Hook up, to hook some one up. In urban terms or at least in Cleveland Hook up is a term you use when it is a need for you to talk to a girl and you ask your friend or maybe even your sister to talk to the person you like and set up a time you all can talk or a date so you both can get to know each other maybe become boyfriend and girlfriend. As we get older in the States we tend to frown upon the thought and terms of hook up. The women look down upon it and look at the men as if they are weak or too shy to talk to them for themselves. Therefore this causes the men to not even fathom the idea of hook up, but only left to talk bravely to them their selves or don’t talk at all. This why we States dwellers have talks of I’m kicking game, spitting game, and take pride in the thought that way are brave enough to talk to girls and they respond well to our character. This is all in the States.

 

But on Dinka planet I have come to find out the term hook up is widely use and practice here even as adults men and women. If a Dinka man likes a women and goes to talk to her straight, she will become very shy and not talk to him completely even running into the bush and hiding. So here on Dinka planet they use the hook up method to communicate even when it is established that the boy and girl are a couple. This leads me to my best friend Peter Maluwal.

 

One day: as we are in the cattle camps trying to plant seeds for Christ, on our free time as we are roaming around the camp Peter says to me “O what shall I do I need to talk to my girl but who will talk to her for me?” You see the hook up method is used in relationship not just to get to the relationship. On Dinka planet if you are truly a good friend of that person you are the one who is to talk to the girl for him. So I say “Ok Peter yeah I could try and talk to her.” This will be hard and awkward in Dinka terms because first, I don’t speak Dinka fluently so that means Peter will have to be there translating for us both, second at this time Peter is not suppose to be there so she won’t be shy and I can ask questions about him. But we are left work with what we have so I am the one. Mind you this is not my first time at playing the Dinka hook up method with Peter, so I have some experience.

 

It is night time and the team I are sitting around the tent just finishing our bowls of Raman. Peter says “Ok Mabor(me) will you come with me to visit Amat. I said sure and I also invited Justin Culp as well for reinforcements.

You see basically when it comes to playing hook up, you have to be a good time and entertainment of a conversation for the girls. Just like in the States except so much more is at stake here!

 

When I play the hook up man for my best friend Peter who I love and care about his future, I have Peter and Amat’s relationship in my hands, all depending on me rather they will get married or not. And marriage is very important for a Dinka man, and it is very hard! They can’t just fall in love and say lets get married like us State dwellers, no. They have to play the hook up game through the whole relationship and talk with the family to make sure they like him and then they have to save cows. This takes so long to get close to marriage, because a marriage on Dinka planet takes months.

So here I am, me and Justin talking for Peter. I really take this as a great honor! Peter told me “If I don’t get some one to talk to my girl then I don’t get married.” So I take this with great seriousness.

 

We sit down in the middle of cows and we are served milk. Then we wait. We wait for about an hour and half until Amat’s work is finally done, then her and her friends gather to talk to us. I had me and Justin make a list of what we could talk about so we won’t lose the interest. So we began and Peter translates are conversations and all is going well but then we reach the end are list fast! So then silence hits and Peter says “Ok keep going..” Ummm….ummmm Justin you have anything more to talk about man? Ummm… O Ok.

So Justin starts talking again and keeps the convo going. I think of more as he is talking. The girls laugh and it seems they are just happy to be talking to Kawagas. Which is a good thing for Peter I think.

 We talk late into the night and we all get tired and decide to end the night. As we walk back to our tent Justin and I are anxious to hear how we did on the Hook up game. We both ask

Peter how we did and to my surprise it was very nonchalant response from him, more of a “you did OK”. I really feel bad because I am Peters friend the one to do this hook up but I will always have the language blocking me. But Peter says “any talk is good now, it is OK, you know, No cultivate No crops.” What? I said. Peter replies “No cultivate No crops, if you don’t cultivate you get no crops, if you don’t talk you get no marriage.” That mad me feel better, any talk is good and I think they enjoyed themselves, but I think it is so funny, because I feel like I am back in elementary school again trying to hook up my friend with a girl. Funny!

 

We get back to the tents and we zip up to call it a night and Justin starts talking about how he was never good at that himself and can’t believe he is Africa now being used to do hook ups, and he can’t get a girl himself he says. Then he picks his head through our tent and says No cultivate, No crops! Me and Peter burst into laughter so loud! We laugh and laugh!

That’s the hook up in Dinka land, No cultivate, No crops!

LOL!