An Exploration of Imagery and Symbolism in the Kipsigis Panegyrics

1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. Are there images and symbols in the Kipsigis panegyrics?
2. Is the philosophy of life of the Kipsigis captured in the images and symbols found in the Kipsigis panegyrics?
3. What is the impact of laudation on those at the helm of power as seen in the symbols and images found in the Kipsigis panegyrics?

1.6 ASSUMPTIONS

The study assumes that:

1. The Kipsigis panegyrics contain imagery and symbolism.
2. The images and symbols in the Kipsigis panegyrics can help in understanding the Kipsigis philosophy of life.
3. The respondents shall cooperate and give information relevant to this study.

1.7 JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY

Heroism and hero worship occupy a central part in human existence. In classical Greece, panegyrics were delivered at national festivals or games. This delivery was geared towards arousing the citizens urge to emulate admirable deeds of their forebears. These songs contain imagery and symbolism associated with virtues which the Greeks hold so dearly. Examples of these songs are: Olympiacus of Georgias and Olympiaces ofLysias. Funeral orations such as The Famous Speech of the Pericles in Thucidides partook of the nature of panegyrics.

In the Roman Empire, panegyrics were confined to the living while the funeral orations were reserved for the dead. An example of the Latin panegyrics is the one delivered by younger Pliny (AD 100) in the senate on the occasion of his assumption of consulship. It contained images associated with Trajan civilization.

The custom of panegyrics addressed to monarchs was revived in the Baraque period. The same exists in the renaissance period for example Erasmus’ Panegyricus which was first published in 1504. Several scholars have conducted studies on the general composition and impact of praise songs to their target audience. But they have failed to explore details such as the stylistic devices used in the songs and their impact. 

In 1660, panegyrics were published by English poets in honor of Charles II of England. Other significant works include: The panegyrics of the Duke of Lerma by Louis De Gongora (Spanish poet) of 1617. The use of praise names is nearly universal. Some individuals have several of these names so that a collection of them, recited together, resembles a loosely constructed poem. Among the Hausa, every celebrated man has his own praise name. The Yoruba people also have praise names, Oriki, which are permanent titles, held by individuals.

Although panegyerics have common features across all cultures, there is a difference in the way cultures use imagery and symbolism while composing their praise songs. Basing on the existing studies on the use of imagery and symbolism in panegyrecs, no studies have been conducted to specifically explore the use of imagery and symbolism in Kipsigis panegyrics. In this study, I therefore engage in careful and systematic search for symbols and images in the Kipsigis panegyrics.

1.8 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 

This study seeks to bring in the Kipsigis panegyrics at the center of scholarly eyes. In particular, it seeks to expose the literary worth of the same. By identifying and analyzing the imagery and symbolism eminent in the collected panegyrics, this research then excites the scholarly thirst on the Kipsigis panegyrics. The study also seeks to bridge the existing literary gaps in the study of panegyrics. This is in cognizance of earlier studies on the panegyrics of the Samburu people of Kenya by Wachira James. Research on imagery has also been focusing on other oral poems other than panegyrics. These include: Dominic Kipkoech’s, Images of Environment in the Kipsigis ‘TUMDO’ songs and Mukabi Kabira’s, Images of Women in Gikuyu Oral Narratives. This study will also add into the bank of knowledge of Oral Literature lovers. This will be of great importance to those studying oral literature and those teaching the subject.

The focus on the effect of laudation as shown by the choice of symbols and images will go a long way in shaping leadership in the human society. This study will also assist in educating the current generation, which might have lost touch with their culture, on the details of their traditions. The study will also impart new knowledge to the current and upcoming Kipsigis that will be instrumental in enhancing their creativity during the process of composing songs. 

1.9 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study will be conducted in two sub-counties one of the counties in the South Rift. The sub counties include Chepalungu and Bomet Central both in Bomet County. The two locations have been chosen since they are still popular for carrying out various traditional activities and some old men and women who were soloists and dancers of the praise songs are still alive. 

The study will collection of the required data will be done within a month and the collected information shall be categorized and analyzed within a period of one month. The conclusion and recommendations part will be done within a week after which the project will be ready for submission. 

1.10 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 

Limitations are the factors that are likely to present challenges in the study. There are some limitations facing this study. For instance, the sources of information will be limited to counties occupied by the Kipsigis community. Wider Kipsigis’ oral Literature but it is restricted to identification, examination, analysis and assessment of the images and symbols found in the Kipsigis panegyrics.

 The study is also restricted to the use of interviewing, observation, participation and systemic analysis of images and symbols found in the collected Kipsigis panegyrics. Performance aspect though recognized is beyond the scope of this study and is only referred to when it informs the conceptualization of the genre.This study does not consider the grammar and syntax for it puts into consideration the presence of freedom guaranteed by poetic license.

