Love Songs July 19, 1972 - 19A Pokwo

Recording #19A

Place of Recording: Pokwo

Date of Recording: July 19, 1972

Performance: Various individuals

Informant: Paul Abulla and Henry Akway

Date of Transcript: September 25, 1972

1 000 Dancing song.

Information: Girls and boys from Illea

Text: Asking God, what have I done? He swears in the name of the Chief. In the name of the summer season. Why backbiting. What have I done, to the sons of the chief? Why am I not given something? I’m unlucky to the last. Asking the chief if have made a mistake, why don’t you tell me. Now, praised somebody, why don’t you help me. Praised somebody, he has become like a brother, praised that person, work hard you will get something. An orphan works for himself and no one will help you. Praised other people, a girl, the wife of the man he has said first. I’m tired of being asked, what you known before. We are sure that that man is a poor man. He has been going with a lady. She is under pressure; the singer has nothing. He assures her through the song. Put a sound in the singing, the grandson of Nigwo. This is your village. Now praised that man as his father. Who is going to compete with you in this village?

2 030 Love song.

Information: Girls with can accompaniment.

Text: Why don’t you tell me, why don’t you tell me…love? I have found certain one better than you. Or more handsome than you. Repetition (found many times) this time not sung from the beginning.

3 051 Love song.

Text: He looks like a prince, but I didn’t know he was poor. He looks like a prince and he confused me. I thought he was richer.

4 055 Love Song.

Information: Two girls with can drum.

Text Song of two people. Sing praising her, she sings praising you. She praises; I have become very angry what shall I do. Repetition.

5 067 Love Song.

Information: Two girls with drum.

Text: I have become very angry and the angriness has made me poor what could I do. Repeats.

6 079 Love song.

Information: A girl singer, high voice.

Text: How is it really, what could I do, I better go from this place. To forest or foreign land far away. I’m real troubled I better go. Mentions the name of someone.

7 104 Love song.

Information: One girl singer with drum accompaniment. (can)

Text: Very happy. She’s praising. Love song.

8 119 Love song.

Information: Sung by Opti on previous recording. With thom. Ogol, this girl must be the daughter of a king.

Text: My trip is very near. I’m going to reach you in summer. Repeats. Poverty, poverty, poverty…

9 135 Obero.

Information: Mary’s song.

Text: You washed our sins away. Our father the son of God, when he comes in the future, convert yourself before He comes or else no help. Convert yourselves before he comes. When he comes, he will catch people up? Repeats.

10 154 Obero.

Information: Girls singing. The whole song is praising the chief through his titles, grandfathers, and other relatives’ titles.

Text: Telling everybody that at the time of the trumpet sound, it was for the gathering of the people of Pokwomo. By the chief. Praising the chief. When will I become rich? What I have been talking about. How far will it be? (inner voice) Still praising the chief. Saying, when the big rifle sounds, all the villages were shocked along the river. (were shocked?) The revenge will never be successful. Because what the good things done to those people. These people have they thanked him, the revenge will not be successful. Talking about the chief and praising him, and the people near him. Praised someone, you have mean spear. A demoui, whatever people have been talking about must never dissolve. You near the chief, try to contact the chief and tell the chief about my poorness, our village has been destroyed by Gallas. People are not united. At the time, long time ago before the Gallas the village was very strong and united. Praising the chief saying that you are going to live long. Through the voice of everyone all the Anuaks, God will get tired (He will never do something good for the man…helpful to the chief. Leave the chief in a bad condition, be cursed.) If I get nothing from the chief, I am very unlucky. Praising somebody, saying, I think I will get some pieces (Pieces of beads) not full demoui. I’m still asking people, to get something from them. God gives things indirectly. Our village was ruined by what happened. Turned to people of Pinymiel, mentioning name of an old man. Have destroyed Pinymiel, a lower person to a chief got properties from the chief Praising the chief. Going back to the wife of the chief. Praising the chief. This is your own village, but this village stands because of you. Praising the chief this is a god. He has been left by his father, the prophesy of his father says, protect the villages and give them and let them be satisfied. Why do you aggress our village every time? Don’t you know us? At the time we fought, at a village called Aegina, the vultures were satisfied, the crow was satisfied, he fights, now praising the chief. When he is aggressed. (this was a war between Ethiopia and people of Okwomo) Praising the old chief. Backbiting the people. Our village has been ruined by liars. At the beginning every singer in Pokwomo was rich, praising the wife of the chief. You come to me now, when I am still very poor. Going back to the old chiefs, the old chiefs were making beer, made everyone happy would give to people demoui. I have given myself to you for you to pay my dowry. (If your parents are poor, can give self to somebody that was rich, then could marry with this dowry. Later with children, will have to give a child a girl, that dowry paid to those people. Some stay and remain in that family). Praising the chief, the wife the grandson of Aquia is going to give people properties. Praising somebody, saying I trust you. I know that in this song I will get something from you.

11 239 Agwaga.

