In South Sudan, seasons bring distinct ways of life. The difference between summer and winter, daylight and dark, can mean the difference between life and death. Children learn from a young age to be aware of their surroundings and the creatures that live — and lurk — alongside them. In this episode, Agum Maluach guides us through the daily routines, seasons and songs, of her childhood village; from bedtime stories, to night-time encounters with predators that are felt, but seldom seen.

Agum lives in Melbourne now, so telling this story was part-recollection. But it was also part-recognition that those years running barefoot under the big moon still move in her — they are still part of her, even as the songs slip from memory; even as the village, and Agum herself, are irretrievably changed.

‘The Lion’ asks if telling our stories can help us recover some part of who we are? And what happens when a small thing we thought was lost to time is returned to us through another’s scratchy memory?

The Lion was produced by Agum Maluach with Jaye Kranz at the Artful Dodgers Studios in Melbourne, Australia.
Braided is hosted by Agum Maluach and Aaron B.

For more information on this episode, visit braidedpodcast.com.

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