July 2, 1972-1A Pokwo Church

Anuak Project

Recording #1A

Place of Recording: Pokwo

Date of Recording: July 2, 1972

Informant: Agwa Alemo

1. Odolla Beat. Used to call the people or beaten when the chief goes away. The pattern is used when the chief is walking.

2.-7. Foreign songs. Odolla beat is used. One drummer only. People are coming to the service during this time. Odolla is calling the people.

8.144. Obero.

Information: (or Achenya) An older song using 3 drums but only 2 men. One who plays the big drum is hitting the medium and big drum together. This is a sequence of Oberos.

Text: When Jesus takes our spirit, he will make another person. When Jesus the Son of God takes our spirit, he will make another person. Praise Jesus the Son of God in your heart. Praise him truly. To get a new life, believe Jesus in your heart who is the Son of God. Believe him truly to get new life. We are poor, Jesus Christ. Help us help us. Sins make us poor. Save us, save us. We would praise Jesus to give us new spirit. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. He was sent by God who is the son of Mary to fulfill what was said by God.

9.166 Obero.

Text: God, you are the greatest who watches us in the earth. No person creates all things in the world. Sometime in the future Satan will be chased away. When our great God went, then the devil, the snake came and cheated the man with his wife and they could not get anything after that. Repeats.

10.175 Obero.

Text: Jesus the son of God, we are begging for the Spirit. Savior, give us Jesus to put us in one group. He doesn’t lose one of his sheep. When we refuse to believe in the gods of the earth, we were hoping for our Father who looks on us every day. Jesus, this world is yours. Give us true prayer and when we refuse to pray to untrue gods we were hoping for our Savior. He will come one day to forgive us and he unites us and forgives our sins. We don’t have power to forgive our sins, he forgives our sins. If we don’t believe in him where will we get a new belief. He unites us and forgives our sins.

11.199 Obero.

Text: God we are asking or begging Jesus who is going to come in the future. He will come and chase away our sins and give us new life which doesn’t end. We will pray God to give us health we will pray in the morning during Christmas time to our Father who is in heaven. He is the man who died who is the Savior and he was resurrected after 3 days. Those who believe in Jesus will get new life. Those who sin when they walk in the forest for a long journey they will still praise Jesus. Leave the gods of earth. Those who believe in them will have no place in the reverence of God.

12.220 Obero.

Text: Oh, the Son of God, we are believing in you who show the way of life in the earth. The Savior will come to separate out and take those who believe in him. Jesus died on a cross and he is in heaven. We are praying to him. There is no death in heaven. All people are to forsake sin and those who pray strongly to God will be given new life. When Jesus died on the cross he was told by his father to show himself in the earth. He died for the sins of the earth. He was not included in the sins but died for the sins of the people. We will pray in the name of Jesus who is the son of God and when we pray, Jesus is with us. Those whop praise Jesus will realize that Jesus died for our sins. We are to leave the sins.

13.236 Obero.

Text: All people pray for what you have done, the mistakes you have done. Jesus the Son of God you are the chief of the heaven who is the Savior. Satan is the robber or the thief who doesn’t have a place in heaven. When the small drum and the trumpet are played we will know that our God will be coming to the earth. Our Son of God will never ask for something to be eaten. He had been in heaven for a long time and we hope he would come. Help our preacher to read the Bible. We are standing in the dark. Give us light to live in. Satan is the thief. When he is going for a journey he will be given a chicken recently. (When he is in a person he will be given a chicken recently). Pain and something to be eaten are not able to be put together. Let’s go to Heaven because the meeting hall has a very nice story. People pray to God. The meeting hall has a good story.

14.260 Obero.

Information: Mary’s song. Obero sometimes has two meanings: one meaning is all people and another a sympathetic person.

Text: A sympathetic person who is the son of God and he is the precious treasure in heaven. He is the chief of all things. I’m begging him still. God who blesses lives on the border of the people and he unites all villages in the name of Jesus whose name is being taught in the earth. When Jesus carried the cross, He carried the cross for our sins and Jesus who is the father and mother at the same time. I’m still begging you Father, Jesus who is mother and father, I’m still begging you…. (repeats)

15.284 Agwaga.

Text: God who is the greatest father, I’m begging you to send your spirit upon me (or upon us). I’m calling in the name of your son Jesus Christ. Our father Jesus Christ raised from the dead and he went to heaven to God. He will be coming to earth. The things which was said by Jesus were written in the Bible. Those who change themselves (who believe) will be born again. When Jesus comes, the trumpets will be blown and the heaven will open itself. The Angels of God will come upon us.

