A DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF LUO TRADITIONAL DIRGES: The Discourse Strategies in Dirge Music Performance ATOH, FRED OCHIENG’ THESIS IN FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN LINGUISTICS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI 2017 DECLARATION This thesis is my original work and has not been presented for a degree in this or any other University. Signature………………………… Date………………………………………... ATOH, FRED OCHIENG’ This thesis has been submitted for examination with our approval as the University Supervisors Signature ……………………………… Date…………………………… PROF. MWENDA MBATIAH Signature ……………………………… Date…………………………… DR. TOM OLALI ii DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my wife, Martha Ochieng,’ and our children: Ochieng,’ Bruce Atoh; Ochieng,’ Lee Ochieng’; Ochieng,’ Nicole Achieng’ and Ochieng,’ Levin Onala, in honour of the many lonely days and nights they had to put up with, and their prayerful and tireless patience while I toiled to complete this study. God will certainly make it worth your effort. My parents, Anselm Ato Omwandho and his wives Mary Ato (Mom) and Pamela Ato (Stepmom) for the speeches they made when I got my Master degree which inspired the first steps towards this study. My siblings, cousins, aunties and uncles for their support during the start and the process of the study. In many ways, they made life worth the effort. I have lots of friends whose jokes, criticisms and encouragements made the journey interesting. Though I cannot mention everyone by name, I constantly found them available to urge me on and keep the fire of laughter and resilience burning. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My gratitude goes to a number of people helped shape up this thesis. I begin by honouring the Almighty God for His grace, good health and energy that made all these things possible. I express my sincere gratitude to my supervisors: Prof. Mwenda Mbatiah and Dr. Tom Olali without whose dedication, scholarly guidance and follow up this study would not have seen the light of day. They have been very thorough, stern and insightful in matters of organisation, depth of theory, language, critical observations and timelines and still, very patient and immensely energetic in their reading of the work. I cannot forget the contributions made by other members of the Linguistics and Languages Department, Kiswahili Department and other departments. To this extent, I am indebted to Prof. Okoth Okombo, Prof. John Habwe, Prof. Kithaka wa Mberia, Prof. Iribe Mwangi, Dr. Jane Oduor, Dr. Marete, Dr. Zaja, Dr. Mwaniki, Dr. Kaviti, Dr. Maloba, Dr. Jane Wambui, Dr. Jerono, Dr. Mwaliwa and Dr. Helga, for their countless informal and formal contributions during the onset of this study. Besides, I remember Dr. Oriare Nyarwath from the Department of Philosophy and Religious studies for the materials he always made available for this study. I admit that I got deeply touched by Prof. Wasamba’s resilient pressure on me and his support with research materials that proved quite valuable in the long run. I must thank Dr. (Fr.) Wamugunda for constantly urging me on even when I suffered mental blocks. Prof. Rose Ongati, Prof. Nyakiti and Dr. Shitandi did help me with materials and perceptive discussions at the inception of my study. Special thanks to my family members for their perseverance and support. Their willingness to share their time with this study although sometimes grudgingly cannot be understated. It was a tough period for them. I also appreciate my students for the astute contributions they made in the course of the study. My appreciation extends to my informants for their time and resourcefulness during my interactions with them. May God richly bless all of you. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION............................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION.................................................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................ iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................. v LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... ix DEFINITION OF TERMS.............................................................................................. ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................ xii ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 1 1.1 Introductory Remarks ................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Background Information on the Language of Study..................................................... 2 1.3 General Remarks on the Luo Folklore Tradition .......................................................... 4 1.4 Statement of the Problem .............................................................................................. 7 1.5 Research Objectives ...................................................................................................... 8 1.6 Hypotheses .................................................................................................................... 9 1.7 Rationale ....................................................................................................................... 9 1.8 Scope and Limitations................................................................................................. 11 1.9 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................... 15 1.9.1 Discourse Representation ................................................................................. 16 1.9.2 Cohesion Approach .......................................................................................... 18 1.10 Literature Review...................................................................................................... 21 1.10.1 Theoretical Literature on Discourse Analysis............................................... 22 1.10.2 Literature on Luo Song Discourse ................................................................ 27 1.11 Research Methodology .................................................................................... 29 1.11.1 Data Collection ............................................................................................. 31 1.11.2 Data Analysis ................................................................................................ 34 1.12 Concluding Remarks ................................................................................................. 35 v CHAPTER TWO: THE LUO DIRGE AS DISCOURSE IN THE CONTEXT OF NYATITI AND ORUTU CULTURE ............................................................................ 37 2.1 Introductory Remarks ................................................................................................. 37 2.2 Establishing the Discourse Domain ............................................................................ 43 2.2.1 Discourse .......................................................................................................... 43 2.2.2 Text ................................................................................................................... 45 2.3 The Luo Music Culture ............................................................................................... 48 2.3.1 The Luo Concept of Song and its Performance ............................................... 52 2.3.2 The Nyatiti ........................................................................................................ 59 2.3.3 The Orutu Ensemble ......................................................................................... 63 2.3.4 The Dirge in Luo Culture ................................................................................. 72 2.4 Concluding Remarks ................................................................................................... 78 CHAPTER THREE: THE NARRATIVE AS A COMMUNICATIVE MECHANISM IN THE LUO DIRGE DISCOURSE .................................................. 80 3.1 Introductory Remarks ................................................................................................. 80 3.2 The Narrative Structure in the Dirge .......................................................................... 81 3.2.1 The Tale and the Teller .................................................................................... 83 3.2.2 Prefabrication in the Dirge Narrative ............................................................... 92 3.2.3 The Underlying Narrative Trajectory ............................................................... 96 3.2.4 Displacement in the Narrative Discourse of the Dirge ................................... 105 3.2.5 The Narrative and Descriptive Modes in Dirge Discourse ............................ 108 3.2.6 The Intentional Structure in the Dirge Discourse ........................................... 115 3.2.6.1 Hierarchical Structure and Functional Units in the Dirge ........................... 115 3.2.6.2 Discourse Relations in the Dirge ................................................................. 119 3.3 Concluding Remarks