Love Songs July 27, 1972 - 31A Tierlul

Recording #31A

Place of Recording: Tierlul

Date of Recording: July 27, 1972

Performance:

Informant: Agwa Alemo

Date of Transcript: March 10, 1973

1 000 Love Song.

Information: Solo man soloist with can accompaniment. From villages in Tiernam. Tede was the place of celebration. Drum interlude. The man who sang this song was in Anyanya. The producer and the singer. I’m asking those who are still in the village whether they have got their letter for Christmas or not. (If a girl marries a young boy of the parents don’t like the boy, they will control the daughter and allow her not to marry the boy. In the song, he said, my wife or girlfriend did not understand what her father said to her. Which means she disobeyed.)

Text: Saying about Ningyoni, people of Tiernam Ningyoni is taking pictures with his people or with his soldiers. He’s going with mapping mission. Mentions his wife. If my wife was here, she would have taken pictures with me together. You did not hear what the Anyanyas are planning: they are planning to go from place to place by plane rather than by foot. (the people of Ningyoni village are separated into many places) the singer says I am confused where can I go to sing my song about Ningyoni. Where the gold mine is. The things that the people in the gold mines are saying is written down also. (those who are poor who went to get gold are reporting we got this much gold). Mentions the big celebration at Christmas that the Anyanyas held. Informed all chiefs and kings and each king can command his people to make beer and they went to the celebration.

2 Love song.

Information: Same singer as above. This kind of dancing is from Juba. This is repeated many times. Repetition and mixing what he sang before. Singer has hoarse voice.

Text: If I was asked to produce a song for my wife (Pay for my wife) I would have sung many songs

3 158 Marching song.

Information: Clear higher voice. Man. Without accompaniment. From Ajwra. (WICWOT. Something allowed by the king or by the chiefs which can be done in the whole village.)

Text: Now we are boasting and saying something about the war and something he said, we are willing to do it but not to fear it. Promised to kill an animal. Mentions that we come and greet those in Ethiopia. Repeats. Mentions the bullets they shot. The bullets we shot moved three villages along Gila river.

4 235 Marching song.

Information: Clear higher voice. Man, Same as above without accompaniment.

Text: Swear not smoke to begin. ATHUMANUA. We swore not to smoke the Anuak smoke. We went to Juba and we came back with hand bags when we see many fellows having hand bags. We see that our village will never again be destroyed. All the people of the villages saw us. Our marching and girls marching will be heard in the whole area of Anuak and we will go to Juba with our girls together.

5 266

Information: High voice introductions. From Ajwara. Man. Same as above without accompaniment. The hunters in Anuak area they can identify the tracks of the animal by their age and whether the animal has been there in the morning or in the afternoon or on the previous day.

Text: When you hear that the rain is going to come you better go and buy guns for killing the animal, we swear for. When we see the track of the elephant, we will never come back till we kill it

6 291 Agwaga.

Information: From Adongo. Our people are divided into many generations, generation after generation. (the generations are in different ideas. So, their leaders who have the ideas of the young generation or the old generation will rule for long. He makes them happy. Between the generations. (Not many rule like this) Adongo people: Nuer and Akiba if they see an Anuak they will kill them. The Anuak will greet these people. When the people hear that one Anuak is killed, Ajiba or Nuer they will go for war and kill many of them and bring their cows.

Text: The singer said, the king who feeds ten different kinds of generations will never have any disagreement in the village. Which means: People will love him. Because also he joins these ten generations. He mentions a deaf man. Saying the deaf man teases me. When I went with him in the forest, His stomach is blind. It doesn’t see something is going to come in the future. The people of Adongo they came to fight the people of ARIETH because of the disagreement started between the deaf man and the men of ADONGO. He mentions because of the deaf man; the trap fell on the Arieth people (Many of them died). One war which is left to be fought and the relatives will dislike each other. Mentions about the war. Fought with the AJIBA tribes. The war between us and the Ajiba tribes was because the cattle not because of the lying.

