MIX July 26, 1972 - 30B

Recording #30B

Place of Recording: Pokwo/Tierlul

Date of Recording: July 26 & 27, 1972

Performance:

Informant: Agwa Alemo

Date of Transcript: February 24, 1973

1 000 Obero.

Information: Solo girl singer. Sung for a son of king who died before he married. When this boy died, people cried for him. (when a boy dies without children, people will cry a lot for him because he didn’t produce children. Whose name can be known.)

Text: Love song. Singer says, I produced this song because of the death of my friend not because of any other reason. Singer encouraging the villagers of that boy by saying, don’t cry. You wait, God will give you one who will be given by God and kept in a good condition. Don’t cry for the one who is dead. Mentioning the names of the people. These who were very angry shout the boy, those that were upset. Last part of this song sung for the chief of GOK who was in Parliament. The whole song was sung when he died also. (This boy is the son of the brother of this chief, he was upset.) when the chief died, they added more to this song.

2 107 Love Song.

Information: July 27^th Tierlul. Solo girl singer. Monotonous singer.

Text: Poorness and ugliness don’t work together. When I knew myself that I’m’ very poor I tried my best to dance. When I plan for a journey, I went to a certain house to beg water and people looked at me very angrily. I answered it is to because I’m weak to marry but it is because I am poor and I don’t have money to pay. You don’t know how the people is proud about demoui. A rich man gets proud about his demoui and waiting for the beautiful girls – girls who can be given to him. Means: the rich man doesn’t want to dance from place to place. If I’m a girl I can agree to be given to a rich man if my brother forces me. If I go to live with a rich man, instead of getting these out or broken hands, I will smile ended what he likes to do. Knowing not our secrets with the poor boy.

3 160 Dudbul.

Information: Soft voice Solo singer. Very short song. When Anuak boys are 12-15 years old they sing a short song practice first for their friends for their small group. One part mentioned in the song, From Pokwo (AKEDO: means where the people got salt.)

Text: If I hear saying that my song is bad, Hes a liar. He mentions his friend. If I hear someone saying that my song is bad, he is lying, he may be sent to death.

4 181 Love song.

Information: Soft voice. Solo singer. (In the time when the leaves of the trees turn brown, Autumn, many Anuaks used to come to the highlands to work. Mentions, when she’s was shot by a bullet and it doesn’t come out. Misfire, he said, I missed my journey to the highland like a bullet which misfires.

Text: The singer saying, I was planning to go to the highlands. Because of his wife he remains. Said I missed my going to the highlands because of his girlfriend was beaten by the old man.

5 205 Love Song.

Information: Another boy. Solo. This song is from DONGIRI. These people work very hard with big fields. One thing they said for the wives, they want their wives to have food every day. If your wife doesn’t work out, they will charge her five dollars. Not the husband will charge her. But there are people selected to take care of the housewives.

Text: I swear in the name of MAG MACCH. Mac is the leader of DONGIRI. The coming autumn where will be the examination. During the starvation, we were just having enough corn while the rest of the Anuak were in hunger.

6 223 Love song.

Information: Solo boy. (Many times, they’re against the rich man. But this song is sung against poor boy.)

Text: If a girl lives with a rich man, she will never worry but if she lives with a poor boy, a poor boy will steal some money and she will be imprisoned. The poor boy, if he dies, he can die without thinking about it.

7 239 Love song.

Information: Solo boy singer. Sung against these girls who marry many husbands AJWARA. These modern love songs are against the rich man and the old man. They take the girl without informing the parents the young boys are against that. They should not be given to a rich man. She has to be given a chance to marry.

Text: Singer was encouraging the man who married a girl with many husbands saying that don’t build houses or don’t settle. Better for so to go to the gold mines. Singer pretends to like a girl, saying that if I see myself that I am very beautiful, I cannot be given to a rich man. A rich man is just looking for a girl and he has a bald head. The poor boy even though he pays less money he pays in the way he thinks. But the rich man always pays money without talking to the girl or not informing the girls to be married.

8 308 Love song.

Information: Older fellow singing with drum accompaniment. Same song as 7 239.

9 354 Love song.

