A Yorùbá Wedding Song, sung by the bride at the climax of the wedding ceremony, as she leaves her father’s house for her new husband’s, and setting out an ideal vision of her future life.
I loosen my head tie and bow down,
I shall be leaving now…
A Widow’s Lament
An Igbo lament from eastern Nigeria, listing six very pragmatic reasons for mourning a dead husband.
Six times the widow recalls her husband’s death.
When the yam-planting season sets in early…
The Homestead of Death’s Mother
An Acoli death-defying dirge from Uganda, sung by relatives of the deceased as they arrive for the Guru Lyel ceremony. See also the poems Close to Her Husband and If Death were not there.
Fire rages at Latima, oh,
Fire rages in the valley of River Cumu…
The Small Bird
An Igbo fireside song from eastern Nigeria. The first half of the poem describes an act of kindness to a small bird. The second half describes a reverence for life which is its own reward. We are not sure what the chorus “Ngalama” refers to, if any Igbo readers could enlighten us please get in touch.
I was working quietly in my own farm
Ngalama…
The Broken String
A San lament from South Africa, sung by Xaa-ttin for the death of his friend the magician and rain maker Nuin-kui-ten. The halting rhythms of the English translation, and the image of the bow string which no longer vibrates, are perfectly expressive of grief. The song was originally recorded in the 1870s.
They were the people, those who
broke the string for me…
Think Carefully of this Path
A ChiSena funeral song from southern Malawi on the theme of equality in death, for rich and poor, black and white.
This path, yes, this path, yes,
think carefully of this path, o‑ye…
