands acting chief David Dalindyebo. When his father
died, Mandela was groomed for becoming chief of his local tribe. However Mandela
would never be able to make this commitment.
Whilst at the university, Nelson Mandela became increasingly aware of the
unjust nature of South African Society. The majority of Black South Africans had little
opportunities either Economic or Political. Much to the disappointment of his family,
Mandela became involved in politics, and along with his good friend and comrade
Oliver Tambo was expelled from Fort Hare for organizing a student strike. However,
Mandela was able to finish his degree and qualified as a Lawyer. In 1952, Mandela
and Tambo opened the first Black Law firm in South Africa. The Transvaal Law
Society tried to have it closed down, although this was blocked by the South African
Supreme Court.
In 1944 Mandela helped found the ANC Youth League, whose Programme of
Action was adopted by the ANC in 1949. Mandela was instrumental in pushing the
ANC into more direct action such as the 1952 Defiance Campaign and later Acts of
Sabotage.
By the late 50s the S.A. state had become increasingly repressive making it
more difficult for the ANC to operate. Mandela had to resign from the ANC and work
underground. In the late 50s there was an extremely lengthy Treason Trial in which
Mandela and several others were charged with treason. Conducting their own defence
they eventually proved to be victorious. Mandela noted in his autobiography the
judiciary were one of the least repressive parts of the South African State and in
theory sought to follow the rule of law.
However in 1960 the Sharpeville massacre of 63 black South Africans changed
the whole political climate. South Africa was increasingly isolated on the international
scene and the government banned the ANC. This led Mandela to advocate armed
struggle through the Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK).
However by 1962 Mandela had been arrested and sentenced to life
imprisonment in the notorious Robben Island prison. Life at the prison was tough and
uncompromising. However in his autobiography Mandela reveals how he sought to
make the best use of his time there. He helped to keep other mens spirits high and

never compromised his political principles when offered early release. Towards the
end of his prison spell his treatment improved as the South African establishment
increasingly looked to negotiation, in the face of international isolation. Although
negotiations were painfully slow and difficult, they eventually led to Mandelas release
in 1990. It was an emotional moment watched by millions around the globe.
The next four years were also difficult as South African society suffered inter
cultural violence between ANC and Inkarta supporters, in addition to slow progress on
a new constitution.
However on 10 May 1994 Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as the first
democratically elected State President of South Africa on and was President until
June 1999. As president, Mandela presided over the transition from minority rule and
apartheid. His advocacy of reconciliation led to international acclaim and importantly
the trust of the White African population. Despite the initial euphoria of winning the
election the ANC faced a difficult challenge to improve the lives of the black
population. This was made more difficult by the HIV epidemic, which continues to
cause grave problems. (Nelson Mandela recently lost his eldest son to this disease
and Mandela has worked hard to campaign on this issue.)
Since retiring from office Nelson Mandela has continued to be an international
figure of great stature. He is one of the few politicians who have gone beyond a
political role; he is widely admired and has received many prestigious awards. Nelson
Mandela is also associated with many educational programs and initiatives such as
Make Poverty History Campaign.
In 1993 Nelson Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with F.W.
De Klerk
http://www.writespirit.net/authors/nelson-mandela/biography-mandela/

This time, work in groups and fill out the template below with the necessary
background information about Mandela. Then, be ready to share your answers with the
big group.

Major Character

Attributes/Traits/
Characteristics

Statements that Reveal Such

Attributes/Traits/
Characteristics

http://www.picsearch.com/pictures/Celebrities/Nobel%20Prize%20Winners/Peace/Peace%20Me%20%20Y/Nelson%20Mandela.html

1. What does the article reveal about the African character?

2. What does this informative text reveal about the temperaments and
psyche of the Africans in response to the challenges of modernity?

Activity 3: BOX OF ESSENTIALS

Use the map of conceptual change hereunder in answering the essential
questions. In this portion, you will write on the I think section of IN THE BOX. See to
it that you relate it to the literature of Africa/African people, for instance, Nelson
Mandela.

I think

You are free to exchange opinions, information and answers with the rest of the
class and take turns by comparing your thoughts using this graphic organizer.

10

Graphic Organizers Comparison & Contrast

www.slideshare.net/.../graphic-organizers-comparison-contrast-6865

1. Account for the similarities and differences in your answers.

You are done giving your initial ideas on the essential questions regarding
African literature. What you learn in the next sections will enable you to
accomplish the culminating task or project which entails creating an
interactive feedback blog that will highlight insights and comments on the
temperaments and psyche of Africans in response to the challenges of modernity
as revealed in their literary selections.
Lets now find out how others would answer the questions and compare their
ideas to our own. We will start by doing the next activity.

PROCESS:
Activity 4: AFRICANS ON SPOTLIGHT
Lets have an informative text to give you an idea about the
temperaments and psyche of the Africans. Read silently the text below then; use the
questions regarding the text for an intellectual discussion. Then, as a group, complete
the table by determining the validity and adequacy of statements.

The African World-View

(Excerpt from a speech delivered by Dr. Kofi A. Busia at a conference on
the Christian
Faith and African Culture in 1955 in Ghana.)
My subject is the African worldview, but I should say at once that though
there are religious ideas and social values that are widespread in Africa, there are
also diversities. For there are many and not one African community. There are
numerous communities on the vast continent of Africa which have lived in selfcontained isolation, under the varying conditions of life and experience.
Certain beliefs, nevertheless, such as animism, the concept of ghosts and
spirits, polytheism and magic, are common patterns which afford valuable guides
for understanding particular communities in Africa.
When we think of peoples world view, we consider their concept of the
supernatural, of nature, of man, of society, and of the way in which these concepts
form a system that gives meaning to mens lives and actions.
Africans believe in a Supreme Being, the Creator of the world and all the
things in it. The ideas as to the attributes of the Creator vary, but all believe that He
is charged with power, both beneficent and dangerous. This belief in a Supreme
Being who is omnipotent is held along with belief in lesser deities who are also
charged with power, both beneficent and dangerous. These supernatural entities or