7 391 Agwaga

Information: From Adongo. Same singer as above. Tiernam means the place where the river is coming from. Similar wood, WINAM. The place where the river flows.

Text: I have to go and beg for a cow. During the Agwaga when the king dances. (He mentions, when many people hate you, they will say many bad things.) The singer, says because many people hate our leader, he is barking like a lion. Wanting to kill the people like those people who were eaten by crocodile in Tiernam. In that village there is a man called, OCAR. The man he shot ran away. He did not completely kill him, he cried.

8 459 Agwaga

Information: From Ajwara. Sung because of the war between Ajwara and Adongo. (These villages are very close together and ruled by the kings of one clan – the Agwas clan.) This song was sung when the Adongo people were against all the Anuaks. So, they fought with Ajwara and Adongo was defeated. They are Anuak but because the other Anuaks joined together with the Anyanyas they disliked this. This is the first war that the Adong people were defeated. Yet many died. Only one village of Adong was attacked and defeated.

Text: When they fought, the singer says our leader killed the people in two ways. One way they people were eaten by the mosquitos and other were eaten by the animals. Leopards and lions. Which means they were chased away from the village. When they fought, they defeated Adongo people. Mentioned about the men. A man with a big bladder we chased him away and he was eaten by the crock while we watched.

9 542 Love Song.

Information: Man, with can drum. Sounds like the one on the first part of the tape, sung before, a love song about the people in Gilo river station.

Text: General idea is greeting. In first part mentions the greeting at Gilo river. In last part mentions about the letter written by Ningyoni. Singer said that the letter said about the plot (coup) against Adongo and the Arabs. We heard the Anyanyas going to war with Adongo. But the villages which was not defeated by the Anuaks was defeated by the Anyanyas. We burned down your village because of the boasting of one person and those of your who went to CIRO cannot expect that they will be safe there. Those who ran to the side of Ethiopia can be safe. I thought that I’m going to be rich then I came to the side of Ethiopia but it looks the same to me. Because he is poor the fathers of his wife tried to give his wife to a rich person. Moving her from village to village and this boy said, If I hear a rich man taking my wife, He’s bothering himself. I’m working for my wife very hard. I’m not a bad boy whose wife is taken by a rich man and when I saw the rich man, he was looking like a wild pig sleeping in a gutter. He marched like a big lion with turned up trousers.

10 775 Love song.

Information: Boys voice. Strong and clear. This boy is from GILO RIVER. He doesn’t want to go to school. The boy went to a very far village because of much money paid by the rich man.

Text: When I slept, I didn’t sleep at all Because of the rumors saying that I was poor. When I went to a very far country or very far village, I came back trying to take my wife You tell my wife that her husband has come. There are no poor in the world except those that are crippled or blind. They can be said to be the poor people. (When he said you tell my wife to come, he heard that she had been given to a rich man.) He asks a question, how does a rich many pay much money Don’t let my wife come. I will produce a song when I reach Gok greeting her.

11 820 Love song.

Information: Boys voice. Strong and clear. Same as above singer.

Text: I’m going to where there are no villages to look for a dead elephant. And I advise those that don’t have parents, father and mother not to marry. When I made myself proud about the girl, I thought I was making it for myself and I didn’t know she was going to be taken by a rich man. Saying about a beautiful girl. Said if she wants to come to visit, we can cut the grass so that she can come easily to our station. Singer says I have spent much money because I didn’t know that she was going to agree with me. He’s insulting people who have much money. Tell her that even though you are married by a rich man, I’ll wait for her. Tape incomplete.

ANUAK Project: FIELD NOTES – July 27, 1972

Retyped: June 14, 2019

1:00 Tierlul begin work on a bright, pleasant day.

REEL TAPE 30b

1 056 Love song. Oman Omot from Gok, about 12 years old. From Abwobo.

2 086 Love song. Song from Gok. Ojulo about 7 years old. Ojuly Aganya from Digira village.

