MIX Jan 11, 1973 - 43B Pokwo

Recording Series B 4B

Place of Recording: Pokwo

Date of Recording: January 11, 1973

Performance:

Informant: Agwa Alemo

Date of Transcript: April 27, 1973

1 000 Dudbul.

Text: A man named after a pelican. We were unhappy because of your absence. In the village. The Amhara tribe was the one we destroyed our village and now it is becoming to take the position of the previous time. When people used to farm. (Solo girl singer) Their chief OTONG is becoming the leader of Anuaks and he can give a common man money for marriage. I would have married a girl to make food for me but there is no money to be paid for her. God, it was said that God give something unknowingly but there is nothing left in my father’s home. I will like to give myself to a rich man. Praising a girl and one of his friends saying that he is going to be rich. I’m the person of daughter of king. If I don’t sing some other song it may be because of our chief. (Means his chief is going to sing something to make him rich so he won’t have to sing songs anymore.) Informing one lady also saying the money of marriage will never be finished and our village which is called GOK has a brave generation which can make good dancing in it. The spear which was given by a certain girl was not repeated and that is to tell the fact of what she has given to me. Praising one of his friends and he said his friend was wanting to kill himself because of his wife. He advised him that not to kill himself because he can get a beautiful one from the smaller group. (from the younger generations) telling to his friend by saying God who blesses is the only God who gives money to the people. There are two kinds of love: a love which can long for a short time, and the kind that can long for good. (Means, there is love of five cents and love of a dollar.) Saying that those who refuse to live in their village, they will never be good, because, our area is good when you have relatives. Says the poorest people are those who died but those who go for a long journey they can get money or become rich in the future. Praising each group saying, I’m surprised while you are present. Praising one of his friend’s wife saying you are fit to be at home. By being in GOK village, without singing a song, it doesn’t mean that I have no song but I have there is no person who ca sings my song for me. (some singers they don’t sing their songs in front of the people because they have bad voice. They sing it to one who has a good voice so that man can sing it in from t of the people, He teaches to the man first and that man will teach the people.) Praising a girl who sympathizes with anyone who comes to her home. Saying, Hes advising a girl who was upset, angry during the dancing and telling the boy also to get married because of his song. (when he praised that boy in his song, hat boy was alone and he advised him to get married so he could be praised in the song together with his wife, so the singer would get more) Praising each group after their grandfathers. Saying, let’s see if I’m going to miss a price for this song. Praising the first wife of their generation and said also if, the chief agree I will marry. (Age group: if one of this age group gets married, the wife of that boy will be considered as the first wife of the age group, she will have to make beer for them.) Our chief who has a wife, who married a princess, I will cry or give my poorness to you. So, you can give me money. Our wife came to us wearing a nylon dress. Praising him that don’t cry don’t cry. Saying she greets us when she was coming back by wearing a nylon dress. Don’t cry don’t cry.

2 174 Love song.

Information: Solo girl singer with can accompaniment. Sung when Ningyori was planning for a journey.

Text: He has gone away. The girl whom you are proud of must not be given to a rich man. You better refuse to go to a rich man because your husband is present. (Made it a common song for any son of Ojulo, not necessarily sung abut Paul). Praising his wife after a permanent thing and after her father’s animals. Saying I will see her in camera or telescope. Wherever she goes. Praising his wife in the same way.

3 218 Marching song.

Information: Solo girl singer. The people of OKUNA village when they swore not to eat salt.

Text: Saying that when we called meeting not to eat salt, there was no minutes passed for that. They decided immediately. When we swore not to eat salt, the youngest generation said that their grandmothers a grandfather didn’t eat salt before. When we shot our bullets, they were heard to a very far place. Inform a man which is named after an elephant saying that the part and marching which we are going to do will be heard in gold mine. Repeats. During our absence, the old ladies of our village asked where is the young generation and immediately they heard the bullets when we were shooting a ship. (they didn’t shoot the Sudan boat bringing salt) and the ship went down in the water. (Just means they don’t wan t to eat salt)

4 251 Marching song.

Information: Solo girl singer.

Text: We are the generation of the man who is named after fire agree not to eat salt. We killed an elephant which we swore for. Repeats.

5 282 Awawa.

