EmmanuelOkwacDhikwan_songSquattingNearTheCookingPlace

The recording at the center of this item is a song, composed by the performer. Traditionally, Shilluk men sit in lwak (= cattle byre) or under a tree during the daytime. After sunset, men gather in the centre of the village; where they eat their evening meals. Even boys, they are not allowed to sit in the compounds with the women. The composer is complaining that men have abandoned their duty, and they only care for food (or their salaries). They are like people squatting near the cooking place, waiting for food. Men are dedicated to defending the land, but now the land is destroyed by war and people are living in forests and islands and nobody cares. So, he is praying to God to help him to awaken the Chollo community for the sake of Pachodo. Pachodo is where the king is ordained and when any king wants to change or issue new laws that govern the Chollo, he must go to Pachodo with all the Chollo chiefs. So Pachodo is the symbol. (NB The King is not allowed to live in Pachodo. Every king must build his own village.) This item consists of a recorded Shilluk song (wav file), accompanied with annotation (in Praat TextGrid) and associated information: metadata, permissions and speaker questionnaire. The associated information is also summarized, in a spreadsheet. The TextGrid annotation includes Shilluk orthography, translation.