1.11 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Theories are formal set of ideas intended to explain what happen or why it exist. In mass communication we have different types of theories based on different scholars. This study uses two theories to advance its objectives. These theories include sociological theory and functionalism theory.

1.11.1 Sociological Theory

Sociological theory posits that songs and dances are interpreted from its social function of storing and transmitting the values of that society. Songs are the mirror of society that produces it. On the other hand, society is the foundation upon which songs are created (Ngugi 1972).Songs and societies are indispensable and indeed interdependent. Scholars in this school of thought argue that songs use words to express the society’s aspirations, hopes and fears. Rosenblant argues that music goes beyond mirroring society and argues that “music is itself integral part of a culture and has its own complex relationship to the rest of the cultural setting” (Davidson, et al 1978).The same sentiments are echoed by Albrecht (Davidson et al 1978) when he asserts that music could be viewed in three dimensions; reflection impact and social control. It is from this perspective that music aims at not only reflecting society, but also impacting and controlling it. Muleka (2007) concurs with Albrecht and further expounds that songs can be tri-dimensional , first as a reflection of society’s world view, secondly as a representation of that society’s values and lastly control on the way people behave in that society. Sociological theory is helpful in analyzing the identified images and symbols found in the collected Kipsigis panegyrics.

1.11.2 FUNCTIONALISM THEORY

Functionalism interprets each part of society in terms of how it contributes to the stability of the whole society. Society is more than the sum of its parts; rather, each part of society is functional for the stability of the whole. Durkheim actually envisioned society as an organism, and just like within an organism, each component plays a necessary part, but none can function alone, and one experiences a crisis or fails, other parts must adapt to fill the void in some way.

Within functionalist theory, the different parts of society are primarily composed of social institutions, each of which is designed to fill different needs, and each of which has particular consequences for the form and shape of society. The parts all depend on each other. The core institutions defined by sociology and which are important to understanding for this theory include family, government, economy, media, education, and religion. According to functionalism, an institution only exists because it serves a vital role in the functioning of society. If it no longer serves a role, an institution will die away. When new needs evolve or emerge, new institutions will be created to meet them.

Functionalism views oral poetry as an embodiment of beliefs, customs and rituals that need to be maintained. For functionalists, emphasis is on the idea that the purpose and the use of an object should bring out its shape and construction. The main proponents of functionalism are: Bronislow Malinowski, Radcliffe Brown and Emile Durkheim. According to Njoroge this theory emphasizes that in order to explain a social phenomenon; one must first discover the cause that produces it and the function that fulfills in total social activity. In the same vein, Miruka points out any cultural activity must have utilitarian value for its people. Functionalists see society as a stable entity perpetuated by various cultural activities. This theory places emphasis on the need to look for the causes of an aspect. As per Miruka functionalism is the most persistent theory in the study of oral literature. It in effect proposes absolutist way of looking at life as a construct maintained by selected immutable principles and perhaps processes that must be perpetuated.

The society is said to be dynamic rather than static. Miruka asserts that neo-functionalists Raymond Firth and Edmund Leech states that society is not a functional unity but there are always mitigating, “emergent conflicts.” From a sociological eye, conflict is a requisite for the normal functioning of the society. The consensus amidst conflict means that the society is in a functional disunity, a view held by structural functionalists (Miruka 136).

This study will utilize the functionalist theory to put together the unity exhibited by the panegyrics at the same time elements of disunity. Functionalism will also come in handy in the identification of images and symbols used in the Kipsigis panegyrics. Functionalism will also aid in the analysis of philosophy of life of the Kipsigis people as seen in the choice of images and symbols in the Kipsigis panegyrics.

CHAPTER TWO

2.1LITERATURE REVIEW

There is an unbroken continuity in African verbal art forms, from interacting oral genres to such literary productions as the novel and poetry. The strength  of the  oral  tradition  seems  not  to  have  abated;  through  three  literary  periods, a reciprocal  linkage has worked  these media into a unique art form  against which potent influences from  East and  West  have proved unequal. Vital to African literature is the relationship between the oral and written word; in seemingly insignificant interstices have flourished  such  shadowy  literary  figures as Egyptian scribes,  Hausa and  Swahili copyists and memorizers,  and contemporary writers of popular  novellas, all playing crucial  transitional  roles  in  their  respective literatures.  The oral  tale is  not "the  childhood  of fiction"  (Macculloch,  1905), but the  early  literary traditions  were beneficiaries  of  the oral genres, and there  is  no doubt that  the epic and its  hero  are  the predecessors of the African  novel and its central  character.

