Salva was well aware of how lucky he was to be able to go to school.
He could not attend the entire year, because during the dry season his
family moved away from their village. But during the rainy season, he
could walk to the school, which was only half an hour from his home.
Salva's father was a successful man. He owned many head of cattle and
worked as their village's judge—an honored, respected position. Salva had
three brothers and two sisters. As each boy reached the age of about ten
years, he was sent off to school. Salva's older brothers, Ariik and Ring, had
gone to school before him; last year, it had been Salva's turn. His two
sisters, A kit and Agnath, did not go to school. Like the other girls in the
village, they stayed home and learned from their mother how to keep
house.
Most of the time, Salva was glad to be able to go to school. But some
days he wished he were still back at home herding cattle.
He and his brothers, along with the sons of his father's other wives,
would walk with the herds to the water holes, where there was good
grazing. Their responsibilities depended on how old they were. Salva's
younger brother, Kuol, was taking care of just one cow; like his brothers
before him, he would be in charge of more cows every year. Before Salva
had begun going to school, he had helped look after the entire herd, and
his younger brother as well.
The boys had to keep an eye on the cows, but the cows did not really
need much care. That left plenty of time to play.
Salva and the other boys made cows out of clay. The more cows you
made, the richer you were. But they had to be fine, healthy animals. It
took time to make a lump of clay look like a good cow. The boys would
challenge each other to see who could make the most and best cows.
