Thematising COVID-19 pandemic: A reading of selected songs of a popular Borana musician

Fugich Wako

doi:10.58256/njhs.v6i2.852

Authors

Fugich Wako
fwako@egerton.ac.ke
Department of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, Egerton University, Kenya

Keywords:

Corona, songs, Borana, performance, pandemic, mother tongue

Abstract

The Corona pandemic is a global phenomenon that has ravaged the world population for the last one year. Because of its newness and overwhelming impact, many aspects of the infection by the Covid-19 virus and its effects remain obscure. One of these aspects is the communal responses to it among societies that are rural and marginal to world events such as the Borana of northeast Africa. Yet exploring this field promises the discovery of vibrant knowledge. Thus, a number of oral artists have used their mother languages to compose songs to educate the vulnerable masses on the disastrous consequences of the disease and how to mitigate them in the interim. This paper analyses one such song by a popular Borana musician who goes by the stage name of King Sama entitled “Koronaan Dhukkub Bada” (Corona is a Deadly Disease) and teases out not only the didactic message formulated and voiced by the singer but also the stylistic nuances by means of which it is encapsulated and disseminated. The singer informs, educates and cautions the community in the face of the calamity the disease has proven to be and appeals to the people to recourse to discipline, the mercy of god, and the vitality of tradition and culture to overcome a situation whereby humanity could be on the verge of extinction.

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Author Biography

Fugich Wako, Department of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, Egerton University, Kenya

Fugich Wako is an Associate Professor of Literature in the Department of Literature Language and Linguistics, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Egerton University. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Degree in Literature, specializing in Oral Literature. The PhD was earned at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. He was supervised by the eminent Professor of Literature, Professor Isabel Hofmeyr. Prof. Wako received his Bachelor's and Master's of Arts in Literature from the University of Nairobi, Kenya. He has taught at Egerton University for 27 years teaching both the undergraduate and postgraduate students. He has also supervised many postgraduate students at both Master's and PhD levels at Egerton. He has also been an external examiner where he has examined students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in Masinde Muliro University, Moi University and Maseno University, among others. In addition, he has also been in academic leadership positions such as the Chairman of Department of Language and Linguistics, Dean Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and Director of the University's Nairobi City Campus. His area of interest is orality, African Literature, Gender and Cultural Studies.

Dimensions

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