In Abyei, there is an old custom that, once a family’s first daughter is married, her mother cannot eat at her new house until a bull has been slaughtered. The slaughtering of the bull signifies that the new husband has finished paying the dowry.
In reality, Mawein Mading, an elder living in Agok told Internews’ Abyei Today that tradition – known as “deeak” in Dinka – means many mothers can go years or even die without eating in their daughter’s home.
If the cattle were slaughtered earlier, some residents argue, it means mothers would not have to wait to eat with their daughters. Atong Goj Dheal’s family has not yet received its full dowry – but she wants her husband to go ahead and kill the bull anyway.
But a cattle herder in the area, Malual Kragy, said if the bull is slaughtered before the dowry is paid in full, it will make it harder to get the rest of the money.