Information: Old fellows singing with drum accompaniment. Same as 4 181 30B. song about the highlands. This is in this song but not found in 4 181. He means that the rich man is not educated in our area so saying a bad thing about them.

Text: If you see a person who is not educated, he looks very ugly. He gets his clothes by selling alcohol.

10 394

Information: Older fellow singing with drum accompaniment. (when everyone knows you are very poor with no money to marry, will think if going to the gold mines or going to a far place like the highlands. (For the sons of kings, such as AGWA if I marry, my father will not give me money, but my uncle will pay some for my wife. Though my father is very rich, he will never give me, done only for the sons of kings but not for others. My father married my mother and he paid money to my uncle. The son of the king can have the money of his mother from his uncle. If my uncle refuses to pay money for my wife, I will put him in prison and get my mother’s money back. If he agrees he will let me have one of his daughters. He will be responsible for my wedding.)

Text: But the singer said, I refused to go to the gold mines and I think it is better to be a policeman. Wealth is not given to only one person but to everybody. After 2 years I will give myself to Amhara. In the song it is mentioned if a boy has no uncle, he will suffer a lot. Now did you agree in the first-time. I got a better one than you.

11 492 Agwaga.

Information: Another fellow with a deep voice. Without accompaniment. Song for the king of Ajwara. When the freedom fighters go to war, they sometimes support the Arabs. Found that the freedom fighters and the Anuaks were against them. The people of Adongo freedom fighters thought that if we don’t destroy the village Adongo we will never succeed and get independence. They went there, many dangers many people died. Ningyoni was in charge of the Anyanya. Anyanyas were defeated there so Ningyoni was overthrown at that time. Many kings from Odola side became angry. (Kings are divided into two sides. Odola and Ogol. Joseph Was an advisor. Of Ningyoni. When he heard that war brook between Odongo and Anyanyas, he kept it to himself. When he went from Addis to headquarters, he made a plan to change Ningyoni. Because of that, the Death of Joseph made all the Anuaks very angry. The agreement would not have taken place if he was yet alive.

Text: In first part, mentions the names of the people known in Ajwara village. (during the war between North and South Sudan, Agwara and Adongo fought and because of the war, Adongo people fought many villages and chased them away to the side of Ethiopia.) Adongo people became like Arabs. Singer said, those who are boasting in Adongo will be given to us by God. Or will be given into our hands by God. (The Adongo were and still are very strong). This song sung when they fought. (A statement from the king of Adongo: I’m not against freedom fighters but I’m against my brother who wants to kill me because of the crown. Said this after many people died from his village. They killed many freedom fighters. This is a cause for dispute for the freedom fighters killed many of Agwa’s relatives in Adongo. Adongo people were against all the Anuaks.

12 569 Agwaga.

Information: Same as above. In our area the king does not keep the demoui that had been captured from the villages attacked. If they capture girls, or people, will divide them among the warriors. During the World War 2 the kings spread from Adongo to the whole Anuak area. The people who did not have a chief or a leader can beg him to take care of their land. He will rule the people.

Text: There is one war left. Before that war, I will like to go to beg for the special beads from my king.

13 635 Agwaga.

Information: Same singer as above. From Adongo.

Text: Mentioning the names of the people. Mentions about the liars and the boasters. One term used in Anuak: ADHIPINY means plot. Said those woes are boasting and liars may be killed in the plot.

14 748 Agwaga.

Information: Same singer as above. From AJWARA area. (Before Joseph died while still in Addis an agreement was made between Anuaks and the Adongo people. The Arabs came and put the young Adongo boys in the military. The second war was about to be against Arabs. The plot …those who were trained by Arabs they wanted them to be informed by Anyanyas, if there is a war. So, we can be against those who were against us. We’re planning to be against the Arabs who were in the same training with them in Adongo.

Text: Said this autumn we are going to fight the Black Arabs. We are going to fight against Black Arabs. There will be no village in their area. We will burn down their villages. The war was not against you and us but it was against us and Arabs. If we defeat the Arabs the benefit, we will gain is for all of us. But if you try to support Arabs, you will get the consequences. A man called CHAM in ADONGO. They said, Cham boasts because he knows how to run. But he found his family in a bad condition like the monkeys’ daughters or wives.