11

gods are not always held to have bodies like men, but their values, attitudes, and
thoughts, that is, their personalities are like those of men.
I may digress to point out that the problem of evil so often discussed in
Western philosophy and Christian theology does not arise in the African concept of
deity. It is when a God who is not only powerful and omniscient but also perfect and
loving is postulated that the problem of evil becomes an intellectual and
philosophical hurdle. The Supreme Being of the African is the Creator, the source of
life, but between Him and man lie many powers and principalities good and bad,
gods, spirits, magical forces, witches, to account for the strange happenings in the
world.
Nature, too, can have power, and even spirits. It must be noted that in
farming, fishing, livestock raising, and other economic activities the African shows
knowledge of natural causes. The difference with Europe lies in the fact that the
control that Europe has gained over nature is greater and therefore Europeans can
give naturalistic or scientific explanations to a greater range of happenings than
Africans. But there are theories of reality in Africa just as in Europe. When the
African offers an egg to a tree, or food to a dead ancestor, he is not expressing
ignorance of material substance, or natural causes, but he is expressing in conduct
a theory of reality, namely that behind the visible substance of things lies essences,
or powers which constitute their true nature. Those who have read Western
philosophy are familiar with such formulations, but because the African does not
formulate his problems in terms familiar to the Europeans, or may not even be able
to express his awareness in words, its conduct is often grossly misinterpreted.
With regard to man himself, there is a widespread belief in Africa that he is
compound of material and immaterial substances; man is a biological and spiritual
being. Physical death is not the end of men. The soul concepts of African peoples
are many and elaborate. Among the Ashanti, for example, as I have shown
elsewhere, Man as a biological being inherits his blood from his mother, this gives
him his status and membership within the lineage, clan, and the tribe, and his
obligations as citizens As a spiritual being, a man receives a two-fold gift of the
spirit: that which determines his character and individuality he receives through his
father; but his soul, the undying part of him, he receives direct from the Supreme
Being.
Among the Dahomey, as Herskovits tells us, all persons have three souls
and adult males have four. One is inherited from the ancestor, and is the guardian
spirit of the individual. The second is the personal soul, while the third is the small
bit of the Creator that lives in every persons body. The first in Euro-American
thought is to be conceived as the biological aspect of man; the second, his
personality, and the third his intellect and intuition. The fourth soul of adult males is
associated with little concept of destiny. This soul occupies itself not only with the
affairs of this world, but also with the collective destiny of his household, since the
Daho mean reasons that when a man reaches maturity, his own life cannot know
fulfillment apart from the lives of those who share that life with him.
Questions Adopted from Crisscrossing Through Afro-Asian Literature, Rustica C. Carpio, pp. 446-449

12

Group yourselves into four. Try answering the comprehension questions below then;
report your outputs creatively before the class.

Comprehension Questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.

What could be the purpose of Dr. Busia in this selection?

What do you understand by a peoples world-view?
How do the Africans regard their Supreme Being?
What are the Africans views on nature and man? Explain. Give the major
reasons why the problem of evil does not arise in the African concept of the
deity.
5. What does the excerpt reveal about the temperaments and psyche of the
Africans?

Activity 5: SQUEEZE IT OUT

Below are some words taken from the selection you have read. Identify the
root/base words through structural analysis.

Prefix
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Suffix

Base/Root

isolation
valuable
collective
creator
fulfillment
immaterial
dangerous
individuality

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Activity 6: PUNCTUATE IT RIGHT!

Identifying Parenthetical Expressions

Go over the selection you have read then; identify the expressions used in
paragraphs 2, 4, and 7, that are set off by commas. What do you call these
expressions? Yes, these are parenthetical expressions. What should you remember
about parenthetical expression?
Key Points:
A parenthetical expression is simply a word or string of words which contains
relevant yet non-essential information. In order to let the reader know that this
information is not essential to the sentence (it is non-restrictive), it is important that
the parenthetical expression be punctuated properly. Lets look at an example of how
parenthetical expressions work in a sentence:
The tortoise, as far as we know, has been on earth for thousands of years.
The parenthetical expression as far as we know conveys to the reader that this
statement is not a concrete fact. However, the grammatical meaning of the sentence
would not be affected by the parenthetical expressions removal.
Other phrases commonly used as parenthetical expressions include the
following: however, nevertheless, in fact, therefore, for instance, consequently, for
example, accordingly, moreover, hence.
Since all parenthetical expressions are non-restrictive, they should be set off
with punctuation. One of the best ways to set them off is with commas. This
punctuation shows that the information contained within the set of commas is nonessential, yet still related in context.

Example 1: Use commas to separate parenthetical expressions which

occur at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence.
For example, the fruit fly can breed up to ten times in one hour.
The fruit fly, for example, can breed up to ten times in one hour.
Note how the addition of punctuation causes the reader to mentally pause and
add emphasis to the phrase as they read.
Example 2: Commas may be used to punctuate mild parenthetical expressions.
I was fired from my last job and consequently must look for a new one.
Or
I was fired from my last job and, consequently, must look for a new one.
In this example the punctuation affects the meaning of the sentence by
changing the connotations of the word consequently. In the first sentence, the lack

14

of punctuation sets up a distinct cause/effect relationship (because I lost my job I

have to look for a new one), while in the second sentence, the cause/effect
relationship is only peripheral, mentioned in passing. From this we can conclude that
the use of punctuation with mild parenthetical expressions depends on the meaning
that the writer wishes the sentence to convey.

http://www.uhv.edu/ac/newsletters/writing/grammartip2006.08.29.htm

Go over the list of words in Activity 6. Use these words to construct meaningful
sentences with appropriate parenthetical expressions.

15

Activity 7: BACK IT UP
Go over the selection The African World-View. Accomplish the table below by
putting a check mark in the second column if the statements below are valid based on
the selection that you have read. If not, correct the statement by providing proofs
explicitly stated by the author. Have a class discussion on this.

1. Africans do not believe in a

Supreme Being.
2. An African is showing his utter
ignorance when he offers food to a
dead ancestor.
3. The African exhibits knowledge of
natural causes.
4. Religious ideas and social values
are widespread in Africa.
5. Herskovits says that all persons
have one soul.

16

Activity 8: MESSAGE IN A DRUM

To strengthen your knowledge regarding the African people including their
temperaments and psyche, consider the essay below. Answer the questions that follow
then; post your answers on the board and have a freewheeling discussion.
For frequency word list, unlock the meanings of the key words used in the
selection then; construct meaningful sentences using any of these words.

abide
echo
strengthen

bilingual
tonal
injunction

immemorial
imitate
realistic

How the Drums Talk

Bryan Donaldson
http://www.africantreasures.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=DRUM0009

If you like talking to the telephone, you might like African drums talk even
better. Drum sheds are still used in the Congo and gong messages echo through the
jungle just as they did when Henry Morton Stanley searched for Dr. Livingstone.
African languages are tonal. Within each word are syllables of high and low
pitch. An incorrect pitch alters the meaning of the words. One missionary was
horrified to discover that he was teaching the children to say May thy kingdom not
come, may thy will not be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Congo drummers translate high and low sounding syllables into gong
messages. Gong phrases rather than individual words are used to clarify similar
syllable combinations.
Congo drums are made from logs. A slit is carved and the red heart-wood is
hollowed out. One side of the drum is made thicker than the other side. Womens Lib
has not yet come to the Congo. The thin side of the drum is a female gong; it
produces high, gentle tones. The male side is used for bigger and lower syllables.
Sometimes two different drums are used to produce male and female sounds.
Some drums are carved into animal shapes complete with head, tail, and four
legs. The carved-out slot follows the animals backbone. Each gong has its own
name which is beaten out at the beginning and end of every message, much like
radio-broadcasting station identification. Birds do not steal from a person without

17

food is the name of one gong. Another: Ears of mine, do not listen to what people
say.
Sometimes a small piece of iron attached to the drum produces a voice-like
quality so realistic that at one time many people thought the drums really spoke
words. All talking drums imitate the rise and fall of vocal tones. In Akan drum
language, How are you? is said Wo ho ten sen? The first and third syllables are
low and the drummer beats on the male drum.
Drums convey many kinds of messages: warnings, praise, blame, and
greetings. Even poetry and prayers are chanted in Akan drum language:
The heavens are wide, exceedingly wide.
The earth is wide, exceedingly wide.
We have lifted it and taken it away.
We have lifted it and brought it back.
From time immemorial.
The God of olds bid us all
Abide by His injunctions.
Then we shall get whatever we want.
Be it white or red.
It is God the Creator, the Gracious One.
Good morning to you, God. Good morning.
I am learning, let me succeed.