PHOTO; 10 4-2.8 f 14’ Short of recording a boy singing.

11 11F 50’ Same as 10 from farther distance and different l.125

3 097 Love song. Ojulo Aganya

4 111 Love song. Sung by Odiel Ojaga from Ojalo. About 5 (no clothes on.

5 121 Love song.

6 129 Love song sung by Ojulo (Ajwara village)

7 168 Love song from Gok (compare with the same sung by little boy on the tape) Owar Otico from Ajwara about 20 years old.

9 193 Love song from Kano. Owar

9 216 Love song from Gok. Owar

10 255 Love song from Obuli Owr.

11 272 War song from Ajwara. Against village that supported the Arabs. When Anyanya were fighting against Arabs and Adoyo village which was sympathetic to the Arab cause. Sung by Okelo Nyigwo from Ajwara.

12 317 Agwaga from Ajwara. A new song against Adoyo and the Arab supporters Sung by Okele.

13 355 Agwaga. Very old song made for the Nya (King) at that time. From Ajwara.

14 423 Agwaga from Ajwara. Old song for the King.

PHOTO: 12 4f 16’ 125X Recording men and tin drum at Tierlul.

REEL TAPE 31A 2:00

1 000 Love song from Ajwara sung by Opiew Omot from Ajwra, about 20

2 024 Love song from Ajwara sung by Opiew.

3 037 Love song from Ajwara sung by Opiew.

4 043 Love song from Ajwara sung by Opiew.

5 067 Love song from Ajwara sung by Opiew.

6 082 Nirnam from Ajwara about elephant sung by Yalo Alwinye from Ajwara.

PHOTO: 13 2.8F 14’ 125X Recording man singing. Shot made down on subject about 2-3’ higher than subject.

7 122 Nirnam from Ajwara about elephant in 1963 sung by Yalo. Paul was in the village at this time.

8 152 War song sung by Yalo. Years ago, the villages were one. Nyer Aqui was ruling as king 21 villages, Ajwra and Otello. Later when the Aqui died, the village divided and Ajwara was given to Cham and the son was given Otallo (song of Aqui) Cham Aqui.

9 War song from Ajwara. New song against Otallo.

10 239 War song from Ajwara. New, against Otallo. Ajwara supported the Anyanya. Otallo supported the Arabs. The more educated were from Ajwara.

PHOTO: 14 4-2.8f 35’ 125X Shot of recording at new spot at Tierlul because of grinder.

15 2.8F 10-12’ Same as above, different distance and L.

11 282 Love song from Owelo sung by Opiew.

12 318 Love song from Owelo sung by Opiew.

13 342 Love song from Owelo sung boy Opiew.

14 404 Love song from Gok sung by Nigwa (our favorite young boy)

15 427 Love song from Gok made by Oleng Omot sung by Nigwa.

PHOTO: 16 4-2.8f 24’ RECORDING OF BOY.

16 480 Love song from Owelo made by Ningori and sung by Nigwa.

REEL TAPE 31b 3:00

1 000 Love song sung by Nigwa (same as opposite side which was not finished.

2 028 Love song from Ajwara sung by Nigwa.

3 040 Love song from Otello sung by Nigwa.

4 054 Obero for the dead Nyea who died in 1966. King named Medho Cham from Ajwara. A Donam is held when the Nyea dies. For an ordinary mane, that man is dead. But for a King they say Donam. That time the Nyea came from the river. When the Nyea dies, he returns to the river. This song then made up. Sung by Owar. Composed by Orio Kway from Ajwara.

5 145 Obero made while the Nyea was living. Both made by the same man, Okway from Ajwara. Sung by Owar.

6 174 Obero for the dead diking. Sung by Gora Odiel from Ping Bago (20 miles from Gila)

Conclude taping at 3:40. A very pleasant afternoon of taping owing to a pleasant spot and to the fact that many singes were sitting around and shared the work of singing. One would sing for a little while, another would be ready and sing, and so on throughout the afternoon.