16.298 Agwaga.

Explanation: Takes Jesus as best friend (Lingi) A best friend in the Anuak culture is one who when one dies, or is about to die, will act in behalf of the person who has died. He will speak for that person. For example, “I am Agwa Alemo, you have inherited such and such. I have borrowed demoui or money from this person, you collect it from that person.” (He acts in his stead).

Text: When God went to heaven, Jesus took the place of God. He is God but is speaking for God. When will the representative (Lingi) who is the son of God come. He will come one day in the future because he is in heaven. He was killed on the cross. He died for our sin to give us good condition. Those who are preaching in the village they are preaching in his name according to what was written in the Bible. Let us take the way of God because it is very large to contain a group of people. His blood was given for our sins. All people must believe in him. And believe God who owns all things. He will come as a poor boy in the earth to save all people. And to chase away the gods of the earth. Let’s believe before he comes. When he comes there will be no time to believe. Those who ae believing in Jesus get new life and those who are making sins die. (When Jesus comes people, who believe in him go with him, those who do not die.) Jesus was sent by God to give us new life in heaven. Help us father.

17.331 Agwaga.

Information: When a person is affected by fever or malaria, a false doctor will come with a gourd which contains something with marbles in it and shake this gourd to let the disease or the god who curses come out of the body of the sick person.

Text: All people, when will our God come to give us the way of life. A precious treasure will come one day to open the eyes of blind men and he will come as a head of all people. He’s the father who was sent by God. Our sins have been forgiven by God. Jesus Christ help us because we are walking in sin and painful things. When he comes I will be praying more to him because I will be with him because I was prepared. She is informing the people who are still in sins saying believe in Jesus Christ you who are still making sins Informing all of these people to believe in Christ)

18.354 Agwaga.

Text; God is the only father who unites all people into his own way. Our God has a long hand who is appreciated by all people. In the next morning our God will send people to preach in his name.

19.365 Agwaga.

Text: All people don’t agitate. Beg Jesus Christ who is our father. Those who don’t believe in Satan, their spirit will be taken to heaven. Let’s believe before he comes. God we are begging the spirit from you because we are in sins. Save us or help us.

20.370 Agwaga.

Information: by Otheti.

Text; God who blesses why don’t you clear away the sins so we can be clean (or be good). We are begging God to give us new teaching. Jesus who is the Son of God who has all things in his hand. Any person who believes in Satan will be destroyed. Th snake who cheats us to eat the fruit and he is not supposed to make beer for him. When the drum is beaten while we are praying we are praising God who is the teacher who gives us belief or faith. All people must believe in him strongly. The devil is teasing those who re making beer for him. Refuse to believe the gods of the earth because you will be suffering in the fire and painful death. (Repeats) The savior who is the father is in heaven. I will like to beg him when he comes he will forgive my sins.

21,394 Agwaga.

Text: All people when will our God come to forgive our sins. (Two words in Anuak for forgive: Chase away our sins.) Father knows our sins or our poorness. Because we remain fidgety after you left. Our father will be given by God to come to us and Jesus the Son of God when I see him in heaven, he seems as he is going to come to help us. The devil is the thief who is thinking of fighting and quarreling. He will destroy the love between two friends. Jesus unites us in the meeting place or in the church the only one house which is built by God in the earth. He died for our sins. Because, he as one key for that house. For our spirit. All people we are praising God to help us. Help us our poorness the Son of God who gives himself. (but without sin). Repeats. When you confuse yourself to believe in Satan you will be put in the fire with his people together.

22.429 Agwaga

Information: Written by Mary (Mary’s Bead shop)

Text: All people we are called by God in the name of Jesus. We are called in the name of the Son of God who is the precious treasure to us. Which all villages live on him. Jesus the Son of God forgives my sins. Help us father. Jesus lives in heaven on a chair. (A Thone only for the king). Jesus who is the father of the earth. All villages stand or live on him.

23.456

Information: This song is from Gilo.