Important messages are often relayed from village to village, and a distance of
100 miles can be covered in a few hours. There is no universal drum language, but
drummers are often bilingual.
Sometimes other African musical instruments use gong language. Antelope
horns can send messages a mile or more. Wind instruments that have only one finger
hole are blown like a flute or clarinet to produce high and low sounds as the player
covers and uncovers the hole. Fishermen boast of their catch by calling vocally in
drum language. Ki represents the high tone and li the low tone.
Each person in drum-signaling communities has a drum name. Wawina, a
medical assistant in Likela, was called, The proud man will never listen to advice.
Bofoma, a servant, answered to, Dont laugh at a black skin because everybody has
one. John Carrington, author of Talking Drums of Africa was named. The white
man, if he dances up into the sky, men of the village will laugh ha! ha!
Sports are broadcast on drums: Let the wrestling begin. Trip one another up.
And when the match is over. See the hero! Full of pride!
War is announced on drums:
War which watches for opportunities
Has come to the town
Belonging to us
Today as it is dawned
Come, come, come, come
The drum encourages the fighter:
Make the drum strong.
Strengthen your legs, spear, shaft, and head.

18

The noise of running feet; Think not to run away.

The drum calls the Lokele folk to the universal African pastime, the
dance:
Let us dance
In the evening
When the sky has gone down the river
Down to the ground.
Talking drums telegraph their messages by pitch and not by anything
resembling Morse code. Drumming requires skill achieved only by a few. A drummer
in the act of drumming is considered a sacred person.
Drums are much used by popular bands, by associations such as hunters,
military, and religious groups, and by the state. Drummers perform on command or by
custom and tradition.
The drummer of the talking drums enjoys an honored position. He can mildly
insult the chief and remain free. He is thought to be closest to the spirit of the ancestor
chiefs.
Questions Adopted from English Expressways Textbook for
Second Year

Comprehension Questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

8.
9.

What can you say about the ingenuity of the Africans in sending messages?
What kinds of messages are conveyed by drums?
What is meant by the statement African languages are tonal.
How do Africans send their messages? How does their technique differ from
our means of communicating messages? Account for the differences.
How is the tonal quality reflected in the drum messages?
Read the examples of the uses of drums in Africa. How do they differ from
the uses of our drums?
With the advent of technology in our midst, if you were an African, would you
use the same mode of transmitting messages or opt to use phone, fax, on
internet instead? Support your answer.
What does the selection reveal about the African character?
What does it reveal about the temperaments and psyche of the Africans in
response to the challenges of modernity?

19

Activity 9: AFRICAS FREE

Now, lets have a poem written by Roland Tombekai Dempster. Read it carefully
and accomplish the Character Analysis Model by group based on the questions
provided. Afterwards, post your output on the board for critiquing and feedback giving
and go over the work of other groups.
Before you read the poem and do the activity, try unlocking the meaning of the
following Key Words for better understanding of the literary piece.
Frequency Word List
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

plea
meddle
affair
unjust
unwise

I am not you --But you will not

Give me a chance,
Will not let me be.
If I were you--But you know,
I am not you,
Yet you will not
Let me be me.
You meddle, interfere in my affairs
As if they were yours and you were me.
You are unfair, unwise,
Foolish to think
That I can be you, talk, act,
And think like you.
God made me
He made you, you
For Gods sake
Let me be.

20

Comprehension Questions:
1. What African qualities do the lines express?
2. What do you think they are all craving for?
3. Do you think there is a way of liberating themselves from slavery?
4. Does discrimination exist in African society? Single out lines from the
poem that prove this claim.
5. What does the poem reveal about the African character?
6. What does it reveal about the temperaments and psyche of the
Africans in response to the challenges of modernity?
Questions Adopted from Worktext for Second Year

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Activity 10: DISSECTING PEN

In Lesson 1, you were made to come up with a character sketch based on an
interview. This time, applying the same skill, you will write an analysis of a literary
selection. Before that read the selection below and answer the questions that follow.

Find out what conflicts are undergone by the young African and what causes these
conflicts, in the selection, Open House.

Open House
Musa Nagenda

Kabana saw his father and other elders from his village get off the red bus, take
down their suitcases from the top of the carriage, and look up at the gate. After looking
at the poster with approval, they noticed the boys standing in white shirts, ties and
khaki shorts and hurried through the gate in the compound.
When the parents were seated on chairs under the trees, and the boys on the
ground, the headmaster made a short speech welcoming the parents to open day at
the school. He invited the elders to have tea with him and the staff in the common
room after they examined the exhibits.
Kabana and Yagunga ran to their fathers and elders as soon as the headmaster
dismissed the meeting. They dropped to one knee before the elders, whereas the
elders placed hands on their shoulders and greeted them. Kabana remembered the
courtesy of greeting the elders first, so he came to greet his father last of all.
Kaije It has been long, his father said.
Ego Yes, Kabana answered.
Buhoero It has been very long.
Ego.
Agandi? What is the news?
Nimarungi It is good, Agandi?
Nimarungi His father said.
Oraiegyo sebo How did you spend the night?
Kurungi Well.
Mulangu smiled upon his son, but Kabana knew his father well and he looked
hurriedly away, for he did not see the one thing in his fathers eye that he looked for.
He wanted his father to be proud of him, but that was the one thing missing. His father
always seemed to be saying Prove yourself first.
The people at home greet you, Mulangu said.
The people at home greet you Olewa, Rugaya, Totesie. He could see the
smiling faces of his mother, sister, and little brother as they moved about the
compound in Ruti Village. His mother was such a wonderful mother and a good cook,
and Rugaya such a beautiful and thoughtful sister that it almost broke his heart not to
tell them so. But it was not the habit to show much emotion, for life was a hard
challenge every day and the thing you love so dearly today might disappoint you
tomorrow. And it seemed to him he was failing them all especially Rugaya. Lately his

