THE LUO DREAMERS' ODYSSEY

Six hundred years ago in the Sudan, Ajwang’s black ancestors were nomadic people needling the Nile, inching incrementally southward ahead of the encroachment of the Sahara against their livestock. Their flight south would be hastened by a new threat in a new religion, and complicated by internal family conflicts.Leading and guiding the flight south were men, who rose to the occasion and acted when the challenges of their times demanded courage, and challenged personal honor, common wisdom and established tradition. The mention of their names sent shivers down the spines of fellow men. Each would etch an indelible mark on their time, and leave permanent footprints for fellow men to follow.Leading in the odyssey out of the old Sudan was a dreamer, a nomad, a man of the wild, a man of rare wisdom named Ajwang’ or Ramogi. Ramogi (the wrestler) was a man guided by his dreams, a man of courage, who never blinked at danger, and the father of all Luo nations, from Sudan to Tanzania.Hassan Ajwang’ would live the dreams of his famous Luo ancestor. Though Hassan Ajwang’ was born to meager resources, he would be schooled in the Athenian Tradition, would volunteer in the service of the poor, but now mingles and dines with the rich of his time; a man for the times, who wields Spartan Power in his hands and debates doubters at the Citadel. His Luo people call him The Ajwang’. In their minds, he is the promise in their long and storied journey that dates back six centuries. They see in him their rendezvous with destiny, and a prophecy fulfilled, and not just a historical accident.There was a dream, and many dreamers.

JR Alila in “THE LUO DREAMERS ODYSSEY (A Novel), Coming June 2009