An Acoli poem from Uganda, taunting the person foolish enough to try to block the speakers path. The poem was collected and translated by the famous Ugandan poet Okot p’Bitek.
Coward, crawl back into your mother’s womb!
We are sons of the brave
The Grandsons of Makomo
A song of a Shona clan from Zimbabwe, boasting of the invincibility of their ancestors as a warning to other rival clans. The ‘Sons of Chihuri’ say that their enemy has taken on more than he bargained for.
We, the grandsons of Makomo,
are not treated like that!
No one in this country plays with us…
Alajire, God of Suffering
Ulli Beier describes Alajire as a manifestation of the Òrìṣà, Ṣọ̀pọ̀na, who is more commonly known as Ọbalúayé or Babalú-Ayé. This Òrìṣà is associated with suffering and diseases such as smallpox, leprosy and AIDS.
Alajire, we ask you to be patient,
you are very quick-tempered
Oshun, the River Goddess
Oshun, or Ọ̀ṣun in Yorùbá, is an Òrìṣà goddess associated with rivers and the marketplace. Medicines for fertility, wealth, love and intimacy are often attributed to her.
Brass and parrot feathers
on a velvet skin.
Obatala, the Creator
In the pantheistic religion of the Yorùbá people there exists a supreme God, Olodumare, who is considered almighty and eternal. However, no prayers or shrines are kept for Olodumare because the nature of such a being is regarded as beyond human comprehension. Olodumare creates various Orisha, who are manifestations of certain aspects of the supreme God and with whom humans can interact.
He is patient.
He is silent.
Three Women
This Shona Praise-Poem from Zimbabwe praises two women, the speaker’s mother-in-law and his wife, and criticises a third woman, his friend’s wife, for her laziness and unattractiveness. It belongs to the context of a beer party at which two friends, joined in the special joking relationship of ushamwari, are having a mock argument, each trying to outdo the other in eloquence.
The mother of my wife has guardian spirits like to mine.
On seeing me, she will give me her whole barn.