22

father had chided him on his softness of manner, and one day during the last holiday,
Kabana forgot one basket of coffee and it remained in the coffee field all night.
Why dont you use your head for something more than stuffing it with all that
book knowledge? Mulangu had asked.
But today was Open House of Kisumbu Secondary School. Perhaps his father
had changed in his opinion of his son.
The leaders from the different villages had lingered behind him when the other
parents and visitors left the school and went back to their villages. After the conference
with the headmaster, they went outside and sat in a circle near the compound under
the jacaranda tree. They smoked their pipes, talked and nodded their heads for a while
before they sent for Kabana, Yagunga, and Biraro.
When the boys had taken the place offered them in the circle, the oldest elder
slowly refilled his pipe and lit it. The ebony walking stick, his rod of authority, lay across
his lap. When hed taken several puffs on his pipe, he began to speak. He did not hurry
but looked straight at the boys with deep lines of seriousness in his kind face.
Mwebare munenga emirime thank you very much for the work youre doing
here, he said. You have made the hearts of your forefathers happy. They and we
rejoice in your success.
Then slowly, and with pride, he sketched a history of their tribe, telling about the
hardships and demands of life in their village, how through hard work, daring, and
attention to the ways of their fathers and Ruhanga, their God, who lighted and guarded
the fires of the Omugabo and protected the drum of Banyankero, they had always
triumphed. The faces of the other elders beamed with pleasure as his words, in the
Bantu language, rolled out of him in a tone and rhythm not unlike the emotional beat of
the drum.
Yagunga, Kabana, and Biraro sat in the circle of men underneath the jacaranda
tree and felt the stares of boys of other tribes like hot sun on their necks. Kabana was
ashamed. This talk was for the village and had no place here at school. He wished the
elder would hurry so they could catch the bus. If they stayed longer, they would hear
some of the things Kabana had said to the other boys, and the other boys would get a
chance to see that his father couldnt eat with a fork and that he ate too fast.
Still the musical voice of the elder went on, and Kabana felt compelled to listen
to it although his legs cramped, for it was a long time since he had sat on the ground.
Now, the elder went on, you have gained a book education. We will also see
that you have your tribal education. You, three boys, Yagunga, Biraro, and Kabana,
he nodded at them as he spoke, will soon be made men. You are of age, now.
They are of age, said another elder with enormous ears and a black beard.
Soon you must come home for studies and trials and you will learn everything
about the joy and the dangers of living. We shall spread your story in the village of our
clansmen, and sing of it in our kraals. We greet you, we salute you, and now as our
journey is long, we take leave of you. After a moment, all men rose together and
started toward the bus, leaving the boys sitting in the broken circle.
When they had gone a short distance, Mulangu turned and called Kabana to
him. As always, now, when in his fathers company, Kabana felt a tightening in his
throat. He had mixed feelings about his father. He was ashamed of his crudeness, his
inability to speak good English, his long hair, but at the same time he felt pride in his

23

strength and his ability to take care of his family and play a leading role in village
affairs. His chest rose high. He felt proud to have a father so strong, so brave, and so
successful. He was respected by both villagers and Europeans for his bravery and his
ability as a farmer and trader, and Kabana always felt that hed never be able to live up
to his fathers expectations. Mulangu touched Kabanas shoulder and nodded to where
Yagunga and Biraro sat in a broken circle.
You have done well here in your studies and in your special callings as
drummer but your life is incomplete. It is like that circle, broken because things
valuable are left from it. Do you like this school?
Kabana nodded. Yes, Sir. But it was the question that he knew to be coming
next that he dreaded.
And the village, what can you say about it?
It is my home, father. My mother, my brother, my sister, and my friends are
there, he tried to be tactful.
You love them but no longer love their ways? His father looked straight at him.
All right he would tell the truth. I used to love the village, but now things are
different, I dont know where I belong. Do I belong to where I fail or where I succeed?
Mulangus face clouded. So, this is what I sent you to school for. To forget your
own people to despise our ways. Your failure is your own doing. With effort you could
do what is expected of you. Kabana didnt want his father to be angry, but now he
thought of old men who sat around doing nothing but drinking beer, of with doctors with
rattling gourds, and poison taken from snake heads and the dried entrails of goats. The
very worst of the village flashed into his mind. His father was talking to him. You hate
the village, dont you?
You sent me to school, father. Before the words came from him Kabana
regretted them, but still he spoke them.
Mulangu stiffened. He almost struck Kabana, but he looked around hurriedly
and saw the other elders watching them.
Youll never be a man. At the initiation you will surely disgrace me. You are
always acting like a baby. Night and day your head is in your mothers kitchen or
bowed to your sister. Do you know these are not the ways of men?
I shall improve, Kabana repented.
You say so, but you wont. I noticed you in our village. You no longer joke, tell
stories with the other boys, or dance. Are you a European? Kabana bowed his head,
and Mulangu felt the guilty sting of his last remark.
Very well, the elders think the boys here will vote to come for the initiation but
having a son like you, I doubt it. So as soon as school is out, you come home and I
shall try to do a fathers duty by you. He looked closer at Kabana and tried to be
pleasant. We have been both made unhappy, father and son, but this time we shall
talk to each other and in our village, well laugh and be happy.
Oh, that will be wonderful, father, Kabana said, hopefully.
Dont be late. The coffee is ripe and there are many goats to herd. Osibegye
omwana wangye Goodbye, my son.

24

Osibegye omukawa wanye Goodbye, my father. Obandamukize Greet

those at home for me.
Questions Adopted from English Arts II, Textbook for Second Yea

Comprehension Questions:
1. Why did Kabana feel that he had failed his family?
2. What was Kabanas attitude towards tribal customs and ways? Why?
3. Compare the attitudes and ways of Kabana with those of the elders and
his own father. Is this contrast natural or not? Explain.
4. Read the lines below. What deeper meaning can you infer? If you were
Kabana, how would you respond to each statement?
a. It has been very long.
b. You hate the village, dont you
c. Dont be late Goodbye, my son.
5. Why did Kabana have mixed feelings? Do you sometimes feel the same?
6. What kind of relationship did Kabana have with this father? Prove your
answer.
7. What values do you gain from the story? Are these universal? Explain.
8. What conflicts are experienced by the young African
and what causes these conflicts?
Group Work: Visualization Wheel: Write the title of the story in the middle
square below. Label each quadrant of the circle with the answers to each
question. Next, draw a picture for each answer. Present your output to the class.

25

Your next task now is to analyze the literary selection that you have read. As
you analyze, ask the following questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

What does the selection say about the people in the place?
What parts of the selection reveal what the characters think and feel?
What do the characters say about the kind of people they are?
Does the selection relate to real life situation?
How does the literary selection help you understand the people from this
country?

Write your analysis on the worksheet below.

26

Activity 12: STRIKE A BALANCE

Listen to the statement (to be read by your teacher) of the President of the
African National Congress, Nelson Mandela, during his inauguration as President of
the Democratic Republic of South Africa, Union Buildings, Pretoria, May 10, 1994.
Take note of the parallel words, phrases, and clauses used and identify their functions.

Key Points:
Study the following sentences taken from the speech you listened to.
1. We thank all our distinguished international guests for having come to
take possession with the people of our country of what is, after all, a
common victory for justice, for peace, for human dignity.
2. We trust that you will continue to stand by us as we tackle the
challenges of building peace, prosperity, non-sexism, non-racialism
and democracy.
3. We commit ourselves to the construction of a complete, just and
lasting peace.
4. We must therefore act together as a united people, for national
reconciliation, for nation building, for the birth of a new world.
How were the underlined words and phrases used? Yes, they were used to
expand sentences. In expanding sentences, we should observe parallelism.
Let us consider the sentences above. Notice that sentence 1 uses parallel
phrases (prepositional phrases); sentence 2 uses parallel words (all nouns); sentence
3 uses parallel words (all adjectives); and sentence 4 uses parallel phrases
(prepositional phrases).

Recognizing Parallel Constructions

When a writer is presenting a series of equally important details in a sentence,
he or she should try to make the items balanced, or parallel. When the sentences are
presented in different forms, they are nonparallel, and the resulting sentence is not
smooth.
One of the fundamental rules of our language is that similar ideas should be
expressed in similar grammatical structures. When we want to talk about a series of
things, qualities, ideas, problems, processes, or feelings, we combine a word with a
word, a phrase with a phrase, or a clause with a clause.
Parallel words. When a writer lists a series of words, the words in the series should be
all nouns, all adjectives, or all adverbs, but not mixed.
Mixed: The celebrity was charming, witty, and a beauty.
Charming and witty are adjectives; however, beauty is a noun. For the sentence to be
parallel, beauty must be in adjective form.
27

Parallel: The celebrity was charming, witty, and beautiful.

