[Gandur] Fyrirlestur Ezekiel Alembi

[Aðalheiður Guðmundsdóttir]

Á vegum Félags þjóðfræðinga á Íslandi

og mannfræði- og þjóðfræðiskorar

mun



Dr. Ezekiel Alembi

frá Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya,



halda fyrirlestur í Árnagarði, 201

þriðjudaginn 1. nóvember, kl. 17.15



sem heitir



“Escorting the Dead with Song and Dance: Funeral Poetics among the  
Abanyole of Western Province, Kenya”



Dr. Alembi er hér í boði Háskóla Íslands, og heldur fyrirlestraröð um  
samfélag, stjórnmál og leiklistarhefð í Kenya, auk þess að ræða um  
jarðarfarasiði Abanyole fólks í Kenya fyrir mannfræði- og  
þjóðfræðiskor. Hann er dósent í bókmenntafræði í Kenyatta háskólanum  
í Nairobi, Kenya, og skrifaði doktorsritgerð um munnlega hefð í Kenya  
við háskólann í Helsinki. Hann hefur verið að rannsaka Abanyole  
jarðarfarakveðskap, umfjöllun um afríska list, munnlegan kveðskap  
barna og notkun munnlegra heimilda í endursköpun sögu Afríku.


Abstract:

Song and dance pervades the life world of the Abanyole. For example,  
when they are sad, they sing; when they are happy, they sing; when a  
child is born, they sing and dance and when one dies, they also sing  
and dance. So strong is the singing and dancing tradition in this  
community that it can be described as lubricating oil that the  
Abanyole use on their wheel of life as they transact different facets  
of their being. In this paper, I examine the role of song and dance  
in a funeral context among the Abanyole of the Western Province of  
Kenya. The discussion is focused on traditional Abanyole songs. I  
make this distinction because Christian songs are also sung in  
funerals in Bunyore. Specifically, I discuss performances by  
individual mourners and night performances at funerals. This  
discussion is guided by the following questions: Who performs? When  
are the performances done? What is the structure of the performance?  
What is the meaning of the performances within the context of a  
funeral? I have utilized the "Infracultural Model in Folklore  
Analysis" as the conceptual-analytical framework for this paper. This  
model emphasises the interpretation of words and actions within  
specific cultural contexts. This essentially means that the meanings  
of the words and actions can only be located within the perceptions  
of the study community. Underlying this model is a key concern that  
researchers should enter into the rhythm of life of the communities,  
as a sound basis for learning, experiencing and documenting the  
beliefs, expectations, fears and perceptions of the communities studied.

Aðalheiður Guðmundsdóttir
Stofnun Árna Magnússonar
Árnagarði við Suðurgötu
tel.: (354) 868 0306/ (354) 552 0510
http//:www.hi.is/~adalh





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