OttoGwadoAyoker_songFuneralSongForKingKur3

The recording at the center of this item is a Shilluk funeral song. King Kur (1951-1974), was also called Along and Nyibek. He is the son of King Gwang (1917-1944). Kur was a peaceful king, who did justice to everyone. He was loved by all the Shilluk people. So, when he died, people cried for him. Ayik Longo, the composer in this song says that he praises Nyikango and his son Daak, for Kur. And he says that those who were depending on the dead king must work hard. To the Padïwäät, The Electoral Council, the composer tells them that the King is gone and they remained. But they must see to it that the successor of King Kur is like him; meaning that they should elect a good king who will continue his policy. If they choose a good king, they are going forward, but if you choose a bad king, they are going backward. The composer also says that he can only pray to Nyikango because the land became bad after Kur’s sad demise. The expression of twara wél "I sweep straw": refers to the act of begging. When one goes to beg something from a person (a goat or a cow) the person who begs usually goes and sweeps in front of the owner’s cattle byre with his hands. Then s/he will come and ask the owner what s/he wants. So, ‘to sweep straw’ is begging. And here the composer is begging Nyikango to lead the Electoral Council to choose a good king like Kur. 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, and comments.