Parallel phrases. When a writer lists a series of phrases, all the phrases should be the
same all gerund phrases, all infinitive phrases, all participial phrases, or all
prepositional phrases.
Mixed: Her aims were to study, to travel, and someday having a family.
The sentence is nonparallel because two infinitive phrases, to study and to travel, are
mixed with a gerund phrase, having a family. For the sentence to be parallel, having a
family could be changed to an infinitive.
Parallel: Her aims were to study, to travel, and to have a family.
Parallel clauses. When a writer lists a series of clauses, all the clauses in the series
should be the same. They should all be noun clauses, all adjective clauses, or all
adverb clauses.
Mixed: What we say and the things that we do are never quite the same.
What we say is a noun clause; the things that we do is a noun followed by an adjective
clause. In order to make the elements of the sentence parallel, the things that we do
could be changed into a noun clause.
Parallel: What we say and what we do are never quite the same.
Exercise 1. Some of the following sentences contain nonparallel constructions. Revise
these sentences by putting parallel ideas into equal grammatical form. Underline the
parallel structures in your revised sentences. If a sentence is acceptable in Standard
English, write Correct.
1. The beach resort has good food, live entertainment, and a heated pool.
2. Teachers must teach values to their students consciously, openly, and
consistently.
3. The employer who praises employees, giving recognition, and allows vacations
should have a good staff.
4. We should save our money carefully, regularly, and with knowledge.
5. Next year, my friends will decide to buy a car, to save their money, or to go on a
trip.
6. Felix dressed up because he wanted to charm his girlfriend, to impress his
friends, and please his parents.
7. Mary argued that reading books is better than watching TV.
8. She worked quickly and with accuracy.
9. Composing music and to write poetry have some similarities.
10. Brisk walking daily and eating well are important for me.

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Activity 13: BLACK AND WHITE AN EVALUATION PAPER

In lesson 2, you were asked to write an evaluation paper on a program viewed.
In this activity, your task is to make an evaluation paper of the literary selection Open
House. Extract what the selection shows about the diversity of temperaments and
psyche of the Africans. Use the worksheet below. Work in pairs then take turns in
giving and responding to feedback on each others paper in the revision process.
Remember to use meaningful expanded sentences following balance, parallelism, and
modification.

29

Activity No. 14: IMPRESSIVELY EXPRESSIVE

Based from the different informative and literary text types that you have read
and listened to, express your impressions in writing about the literature of Africa and
the African people which includes the temperaments and psyche of the African people
in response to the challenges of modernity.
Relate your answers to the essential questions. Refer to the template provided
below. Remember to use grammatical structures and vocabulary to effectively
emphasize particular points.

My Newfound Impressions

In this section, the discussion was centered on the temperaments and psyche of
the African people in their response to the challenges of modernity.
Go back to the previous section and compare your initial ideas with the
discussion. How much of your initial ideas are found in the discussion? Which ideas are
different and need revision?
Now that you know the important ideas about this topic, lets go deeper by
moving on to the next section.

REFLECT AND UNDERSTAND:

Your goal in this section is to take a closer look at some aspects of
the topic on the temperaments and psyche of the African people in their
response to the challenges of modernity.

30

r/

Activity 15: SCOOP ON SLAVERY

Heres a true-to-life story for you to read. Then, do the following activities.

Escape from Slavery

by Francis Bok with Edward Tivman

My fathers farm was full of family, friends and love. We had chickens and
goats, sheep and cows; we had beautiful green trees with yellow mangoes and
coconuts as big as your head. My father, it seemed to me, owned the best farm in our
village of the Dinka people in Sudan, about 100 kilometers south of what the maps call
the Bahr al-Arab River, the border between the north and south of the country.
We lived in two houses one for men, the other for women made from mud
and topped by straw roofs shaped like upside-down cones. I did not go to school. No
one in my family had any formal education. Like most boys, I spent my days playing
games and running in the fields. But what I liked to do most was follow my father
around as he worked on the farm. I felt my fathers love every day. One day he called
me muycharko, which means twelve men. I asked him, Why do you call me
muycharko?
He laughed and explained that out of all his children, I was the one who worked
the hardest, the one who would never give up. I felt my fathers words flow into my
body and fill me with happiness. I dreamed of being a great man with a great farm and
many cattle.
When my mother told me she had instructed some village kids to take me along
on their trip to the nearby market town, I saw it as the first step to becoming the
important man my father thought I could be. This would be my trip to town on my own,
although I had been there with my father when he went to trade animals and with my
mother on market days. Our family also went to the Catholic Church there.
On market day the other kids turned up, and my mother warned me, When you
sell something, give the money to the older children so you do not lose it.
I grabbed the carrying pole with my goods: two tins of hard-boiled eggs and
peanuts. We walked along a dusty road and soon approached the market-place.
People were already set up in the shade, and the market smelled of fish, fruit and
vegetables. The big kids picked a spot under the tree. I made some sales and handed
over the money, just as my mother had said.
Then something changed. People began walking faster, talking to each other.
They seemed excited; some were pointing towards the river. Smoke, I heard. In the
villages. More people ran into town with news. Maybe the murahaliin came, one said.
They came and burned the houses.
I had heard people in my village talk of these dangerous men from the north
who killed people and stole their cattle. But I had never seen these murahaliin.
The customers began to rush from the marketplace. The sellers gathered their
things. Then we heard bursts of loud noises. Everyone was running. The murahaliin
are coming! Wherever people scattered they ran into men with guns entering the town.
First men on horses, shooting people with bursts from their rifles. Then men on foot,
shooting and slashing at people with their long knives.

31

They were not Dinka, but people with lighter skin than ours, in headdresses and
robes. They were shooting the Dinka men, slashing with their swords, chopping off
heads with a single swipe. I had never seen such violence and never heard so many
screams.
Run! I heard. Leave your things and run! I raced from the marketplace, right
into the huge horse with a militiaman pointing a gun at me. I stopped; I could not move.
Someone grabbed me from behind another murahaliin, yelling and waving his gun.
I was sure he was going to kill me. All around I saw people screaming and
falling to the ground and not getting up. He pushed me back into the marketplace with
other boys and girls. Everyone was crying and screaming for their parents.
I looked around for help, but all I could see were the bodies of Dinka men, the
blood running from them like water in little rivers. I had never seen a dead body before,
and now I saw more than I could count. I wanted my mother; I wanted my father to pick
me up onto his shoulders and carry me away from this. My entire body and mind
turned numb as I waited to be killed.
With no Dinka men standing, the killing seemed to be finished. While a few
murahaliin guarded us, others began collecting food and loading it into baskets. A man
picked me up and set me on a donkey. Some of the women ran to their children, but
the militiamen beat them and pushed them away.
When the loading was completed, we headed out of town. Behind the
horsemen, the soldiers and our donkeys walked the older kids and the women, forced
to carry the very things that we had all been selling not long before.
We rode into darkness, my heart beating wildly, my head filled with questions.
Why did these men do this? Where are they taking me? Were my parents safe?
In the night we passed through a forest, then stopped in an open area. They sat
us kids down and yelled at us in their language. We were full of fear, and everyone
kept quiet, except for two sisters who through their tears said they had seen their father
and mother shot and killed.
A militiaman grabbed the older girl, yelling at her, trying to shake her into
silence. She could not stop crying. He pulled her to the side, put his rifle to her head
and shot her one shot that rang through the forest. And when that noise stopped so
had the girls crying.
Her little sister began crying even harder, but her body twisted and pulsing with
sobs. She was crazy with crying, and our silence made her crying seem louder. One of
the murahaliin struck her leg hard with his sword, cutting it off at the thigh. Blood
squirted all over her. I remember this, but I cannot remember if she stopped crying.
The murahaliin began dividing us between them. One man grabbed me and
pushed me towards his horse. He sat me behind his saddle and wrapped a leather belt
around my waist. I begged him to let me down, let me go home to my parents. But we
just rode away, the silence of the night broken by my sobs.
As the sun came up I noticed the countryside was different. The trees were
small, and the people had lighter skin. I was sure we were now across the border into
northern Sudan, where my father said the Dinka did not live, only the Arabs.
We kept riding until we came to a farm. The murahaliin got off the horse, then
set me on the ground. Three children ran out of the horse, then the mother, all coming