Text: Praising the chief, saying that he goes throughout the night like a crocodile without sleep. Backbite a tribe of water. I would have gone but have judged the tribe that boasts. A villager looks with a narrow eye, open but sleepy. I’m going to become rich. But who is this talking against my name. Mentioning the chief why should you aggress him? He stays in his house, he asks you not for food and beer. Our village was very big, but liars were here and made the village be small. But now, people do not hoe well. Everybody hoes well with a small opinion of hoeing. Little appreciated. If you are a troublemaking, it’s too bad. You are going to meet death. But I have heard of some other things somewhere else. Heard these things against the chief. People are saying to have an enemy is better. Liars are going to understand the chief later on. The chief may punish these people. When (talked of the chief and the liars) when these liars come, they get afraid, and they don’t feel comfortable to stay together with the chief and the other people. When these people lie whenever they see you, they think you have heard what you have talked about. Praising the chief: the chief is being aggressed continually. Even the deaf will understand and hear. Anuaks are saying they are going to kill him. Not murdering him for anything but for his beads. He has not suffered and understood. An oppress-able people. It has become very hot. Like a fire the Gallas cannot come near this fire. They cannot come near to the fire they have suffered under. They are cowards and can’t approach us. Turned against the liars. Some are silent they that people did not know that they were doing but it is known. At that time, that he came first, people thought he was abnormal. Later was discovered to be the worst man. Informing the chief, those people who are against you are the people that brought you to power this chief is not a chief of drunkards. We heard something but understand we have five villages. Some can come from all sides of us, He doesn’t know how to aggress people He is a born chief. He tells of what he knows. Our village has become big through him. Praising the chief saying that those who talk against him, are just beating around the bush he who talk against him, God will take revenge. I could see the liar but I’m only afraid of mentioning the name. Praising the chief, saying that every villager gets satisfied whenever he makes something for the village Compared his stomach with a container, like a container it would get food until the surrounding would get pieces of it. He has become the most, or the best leader of all the chiefs. A man is every time influenced through his stomach. But you are going to live for more years. Praising the chief saying that even a small thing the chief could not eat it without calling me. If he eats it where will I eat.

12 310

Information: Refer back to 19A 9 135 and several other versions. Mary’s song. This sung by several girls. Repetition.

13 393 Dancing song.

Information: Girls with can drum. (When children are still immature) Still with parents, whatever you have kept up your personally for, you can’t marry her without making a dowry. People went to the meeting. She was taken to some rich people.

Text: What would I do with my body? What shall I do with my body? Richness doesn’t matter. A girl with white eyes, her girlfriend has a nice face with white eyes. I hope that she would be my wife, but I will still go on taking her from the parents every time and run away with her through all these years till I will get tired of being brought to the court. When she pounds the pounds sound like a large explosion. Tell the people of my village will get tired of eating because she is hard worker and provides much. My sister, I’m am going to take the wife of rich man without paying any dowry (Means that wife is his girlfriend praising before) she’s the wife of Obung. That is, he.

14 409 Dancing song.

Information: Girls with can drum. Translated before. This man is trying to bring his girlfriend away from this man. (The reason for the song) This song talking against dowry. Will cause anger among the husband the dowry indicates it doesn’t have love between man and girl. Forced marriage. Make parents unhappy to hear this song.

Text: A certain season, autumn this is the autumn of me. Praising himself and his father. I would have gone, I would have gone to move to the Ethiopians land because of Abung, his girlfriend. It is become of Abung that I can’t go to all these places, but we are still equal with the person…your husband. When I slept by night, there was a sound in my chest, he has praised that girl. Abung has been broken, the kidneys the neck have been broken. Broken by an old man. That old man has paid dowry for the girl. She can be taken to the old man by force. Now backbiting the person, the old man that has paid the dowry. See this ignorant old man he is taking a hoe for a dowry to be paid as part of the dowry. When he takes the hoe, he seems as if he is going to hoe in his garden. But he’s beating the woman with the stick of the hoe. You body is dead because of all of these beatings. But what are you waiting for? Repeats.

ANUAK Project: FIELD NOTES – July 19, 1972

Retyped: June 11, 2019

2:45 Don’t leave Pokwo but instead enter Mary’s Bead Shop and listen to about 7 girls (ages 12-16) singing individually and as a group. Audience of children chased out in hope of better performance.

Tape 19A

Picture 29 2.8-1.4F 20-25’ 30x shot of recording area and singers.

30 5.6-8F 50’ 125x short of Mary’s bead shop from across the road.

4:00 Continue in Pokwo to living areas and work with a large girl, 20-25 of age, Oyeli Omot who sings softly and well a song for general dancing. She has sung before on tape from Tierlul.

Then listen to Gilo Akway singing a love song and others. She is a leprosy patient from Gok. Very pleasant girl about 20—23 but has stumps for fingers and a stump of a foot bandaged. Rain interferes with our process and so we return to the house.

5:00 home

Picture 31 2.8-1, 4F 12’ 60x shot of recording Gilo outside of Toks house.

Tape 19A and 19B