Critical Book Review of Okot p'Bitek's Song of Lawino & Song of Ocol

By babu Odondi

Okot p'Bitek an Oxford-educated anthropologist from Uganda, sought to capture the rear-ender of postcolonial African movements for Westernization with the Negritude embrace of truly African beauty. Writing his great Song of Lawino in both an Acholi and English doggerel, he hoped to create a new medium of poetry, one without open Western influence. P’Bitek hoped that his songs would put in a nutshell the world he came from, and he succeeded. Song of Lawino and Song of Ocol, partner songs, beautifully and provocatively discuss the conflict between the need to preserve one's tribe and identity with the need to modernize.

The writing is absolutely beautiful -- though I have no knowledge of Acholi idioms, p'Bitek clearly has written (even in English) poetry embraces his native tongue. Although his self-translation lacks the straight rhythms and repetitions that defined the original (they were called songs for a reason -- their original mode is that of a chant), there is something stunningly... true... about the writing. Perhaps that is what I find so engrossing -- how absolutely true these sister poems are, even in their allegory. I felt as if I were gleaning something that really felt like knowledge to me as I read Song of Lawino/Song of Ocol. That is why this is perfect.



This passage struck me and left me in a state of absolute awe:

"When death comes
To fetch you
She comes unannounced,
She comes suddenly
Like the vomit of dogs,
The wind keeps blowing
The birds go on singing
And the flowers
Do not hang their heads.
The agoga bird is silent
The agoga bird comes afterwards,
He sings to tell
That Death has been that way!
When Mother Death comes
She whispers
Come,
And you stand up
And follow
You get up immediately,
And you start walking
Without brushing the dust
On your buttocks.”

This is really an enthralling piece of literature. P’Biket simultaneously explores the clash between those African educated by whites and those who adhere to their traditional ways as well as a very interesting conflict between the two cultures’ perceptions of gender roles. Lawino is one of the most brilliantly crafted female characters – strong, bold, intelligent, but desirous of the role of husband to a strong male. Ocol is depicted by her as too feminine in his Western ways. Her closing poem is a call for him to become masculine again, so that she may praise him and so that they may play out their roles accordingly. And yet Ocol’s song is full of hyper masculine attacks on African culture (“Do you think/we plan merely/to bring light/into the hut? /we will set it ablaze/Let the fire consume it all/this lair of backwardness”), and he extols the virtues of marital equality between intelligent Westerners. P’Bitek gives Lawino much more attention, and he gives more credibility to her voice, but he does not remain one-sided.

On every page, I found something sublime, something fascinating, some provoking, something true. I wish I could find a way to conclude this review, but I can’t. I can’t stop thinking about how fantastic these two poems are.