32

up to hug him. The kids approached me, laughing and talking, and I noticed the
younger boy was about my age. Maybe he would be my friend.
They seemed happy and began singing, chanting the same word over and over:
abeed, abeed, abeed. I didnt notice they were carrying sticks until they started beating
me, including the boy I wanted to be my friend. I tried to block the blows, but the sticks
stung my arms as if they had fire on them. Stop, I yelled. Help me! The parents did
nothing but watch. My body buzzed from the blows.
The militiaman finally led me to a small mud shelter and pointed to a blanket on
the ground. I was exhausted and lay down, but I could not fall asleep. I told myself that
my father would want me to stay strong. I kept thinking how my family would be worried
about me, and my father and big brother Buk would come and save me from these
people.
I finally fell asleep.
The sun woke me, and soon the militiaman and his wife arrived, followed by the
children. The kids started singing the abeed song again, pointing at me and laughing.
The man handed me a bowl of food. Even though it was bad, I ate because I was
hungry.
For days I kept expecting someone would arrive and tell me it was all a mistake.
But no one came except the militiaman and his sons. I soon figured out the mans
name was Giemma Abdullah, and his oldest son was Hamid. I could see the family had
goats and sheep, horses and camels and cattle. One morning, when Giemma and
Hamid let the animals out, Giemma handed me a small whip. They herded the animals
towards the forest, and I knew I had to follow. What was not clear to me was that this
was my first day of slavery forced to work for no pay but the garbage from the
familys dinner and an occasional beating from Giemmas cattle whip.
We drove the goats towards the forest. Whenever one strayed from the herd,
Giemma made me chase after it. This, I quickly learned, was my job to keep the
goats from running away. It was not easy running this way and that in the hot sun.
As we walked into the bush, I saw another black boy herding cows among the
trees, and then another. Hamid saw them too and knew what I was thinking. He yelled
at me and shook his head. I could not go near the other boys. Still, I realized I was not
alone. I was sure they were Dinkas.
After a few hours we rounded up the animals and drove them to a nearby river.
There were hundreds of animals drinking, and hundreds more waiting their turn. There
were also more black boys. Hamid signalled I was to stay with the goats and away
from the Dinka boys. But when I did get close to the others, I was shocked to hear
them speaking Arabic.
I answered at least one question: what did abeed mean? Hamid referred to the
other boys as abeed, and I soon learned it meant both black people and slaves.
Every day I went with Hamid to continue my training as a goatherd. One day
Hamid showed up on his horse. He rode into the bush, and I followed on foot. Later, he
rode away. I worried how I would get the animals back to their pens by myself, but then
he returned. This became part of our routine. Hamids job was to spend the day with
me and the animals, but occasionally he would ride away, probably to visit friends. I
never knew when he would leave or return. His freedom taught me that I had none.

33

I was given a wooden-framed bed covered by palm leaves and a single thin
blanket. It was an improvement over sleeping on the ground, but I hated my life and
hated taking care of Giemmas animals. Some mornings I didnt want to go. Giemma
would pull my legs from the blanket. You dont want to get up on your own two legs,
hed say, using gestures to make it clear. Then maybe you dont need two legs. Ill
chop one off for you. Then you can stay here and lie on the ground all you want.
He said this so often I took his words only as a way to scare little boys until
one day when Giemma and I were returning from the grasslands, I spotted a Dinka.
Then I saw one of his legs was missing. What happened to him? I asked.
Giemma smiled at me and said: I told you thats what happens to bad boys. He
tried to escape. They caught him and warned him. Then he tried again and Giemma
shrugged as if to say there was no alternative. I stared at the boy with one leg as
Giemma kept talking: Thats what happens when you disobey.
The routine was the same for several weeks: Hamid and I taking the goats to
pasture, going to the areas where the good grass was, heading to the river for water,
and Hamid watching me run after strays. The days were long, and I dreaded the hot
sun and the chaos at the watering hole. When the sun went down, we would head
back, and I would eat my dinner alone and sleep in the hut next to the goats.
I hated not being able to understand what these people were saying. I had to
learn this language, which seemed a wall of strange sounds that made no sense. I
listened carefully to everything Giemma and his sons said to each other, and as the
days and weeks went by, I began to distinguish certain sounds as words.
I found out that hanim was the word for goats and sahl meant grass. I soon
learned an important word that everyone kept repeating it sounded like hop. Did the
goats hop the grass? Hamid would say he didnt hop working with camels. So hop
meant like or love, and with that knowledge I could tell what Giemma liked and
didnt like. Learning the language became one of my pleasures.
I settled into my job as Hamids assistant. But one day Giemma showed up
alone. Today I would take the goats to pasture without Hamid. I herded the goats out
towards the grasslands. A few wandered out of line, but I shooed them back in. If I lost
any goats I knew Giemma would be furious.
I got the goats to pasture without any problems. I began thinking, maybe it will
be good not to have Hamid always bossing me around. But before I could get used to
that idea, I saw Hamid on his horse at the end of the bush. He had come to check on
me.
At the river I worked hard to make sure none of my goats wandered away, and
as the sun went down I rounded up the animals and headed back. Giemma was not
happy, Some are missing, he said.
I couldnt believe it. I had tried so hard. Giemma counted the goats, then yelled
at me and hit me with his whip. Soon a neighbour arrived leading the two missing
goats.
Giemmas anger had the desired effect. I was scared about losing another goat
that I watched them constantly, never permitting one to stray too far. I got very good at
the job, but the fear that something would go wrong and would earn me a beating
never left me.