Information: During Awawa, when the boys are ready to go and dance in front of the girls, they will sing that kind of song saying that they are ready to come to dance. Can be sung when the people are in the field of dancing also, like boasting, a song of boasting.

Text: Our generation now which is destroyed, when we hear the sound of drum will be dancing with the girls. We never make a competition of dancing with another village at night. (Means we dance in the day time where people see us and see our beauty) those girls who didn’t come in the field of dancing are not supposed to get married. Those who are in the field of dancing are only our wives. Repeats. Because they dance very nicely the old ladies of the village said that I hope I’m in this generation so that I can dance and our generation actually are admired by the older generation because they are good dancers.

6 304 Marching song.

Text: The generation of NYOCAR the marching that we boast for was fulfilled. If there are grains in the village it will be heard from many villages. Easy to get some money also by selling it.

7 323 Dudbul.

Information: Solo girl singer as above. Poorness sometimes is spread out because people don’t like themselves. If they dislike themselves, the poor people will be known. Immediately (they will be classified.)

Text: Praising a leader or a chief saying we swear in your name. I didn’t expect that you were going to miss giving me a price. There will be nothing which can attack your village. Praising him how brave he is. Saying that he is huge and brave and when he boasts or dances, he who rules all Anuaks and Amhara. Praising a man named after a crock. When crock eats a person, it doesn’t need a meeting to decide to eat a person. It eats it accidentally. Praising a man who is named after a buffalo saying that I didn’t expect to live in Anuak area because there are some letters coming back and forth telling some information about a girl who didn’t get married at all in some other village. Don’t confuse our chief because he is going to get angry. I would like to beg our chief beause many people got a lot of money in his village. Praising one of his friends: you better see with your eyes and God will bring back your love. In the future. Those who are living together with the chief what is he saying. How did we miss our love with my best friends? Don’t say a bad rumor against them because he might not get money where he went to? Praising his age group saying, I am only you who can know his relatives. (Nobody can tell your relatives, but you yourself can know your relatives.) Informing one of his friends saying had I seen where the rich people live, I would have gone and collected some of this demoui. It might be from God that I missed not to get a sister. It is only your relatives who can make you famous or make you known to other people. Saying that a singer can help themselves by giving one who is still poor a price. Praising his age group saying, he is lonely, let him cry for their absence. I will like to beg our chief because of the cow that I’m seeing which must be given to me. The part of the beads is fulfilled. What is remaining is only a cow to be given to me. Praising the age group of the ladies. Those who were in the same group with them. The song that I sang became valueless because there was nobody too accepted it even for a single price. Praising a man with his wife who had given him one spear. During dancing, our love with my friends will last for long.

8 610 Dudbul.

Information: Combines 7 323 with 8 610 and repeats’

Text: Begging the chief and comparing him as the God. It took us many years without a gift. If I go for long journey I will never dream of my father because you are the only one that represents my father. Repeats.

9 777 Marching Song.

Information: From GOK JUNGJOR.

Text: Our village took its previous position. When we killed lion and elephant. When we marched the drum leading us when we came back from hunting it will be heard by another GOK. Repeats.

10 818 Love song.

Text: The son of Ojulo has gone. The girl which you are proud of is not supposed to be given to a rich man. Heard before. I refuse to go to live with a rich man whenever the people go for meeting for pictures to be taken. The girl which has white eyes is supposed to be mine. Don’t agree to go to a rich person because you have the husband of OJULOs son. Repeats. Because you have the husband of OJULOs son.

11 843 Love song.

Text: I’ve finished the songs that I’ve sang. For my wife which looks like our mothers. What a surprising thing because I’m fed up with the talk of the rich man. Teeth are bones, stomach is very deep.

12 865 Love song.

Text: When two young agree to go to step away from their village, saying going out has no fixed time. We can go if God brings me to you. Praising any girl or your girlfriend. Repeats.

13 918 Dudbul.

Information: The girl will sing a song with hands going up and down during the Dudbul time. Changes it into a love song in the last part. (She sings slowly and in a waver in her voice. Love song similar to an OKAMA. So could sing it at a different time in the dance) She is Agwa’s relative. She does the same praising that he would do.

