This week I reproduce a Sudanese folktale from the collection Wisdom from The Nile (Ahmed al-Shahi and F.C.T. Moore, Oxford Library of African Literature, 1978)
The tale, from the Shaiqiya, is entitled Jiraida and is sly and gently subversive, as a woman’s sleight of hand leads to both danger and fortune.
“Jiraida” is a diminutive of grasshopper in Sudanese Arabic.
The central social role of the hairdresser or traditional hair plaiter in Sudan is explored in:
Hair Braiding in Northern Sudan
Learn more about our life changing educational work in
Scenes from Our Orphans’ Schooling Programme
See too Community Literacy, Latest News and At a Glance
Below, a literacy and numeracy game at one of our literacy circles, held before the pandemic.
Women's literacy in Sudan 