34

I had so many questions in my head that one evening I asked Giemma a

question in his language. Why does no one hop me?
He stared at me as if one of his goats had suddenly spoken. And why do you
make sleep with the animals? I asked.
Where did you learn that? Giemma yelled, his face puffed up with anger. He hit
me, then walked away. Two days later he appeared and said, You want to know why
no one loves you and why you must sleep with the animals? Because you are an
animal.
That left me dazed. Bit it explained why he let his kids hit me, why he fed me
garbage, why he left me to sleep in a hut no better than an animal pen. I now knew that
life would never get better for me with these people. That was the moment I began
planning my escape.
Later in the day, with the goats fed and watered, I could rest in the shade and
make my plans. I was learning the language. That would help me find help among
these Arab people. But I also had to learn the area. I decided that each day when I
went out with the animals I would look around, investigate the roads, and remember
where the men rode on horseback checking on their slaves.
For the first few weeks I had cried every day. But I realised my crying did not
bring anyone to help me, so I decided to replace my crying with praying. I didnt know
much about religion, but my parents had told me, God is always with you.
Alone at night sitting in my hut, I remembered my father once said to me, Even
when you are one, you are two.
I prayed to God almost every day: Please help me. I love my parents, and I
want to have a future. I dont want to die.
In Sudan there are two seasons, the rainy one and the dry one. I arrived at
Giemmas in the dry time, in April or May. Then the rains came, occasionally leaking
through the roof of my hut. By February it was dry again, and the grass began to get
scarce.
We are going, Giemma announced one day, explaining that the animals
needed to eat, and the grasslands in our area had been picked clean. Several times a
year I helped the family pack up all their things to take the animals to a cattle camp
where the grass was more plentiful.
As we waited our turn at the watering place in the cattle camp, an Arab boy
greeted Hamid. Next to Hamids friend was a Dinka boy. He smiled at me and said in
Arabic, Peace be with you.
A few days later I saw him again, and this time he was on his own, and so was I.
Are things OK for you? he asked me in Arabic.
My real answer would have taken a day to say. Instead I said in Dinka, Im OK.
He looked around to make sure no one was listening. Then, in Dinka, he asked
me where I was from. I was happy to hear my own language, and it turned out we were
from the same area.
This is a very dangerous place, he said. He told me to do my job, that when
kids complained they got hurt.

35

I told him my master and his kids had already beaten me. He shook his head.
They will really hurt you. He told me a lot of kids had been hurt and even shot trying
to escape. He returned to speaking Arabic. Dont talk to me in Dinka, he warned. It
will get me in trouble. Theyll think were planning to do something wrong.
I assured him I would talk only in their language. I must go and do my work, he
said. Be careful, he repeated and left me alone with my thoughts, which included the
image of the boy I had already seen with the missing leg.
I was well aware of how much worse things could be for me, and I believed that
God was looking after me, just as my parents had promised. They probably would not
have recognised me now, for when I looked into the water where I took the sheep and
goats, an older boy looked back. I was now almost as big as Giemma and taller than
Hamid. I told myself that my parents would be proud of me. I was a good worker and
smart enough to stay out of trouble.
Then Giemma complicated my life again. Tomorrow, you will work with the
cows, he announced.
I protested that they were too big for me to handle. But Giemma had made his
decision, and the next morning we were driving cattle to pasture. The job was not much
different from handling the goats and sheep, except when goats got in a fight you could
tear them apart. But the cattle could tear a grown man apart.
Later, Giemma added the camels to my duties as well. When I complained,
Giemma told me to shut up. You do not want to work, I can shoot you. Or maybe I just
cut off your legs, and you can stay at home.
The days were always the same: in the morning take the cows to eat, stand in
the blazing sun to get water, go back to the grasslands, and then head home as the
sun went down. By my seventh summer, I had learned a lot. I knew there were roads
not far from the grasslands where I had been going for years, and I was now fluent in
my masters language.
I understood that even if I stayed seven more years, my life would not get better.
My body hated the work and the beatings; my mind hated the isolation. Finally I
decided it was time to act. Tomorrow, I announced to myself, I will head out with the
cows as usual, but I will not return.
Before the sun came up I took the cows into the forest. The cattle began
grazing, and I left them there. I ran to nearby road and kept running. After seven years
I had finally done what I had dreamed of doing.
Suddenly, up ahead, I saw some cows and a man on a horse. My stomach
swirled: If he saw me, it was over. I turned around and began moving in the opposite
direction, hoping to make it into the forest. Within seconds, I heard the horse at my
back. Where are you going? the man asked.
My escape had failed.
The man took me to Giemmas house, and when he saw me a look of surprise
crossed his face. The man on the horse explained what had happened.
Giemma grabbed a cattle whip and started beating me. I did not protest. When
he stopped hitting, he warned: If you try this again, youre going to be like those kids
we saw. I will hurt you.

36

The next morning Giemma took the herd to the grasslands himself. The
following morning I told Giemma I would take them. He stared at me.
Do not try to escape, he warned.
I assured him I would not do that again. I headed off with the cows and spent
the day in my usual routine. But when the sun began to go down, instead of herding
the cows back to Giemmas, I headed to the road again. This time I went in the other
direction, staying in the woods, following the road, which I could see through the trees.
About an hour later, I saw a little river where some people were washing up. There
were also some slaves around. I decided I could risk a short rest. Everyone would
assume I was working.
I knelt down, scooping some water to my face. It felt cool. I am on my way, I
said to myself.
But then another feeling took over, one of danger. I turned, and there was
Giemma! He was tying his horse to a cart. Was my mind fooling me? Was it a bad
dream?
But it was no dream. The sight of him was like a punch in the stomach. He saw
me and asked, What are you doing here?
I was just getting a drink. The cows are here.
Where? Giemma looked around, seeing no evidence of his cows.
Not far, I said, lying again.
Lets go get the cows, said Giemma. So we went looking for the cattle. I think
at first Giemma actually believed me he did not think I was crazy enough to try
to escape two days after I had been caught and beaten but we kept walking
and there were no cows. Giemma became upset. You tried to escape again.
I said nothing. I waited for him to hit me, but all he said was, Lets go home.
When we arrived at his place, he cursed me and smacked me several times.
Then he led me into a room and pushed me to the floor. Tonight will be your last! he
shouted, and tied my hands behind me with a piece of rawhide, then my legs.
I sat there, filled with anger about my own stupidity. Soon my hands and feet
began to hurt. No matter how hard I tried to loosen the rawhide, it seemed only to get
tighter. Giemma returned, carrying his cattle whip, and gun. He pointed the gun at me
and said, Tomorrow I will kill you. I wondered if it would hurt as I waited for the bullet.
He lowered the rifle and left the room. I cried with relief, then cried over the fact
that this would be my last night on earth.
I dont remember sleeping that night, only the anger and the fear and the
prayers. It was still dark outside when Giemma returned. I noticed he did not have his
gun. He began untying me and said, If you do this again, I will kill you. I promise.
I said, I will not do it again.
I do not want to kill you. You take good care of my cows.
I sat in my hut hoping that Giemma would not change his mind. I was no longer
thinking of escaping. So much fear had filled me that night.
Giemma would show up, and my heart would race. You will not try again?