Text: Praising any beautiful boy by saying he has visited all continents or countries of different tribes. (Praising any boy who has gone to different countries) Repeats. The boy who is being praised in the song he me be praised after his animal and permanent thing and grandfather or uncles’ animals. All of these things. Praising herself after a permanent tree. And after her fathers’ animals. A love song sung like in OKAMA, we are being pictured with my husband. He who looks like God to me. (Praising herself or anybody she loves can continue after that) Continues to praise herself and a boy she likes.

14 1094 Dudbul.

Information: What did you study from me when you first agreed. Continuation of the Dudbul sung just before (13 918) (In love song can join many together) This is OKAMA Similar to dancing song. Tape runs out before song finishes.

Text: What an exciting and surprising thing. There is no fixed time for long journey. Praising herself.

ANUAK Project: FIELD NOTES – Jan 11, 1973

Retyped: July 4, 2019

Pokwo: 1:10

Taping of girl with leprosy from Gok.

1 240 General dancing from Gok. Very clear singing.

2 327 Nirnam from Gok.

3 343 General dancing from gok Depach

4 460 Oero from a dead chief, Lamjai from gok Depach

5 498 Obero for the dead chief, Omot from gok Depach.

6 542 Nirnam from Go.

7 563 General dancing.

8 575 Nirnam from Gok, Jong Jor

9 620 Love song.

10 634 Love song.

When she was young, she was in Ajwara and learned all these songs. She learned them from the people. There where the composers practice the songs. She always practiced the songs when she is pounding or cooking.

1 000 General dancing from Gok.

2 085 Love song from gok.

3 096 Love song from Gok with can accompaniment.

4 120 Nirnam from Okuna.

5 144 Nirnam from Okuna.

6 156 General dancing from Gok.

7 178 General dancing from Ajwara.

8 220 General dancing from Ajwara.

9 340 General dancing from Gok.

10 436 Nirnam from Gok

11 460 Love song from Gok by Orieo

12 518 Love Songs. Lost count.

I drop the tape recorder in putting it away and later find that I have damaged playback capability. I hope that this can be repaired without difficulty. Return home after the session is over. 3:30 p.m.

Leave for Tierlul at about 8:00 p.m., walk through the dark village, seeing groups of people sitting around in circles around glowing embers or seeing them within their huts. They ask us, “Why do you foreigners come to Tierlul at night.” They of course know us but wonder what we are up to this time. We wend our way through the village to the Burra where there are about 13 men sitting. anticipating our arrival. They have mats ready for us and invite us to sit down. I ask permission to take pictures mentioning that a flash will result. They say it is alright. After setting up my equipment the song leader stands and begins singing. He stands and sings with very little delay or stop. As he continues to sing, others start to join him little by little the process is slow and long and the singing is at first tentative but increases in authority as the evening wears on. Soon, as the village hears the singing, more join the circle, but as the women and children and young men assemble, none sit where the Jo Burra are sitting but rather behind the singer or to his side. Facing the Jo Burra. More and more join, as the children come, we notice that they come out the strongest and quickest. After singing for a period of time, perhaps 10-15 minutes, he rests, smokes and relaxes and then resumes.

During the evening, from about 8:15-9:30, the singer takes about 3 breaks but otherwise sings continuously. As the children enter in, they improve in their singing. Some of the boys soon loose interest and talk and misbehave among themselves. Some of the men in the Burra ask out at them tse behave and very probably some would be beaten if we had not been there. Discipline seems very lax; the women seem to exercise little control at all. No effort appears to be made to make the kids pay attention except the encouragement of the men to do so. The children being very uninhibited laugh freely when mistakes among the children are made. The men singing low and softly would probably not be heard by others when they make mistakes and certainly not be laughed at. The men in the Burra retain a noble independence, they join in if they wish or talk among themselves, they feel like it. Continuously smoking their water pipes, passing them around. And so, from this first experience (Paul assures me that this is very typical) the learning a song (this one is quite short and easy) is done through repetition and imitation, repetition of small parts. Over and over and then during a 2-5-night sequence. The singer is intent on his own work and ignores the bad behavior of some around him. Simply signing over and over. We leave the Burra by 9:30 and when we leave the others leave also. A worthwhile session.