Oral Poetry from Africa
An Acoli girl’s love song from northern Uganda, collected and translated by the famous Ugandan poet Okot p’Bitek, author of Song of Lawino. It would be sung during the ortak or courtship dance.
Where has my love blown his horn?
The tune of his horn is well known…
An Acoli prayer from Uganda. We hear the words of a hunter perparing for the hunt and praying that his spear will be adequate.
The spear with the hard point,
Let it split the granite rock…
An Acoli poem from Uganda, describing the process of cataracts gradually clouding the eyes of a teacher, eventually resulting in blindness.
His eyes died long ago,
You can see clouds in them…
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…
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
An Acoli prayer from Uganda. It is addressed to the ancestors who are offered as sacrifice a goat, a chicken and some beer. The prayer is for good health, for protection from disease and warfare, and for good crops and many children. It is led by an elder, and the people respond in chorus at the end
The ancestors have spoken today:
Bring forth a brown billy goat,
