Kite and Falcon were once great friends. They got married during the same period and their wives conceived and gave birth on the same day. Falcon’s baby was very beautiful and healthy. Kite’s on the other hand, was frail and ugly.
The babies’ looks soon became a thorn in the friendship of the two birds. Kite got envious every time he visited and saw Falcon’s baby.
One day, Kite sneaked into his Falcon’s home and stole the baby. When Falcon got home from hunting and his wife from the stream, they found Kite’s ugly baby instead, asleep in their house.
Will the chief cut the child in two or find the rightful parent?
Falcon set off, pursuing Kite. He came across a group of men clearing a farm and asked if they’d seen Kite with a beautiful baby.
He sang:
Farmers, farmers, farmers tilo
Have you seen Kite, tilo?
What did he do, tilo?
He snatched my baby, tilo.
He left his ugly one behind, tilo.
I hit it on the ground but it won’t die, tilo.
I hit it again, it wouldn’t die.
The stupid, stupid, stupid baby won’t die
Its head is shaky shaky but it won’t die.
The farmers repeatedly said that they hadn’t seen Kite. Falcon continued with his pursuit and came across women weeding their millet and he asked them for help. They too had no clue about Kite’s whereabouts. Falcon then walked into an arena where people were dancing. The dancers paused when they heard him sing:
Dancers, dancers, dancers, tilo
Have you seen Kite, tilo?
What did he do, tilo?
He snatched my baby, tilo.
He left his ugly one behind, tilo.
I hit it on the ground but it won’t die, tilo.
I hit it again, it wouldn’t die.
The stupid, stupid, stupid baby won’t die
Its head is shaky shaky, it won’t die.
After getting another disappointing answer, Falcon continued on his journey until he arrived at the chief’s palace. He presented his grievance to the chief and a meeting was called. The chief gave each of the birds three pots with one challenge.
“Cry until your tears fill all the pots.”
Falcon went first:
Farmers, farmers, farmers, tilo
Have you seen Kite, tilo?
What did he do, tilo?
He snatched my baby, tilo.
He left his ugly one behind, tilo.
I hit it on the ground but it won’t die, tilo.
I hit it again, it wouldn’t die.
The stupid, stupid, stupid baby won’t die
Its head is shaky shaky, it won’t die.
His tears filled one pot. He stopped and gave way for Kite. He sang while crying:
Kok kok kiliro kok
Kok kok kiliro kok
Kok kok kiliro kok
No single tear dropped in the first pot. Falcon took over again and sang. His tears filled the second pot. When Kite stepped in front of the second pot, he even cried louder but no tear drop left his eyes.
In the end, there were three pots filled with Falcon’s tears. The chief declared that the beautiful baby belonged to Falcon.
“Only a true parent can shed tears for their lost child,” the ruled.
From that day, Kite and Falcon became sworn enemies.
*****
NOTE: The Ododo Series is a project launched in April 2020 to translate, document and share Acoli folktales in English. These folktales were narrated to children by (grand) mothers in a fireplace setting in homesteads of the Acoli of Northern Uganda and elsewhere. Care has been taken to stick to the story-line as originally told in the Acoli language, but small variations are inevitable.
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Edited by Caroline Ayugi
Journeys Within 