37

No, I promised. And I was not lying now. I was not thinking about escaping. To
do so was to be reminded how close I had come to dying.
Three days after my escape attempt, Giemma told me to go back to work. I
realised that Giemma might consider me an animal, but he liked his animals. I would
make sure I was the hardest working animal on the property. My job became lifeline.
I did not lie to Giemma when I told him I would never escape again. But I
eventually realised that, while the pain and fear came and went, the one thing that
never went away was the ache of wanting to leave this place where I was forced to
work and live like an animal. Wasnt living with these people a kind of death?
My new plan was to wait another three years before I tried to escape again. Im
not sure why I picked three years. But I would have to regain Giemmas trust. And also
in three years I would be 17, and I would be stronger, smarter and better prepared to
get away.
So I tried to do the best job I could, and as the months passed Giemma seemed
happy with me. His wife would ask, Why are you keeping him? Why dont you kill
him? And Giemma would answer, He takes care of my cows. He does a good job.
I turned 15 and 16 and then 17. I was taller than Giemma. I could walk and run
for hours. My body was strong and so was my mind. I was sure I had finally become
the man my father dreamed I would be: I was muycharko.
My plan was to leave first thing in the morning and stay out of sight in the forest
until I got to the market town of Mutari. I knew which road to follow. I promised myself
that this time I would not give up. If someone caught me, I
would fight. I refused to live as a slave any longer.
That morning I headed out with the cows as usual. As
soon as they started grazing, I ran as fast as I could for as
long as I could through the woods along the road towards
Mutari. No-one stopped me. I was farther away from
Giemmas than I had been in ten years. I was hot and tired
and dirty, but I felt relief and a kind of excitement.
Before the sun went down I arrived in Mutari. I walked
into town and saw other Dinka with their masters, but noone seemed to suspect that I had escaped from mine. I
allowed myself to enjoy this new feeling of being on my
own. I was free!

http://www.tower.com/escapefrom-slavery-true-story-my-tenyears-edward-tivnanpaperback/wapi/101449218

I decided to go to the police and made my way to a

one-storey mud building. A policeman was sitting at the desk. I need help, I said.
He took me to another man, and I told him I had escaped and wanted to find
some people from the south. He sent me to a waiting area, where I sat for several
hours. Finally another policeman took me to a kitchen area. Clean up, he said.
For the next two months, I worked for the Mutari police as a kitchen boy. They
fed me, and I worked, and I slept in the kitchen. When I finally realised they were not
going to help me, I left the police station on market day and disappeared into the
crowd.
The trucks loaded their goods on the edge of the market area. I hoped one of
them would be my ride out of Mutari. A man named Abdah allowed me to climb in his

38

truck and hide me behind his cargo. He would take me to his hometown, but he warned
me that it was dangerous for me there. He invited me to come home with him. Dont
worry, he said. I want you to be safe.
For two months I lived with Abdah, his wife and two boys. His wife fed me the
same food she prepared for her husband and children. She treated me as if I were a
visiting friend or relative. Abdah and his wife believed that no Muslim had the right to
enslave other human beings.
Abdah asked some friends whether they could get me a ride to the capital,
Khartoum, but no one was willing to take the chance of driving an escaped slave.
Finally Abdah said I must take the bus. I will buy you the ticket.
I arrived in Khartoum late in the afternoon. I met a Dinka in the bus station and
told him I hoped to find someone who could take me to where people from the south
live. Im going there now, he said. Come with me.
My prayers had finally been answered. I was alive, free, and for the first time
since I was a small child, I felt safe.
I went to the refugee camps outside Khartoum, where I looked for my parents. I
had no idea whether they were dead, enslaved, or living in a refugee camp in Kenya or
here in the capital. I told people what had happened to me, how I had been enslaved
for ten years. Before long, two men came to see me. People have told us that you are
saying things against the government, they said and took me to the local police
station.
The government denied that there was slavery in Sudan, and they were not
about to let a 17year-old Dinka boy tell everyone he had been a slave for ten years. I
was arrested and held for seven months. Then I was released. I was never sure why.
But I vowed to do everything I could to escape from the country.
With the help of friends from the south, I got the necessary papers on the black
market. I took a train north, changed to a boat that took me up the Nile across the
Egyptian border, then switched to another train to Cairo.
There I was accepted as a UN-sanctioned refugee, and in August 1999 I was
allowed to go to America. I eventually learned that my parents and two sisters had
been killed, but my older brother Buk survived and, after 13 years, I talked with him by
phone.
TODAY I WORK for the American Anti-Slavery Group (AASG), which speaks
out against slavery in Sudan and throughout the world. (Our website is iAbolish.com).
My job is to tell people how I was kidnapped, beaten, treated like an animal and forced
to work for ten years, until I escaped. And I call on the American people to stand up
and help my people.
Ive spoken to church and school groups, and even testified before the US
Senate. We finally got the Sudan Peace Act passed in Washington. It recognises the
problem of slavery, provides aid for southern Sudan and imposes sanctions on the
government if its determined that Khartoum does not negotiate for peace in good faith.
Someday I hope to return to Sudan, but in the meantime I continue to work with
the AASG and for my people, as well as continue my education. Its hard work, but I
am still in my twenties and have plenty of time and energy. Whenever life gets tough I
think of my father, who told me I would grow up to do important things You are my
muycharko, he said. Twelve men.

39

Readers Digest April 2005

Group Work:
Groups 1 and 2 will come up with an illustrated story depicting the core
message of the selection. Present the outputs before the big group.
Groups 3 and 4 will role play in class the situations which show the main
characters attempts/struggles to escape from the shackles of slavery.
Groups 5 and 6 will present a talk show on the topic How to Eradicate ModernDay Slavery.

Website Link: Extended Activity

The Web offers a wealth of resources. Visit www.iAbolish.org and make a

research to determine the different ways this organization is seeking to solve the
problem of modern-day slavery. Present the gathered information through a slideshow
which will highlight important facts/issues regarding modern-day slavery and how
Africans deal with it.

Across the Curriculum (Integration of governments thrust/program)

Visit these sites http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml

and http://www.gov.ph/2003/12/19/republic-act-no-9231-s-2003/ then, research on
some provisions regarding slavery as stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, Article 4, and provisions regarding child labor as contained in Republic Act No.
9231, Sections 1-6. You research further on the actions taken by the Philippine
government in fighting modern-day slavery or human trafficking. As a group, report
your findings to the class through a slideshow/power point presentation

40

Activity 16: AFRICA: DARKEN NO MORE

Heres another poem that will shed light on the temperaments and psyche
of the Africans in response to the challenges of modernity.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Unlock the meanings of the following words used in the poem below.
plague
hardship
overpower
knavish
weeping
fray
dawn

The Dark Continent

http://images.yourdictionary.com/dark-

continent

'Africa my beginning, Africa my end.

I was born here and I will die here,
Africa you bear my hopes and fears
Poverty, famine, crime and AIDS are words
which plague Mother Africa's name
These demons bring me shame
While people try to make Africa better,
a few let the hardship overpower them
Shame on them
They give up hope and go
about their knavish ways
Even though there's hope on the horizon,
be that as it may
They continue to destroy what little Mother Africa has
Africa is no longer what she was
'Mother Africa is weeping'
Yet a new dawn may be creeping
Mother Africa and her children are beautiful,
they know their place in nature
Even though hardship may corrupt good nature
In the name of ALL that is good,
I hope Africa will rise one day
And we'll stop the suffering before she frays
The words upon a famous poet, I hear
'Africa my beginning, Africa my end.
I was born here and I will die here.'
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-dark-continent

41

Comprehension Questions:
1. Why is the poem entitled The Dark Continent?
2. How would you characterize the speaker?
3. Why does the speaker regard poverty, famine, crime, and AIDS as
demons that bring him/her shame? Do you agree with the speakers train
of thought? Explain.
4. What do the lines In the name of ALL, I hope Africa will rise one day
suggest?
5. What does the poem show about the temperaments and psyche of the
Africans?

"$,/08-&%(.&/54

Philippine K to 12 Education

(DepEd Committee Chairs, Members, and Writers)

Open Educational Resources Community

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