Moru Tribe Education

Information about family education in Southern Sudan, particularly in the Moru tribe. Family education is informal education provided by parents and elder members of the Moru tribe to the young people about the society. Elders play an important role in raising and educating children. The responsibility of educating children in the Moru tribe is divided between the father and the mother. The father usually teaches sons in the family in the social activities, duties and responsibilities carried out by men so that when they grow up they would do the same in the society. He shows and teaches his boys how different types of house work are done, for instance how to build houses and how to cultivate, how to cut down tress and how to make hives for bees to produce honey. The father also lectures to his sons about how to select the best girls to be their future wives. He tells his sons to behave well to bring a good reputation to the family. Fathers want their sons to be close to them, so they are able to check on their sons' status in the community. Education in Moru homes takes place in two important arenas. The first is known as "takudri," which is a fireplace for male members of the family where fathers, uncles, and sons gather and sit at dusk. "Takudri" is a fireplace where firewood is brought and fire is lit for the fathers and sons to sit around. It is an important place in Moru houses because it is around the fireplace of "takudri" where fire chat takes place. It is important for the young men to sit with fathers and elderly members of the family around the fireplace to listen to the fire chat and to discussions by elder members of the family. This is where most of family education takes place. Usually these kinds of informal fire chats by elderly people in Moru tribe are considered as best method of family education because they cover many topics.

The second most important place for receiving family education for daughters in Moru tribe is known as "Katidri." Katidri is another fireplace in Moru homes, where firewood is brought and fire lit for cooking food for the members of the family. In Moru tribe the mothers and daughters cook food for the family and the mothers lecture their daughters about women's activities in the society. The mother is responsible to show to her daughters the different kinds of housework such as cooking, gathering crops from the farm, weeding and grinding durra. Mothers are entrusted with the responsibility of bringing up girls in the best possible way. The mothers usually lecture in the evening at around dusk until nine o'clock at night. Men and women eat separately.

In Moru tradition, men and women usually do not eat in one place, because the manner in which the men eat is different than the manner in which women eat. Newly married wives are not permitted to see the mouths of their fathers- in law while eating; it is a kind of respect to their fathers in -law. Newly married men are not allowed to eat in front of the mother in-laws as this is considered rutde. Mothers inform their daughters to be careful when they reach puberty when they start to experience physical changes. The daughters are also advised by their mothers to select the best young men who are hard workers and are well known for cultivating large areas of land, having a good number of hives and are good hunters and whose homes are full of food. The mothers tell their daughters to base their choice of husband not on physical appearance but on the qualities mentioned above because a young men may be handsome but a lazy man in useless. Mothers advise the daughters to obey their husbands and their in-laws and to keep themselves to their husbands and to try to promote love for their husbands because by doing so, they will continue to live with their husbands in peace and harmony without any problems. Family education is essential for young people because it allows them to conduct themselves well in their own society.

Nowadays, there are Moru people who have lived outside the Moru tribe or outside the Sudan for a number of years. Their children do not have any knowledge about Moru traditional practices and Moru family education. It is now difficult for them to fit into Moru community because they have not familiarized themselves with Moru practices. So it is absolutely important to be familiar with traditional practices. It is necessary for parents to give their sons and daughters both types of education, formal education through schooling and informal education or family education because both of them help build a good society.