Text: God who is the father come to us and unite us into one body. He protects his village from Satan. Come to us to forgive our sins. Believe before our chief comes. What Jesus said was about to leave the way of drinking. We received a letter which was about the way of life. This is the new Word of God. Girls and boys come to accept it. Our God is more interested in the way of life and we believe in him to forgive our sins. (Repeats)

24.476 Agwaga

Information: By Mary – same as 22 429

25.488 Agwaga

Information: This song is by Mary

Text; All people we are called by God in the name of Jesus. The blood of Jesus was great which unites all tribes. Why don’t you leave Satan and believe our father who is the Son of God? Jesus is above all chiefs which all villages stand or live upon him in heaven. (Repeats)

26.511 Agwaga

Information: This song is by Mary

Text: When I compare the blood of Jesus who is the Son of God. Believe in him who gave himself and he is the father of the earth. Jesus, father who is the head of all in heaven. He is the Savior who taught all people and helps them. He helped the people in the name of the spirit. After 3 days he was raised by his father and the angels of heaven came to take him.

27.522 Agwaga

Information: This song is by Mary

Text: Believe in Jesus before he comes. The blood of Jesus is great. Father protect your village which is in heaven.

28.530 Doxology.

Field Notes - First Impressions

After pleasant nights sleep up at 7:20 – a soft rain falls. Breakfast with Preston’s and then to Anuak service at 9:00. We entered a round screened-in stone and brick building. It’s grass roof is supported by tree trunks and branches – At the front a cement permanent pulpit with Scripture verses in Amharic and English script in Anuak. The people slowly came after the service started until most of the church was full. We sat on the dirt floor – women and children in the center and men around outside along the circular wall. Families do not sit together.

Missionary Niles Reimer began by singing one phrase of a hymn which was entered into by congregation in a form of call and response. The first songs were of slower nature without drum. Then one drum very routinely played to accompany Niles and congregation. After scripture, Niles sat down on the floor and an Anuak gentleman led singing. A drummer then played the larger and smaller drums in combination with a second drummer who kept an even beat. The lead drummer used one stick and hand, the secondary drummer only sticks. They were soon joined by another secondary drummer. It seemed that the function of secondary drummers was to keep a strong consistent beat. The other played on the off beats on the smaller drums. The principle drummer played on the larger drum who also played highly complex and improvised patterns using hand and stick or hand separately or stick on rim of drum.

The drummers traded off so that the principal drummer sat down and another took his place. He made extensive use of elbows of either arm with downward thrusting motions on the center of the head which gave a contrasting higher pitched accented sound adding to the sound of the stick and hand. Again, the drumming accompanying the congregational singing was rhythmic, complex, dynamic, ever changing, highly complex. Generally, we heard an increase in complexity and power from one song to the next and within the song.

A set of bells on a stick were also used being played on even beats. Gentle hand clapping also accompanied the singing. Everyone sang and obviously enjoyed themselves.

Songs were generally call and response with much overlapping and quite a degree of complexity. They have considerable length and seem to be pentatonic.

After the service, we walked to a very neat relatively new village of people whose homes flood yearly by the river and so have moved somewhat inland. The compounds are swept clean with round huts and not much underneath. All family compounds have corn crib storage. The chief has the largest area and seems to be respected and treated with deference. This town probably is Tierlul.

Then we walked down river for a brief way to Pokwomo. Hardly as nicely kept up. An older established yet compound quite well taken care of.

Villages here, not like the Amhara family unit walled off and separated from others. All cattle kept in a general area though owned individually.

Husbands may have more than one wife if they can afford it. Marriage beads are expensive. $100. Of old and of rare quality, kept in tribe for a long time. Marriage spears : female $90.; male $120. Also, expensive and not to be imitated because a curse is placed on any such duplication.

Dinner at Templin’s: Afternoon: discussion until 4:30 on how to prepare for summer here. With Mrs. Templin. Very worthwhile. Worship service at 4:30 with a study of Hebrews 1:1-3.

Supper at Reimers:

Discussed drums. Very skilled for large drums and less so for 2 others. No particular status given to the drummer in the community except that he would be invited to participate in various celebrations and therefore be in place of prominence. Drums have no gender ascribed to it though the names of the drums might be of interest. No particular ceremony at the making of a drum.

Language; Complexity: many words are given to things that have importance to a tribe Nuers each cow has a name and much is said within the name. Anuak: Descriptive words about beads describe color shape purpose, etc. Many words to describe beads. Anuak so called primitive tribe may have very complex relationships and a very highly developed and complex language.

Prayer Meeting: About 14 plus missionaries. After reading scripture, then into 2 groups circles for prayer. Person on the left prayed for the person on the right. Who mentioned a specific request for prayer. A moving experience.