Okot p'Bitek (1931-1982) was a Ugandan poet; one of his central concerns was that African literature should be built on African rather than European foundations. His epic poem Song of Lawino (East African Publishing House, 1966) is a narrative poem written in the voice of Lawino who appeals to her husband Ocol to stay true to his own customs, and to abandon his desire to be white. Here is a section of that poem that addresses a system for counting years.
from Song of Lawino by Okot p'Bitek
*
Ocol tells me
Things I cannot understand,
He talks
About a certain man,
Jesus.
He says
The man was born
Long ago
In the country of white men.
He says
When Jesus was born
White men began
To count years:
From one, then it became ten,
Then one hundred
Then one thousand
And now it is
One thousand
Nine hundred
And sixty six.
My husband says
Before this man was born
White men counted years backwards.
Starting with the biggest number
Then it became
One thousand
Then one hundred
Then ten,
And when it became one
Then Jesus was born.
I cannot understand all this
I do not understand it at all!
Song of Lawino was
originally written in rhyming couplets and had a regular meter. This translation from the original Acoli is by the author.
Monday, July 6, 2015
Counting Years -- in p'Bitek's Song of Lawino
Labels:
Acoli,
Black,
count,
Jesus,
Okot p'Bitek,
Song of Lawino,
white,
years
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