An Acoli prayer from Uganda. We hear the hunter praying that his spear will be adequate for the upcoming hunt.
The spear with the hard point,
Let it split the granite rock:
The spear that I trust,
Let it split the granite rock:
The hunter has slept in the wilderness,
I am dying, oh:
The spear that I trust,
Let it split the granite rock:
The spear with the sharp point,
Let it crack the granite rock:
The hunter’s spear is sharp,
I am dying, oh:
The spear that I trust,
Let it split the granite rock.
from Oral Poetry from Africa 1984
compiled by Jack Mapanje and Landeg White,
Longman