Giriama funeral songs: a functional aesthetic study

Abstract

This study is based on the analysis of Giriama funeral songs as oral literary works of art with the objective 'of establishing their social functions and aesthetic effects particularly on the intended audience. The research and data analysis was guided by the Functional-Aesthetic framework with the help of Leech's (1969) conceptional model, of poetic language analysis. In terms of data collection, the research used the field work method involving the participant observation approach. A total of 160 funeral songs were collected. Personal communication with Giriama experts yielded rich descriptive information on the social background of the Giriama, the rituals and customs observed in Giriama funeral ceremonies. This descriptive information was analyzed by the use of the process of critical examination, isolation of facts and discarding less relevant information. The findings on social background are given in chapters one and three while the findings on rituals, customs and song performance are given in chapter three. The 160 songs were analyzed quantitatively in terms of their literary features of prosody and poetic diction using Leech's (1969) model of poetic language analysis. The findings are given in chapter four. The content and themes of the songs and their social functions and aesthetic effects were analyzed using the process of grouping them on the basis of similarities and the findings are given in chapter five. The research found that the Giriama community has a life style that is much influenced by their religious belief in ancestral spirits, which the Giriama refer to as Kama. For example, this belief dictates the observance of funeral ceremonies that are accompanied by various rituals and customs that include the performance of funeral songs and animal sacrifice in appeasement of the dead. The songs performed emanate from the Giriama themselves with the purpose of fulfilling such religious and cultural needs at the funeral occasions. On the basis of this it was found that funeral songs among the Giriama have several functions that include the appeasement of the dead, voicing personal grief over the death of a loved one, relative or friend and consoling the bereaved. It was also found that the songs have some aesthetic effects that include inducement of sorrowful feelings and sympathy on the audience. Such songs make the audience join the bereaved in mourning the dead. And that the artistic nature of the songs, their mode of performance to a certain degree weaken the sorrowful feelings thus giving the audience a strain of pleasure and entertainment. The study is significant in that songs were found to be a powerful and influential medium of expression. It is recommended that songs be used by the Government officers to explain government policies, for example on AIDS. The study is also a substantial contribution in oral literature especially on songs- a genre that has not received much study.