The African oral tradition distills the essences of human experiences, shaping them into rememberable, readily retrievable images of broad applicability with an extraordinary potential for eliciting emotional responses. These are removed from their historical contexts so that performers may recontextualize them in artistic forms. The oral arts, containing this sensory residue of past cultural life and the wisdom so engendered, constitute a medium for organizing, examining, and interpreting an audience’s experiences of the images of the present. The tradition is a venerable one. "When those of us in my generation awakened  to earliest consciousness,"  says  a contemporary Xhosa  storyteller,  "we  were born into  a  tradition  that  was  already flourishing.”

Fragmented  history is  also frequently  a part of African  epic which  treats  both the acts of  heroic  characters  who existed in  fact  and those  who are  fictional.  The epics of Sunjata and Mwindo are respective examples. The effect is the same; in all other respects, they are similar. It  is  not  historical veracity in  the  linear sense that determines  epic, it  is  the  insight into history and culture provided  by this  confluence of  oral genres.  Now,  within  a pretext  or setting  that  makes possible the merging of  various frequently unrelated tales,  the metaphorical apparatus, the controlling mechanism  found in  the  riddle  and lyric, the proverb, and heroic poetry, coordinates  this  set of  tales to  form  a larger narrative. 

 All of this centers on  the character of the hero, and a gradual revelation of his frailty, uncertainties,  torments:  he often dies, falls, or is deeply  troubled,  in  the  process bringing the  culture  into a  new dispensation  often prefigured in  his  resurrection or coming into knowledge. The mythical transformation caused by the creator- gods and culture heroes is reproduced precisely in the acts and cyclical, tortured movements of the hero. While the tale is at the heart of epic, significant changes occur.  The epic is a complex reshaping of the tale. Heroic poetry  provides  a grid,  helping to organize the  narratives  and narrative-fragments that  are transported  into  the  epic framework;  it  also supplies  the  specific  historical and geographical data  for certain epics. What African epics owe to the tale tradition is not difficult to discern. Less obvious is the role that heroic poetry plays in their construction. The greater part of the Malagasy epic about Ibonia is composed of elaborate praise-names (Becker, 1939: 58-59).

Out of  these  praises  grows a  heroic cycle-Ibonia's miraculous  bird, his  name- giving, his  movement to  manhood, his taking of  a  wife from a deadly  rival,  his struggle  with his cultural enemies, his death. Weaving through the entirety of the actions of the epic is a panegyric pattern, providing the work’s primary structure. Like the tales, this epic dramatizes rites of passage, birth, puberty, marriage, death.  Unlike  the  tale,  Ibonia, in  his struggles  and  the  movement through the dense forest  of praise-names, moves beyond the routine  activities  of earth-bound humans, and  comes  to  stand for  a  fresh fulfillment  of  the  rituals,  especially of marriage, so  that  in  the  end, before  his  death,  he  announces his  testament (Becker, 1939: 131). The epic of  Ibonia  thus comes to  represent a  shift  in  view regarding traditional rites of passage: the tale character unquestioningly  undergoes the rituals, the epic hero  alters  them  and gives their  new forms  permanence.

Studies on oral literature of the Kipsigis community are generally few and far apart. Pioneering studies have mainly been undertaken, not within literary, but historical and anthropological canons. Being a performed art, Literature relies significantly on situation. Orimoogunje (2011) argued that context “could be regarded as a phenomenon that describes how, when, where, to whom and by whom the verbal arts under question are rendered”. This indeed shows that context as a key component in both the creation process and the actual delivery of oral genres.

Literature is synonymous to heightened language, sometimes with linguistic elements that have gained repeated, even conventional use. This attests to the fact that literary texts including panegyrics contain heightened language in form of imagery. In Africa, praise poetry served as a form of oral documentation. Professional poets carry and recall the narratives detailing the history of the people, the great leaders and their outstanding achievements. It is not unusual for African praise poetry to be performed accompanied by musical instruments. Panegyrics began typically as oral poems that were either sung or chanted. Panegyrists balance their descriptions of object of praise with some concrete examples of what they look like and how they act on the outside, with some abstract ideas about how they feel on the inside.  

Praise songs are often directed to gods, animals, plants and towns that capture the essence of the object of praise. Professional bards, who may be both praise singers to the chief and court historians to their tribes, chant praise songs that contain imagery and symbolism. The bard is at liberty to make additions to the existing poems. Thus the praise songs of shango, the Yoruba god of thunder and lightning might contain a modern comparison of the god to the power and noise of the railway.

Among the Bantu-speaking people, the praise song is an important form of oral literature. The Sotho of Lesotho made compulsory to their initiates to create praise songs that set forth the ideals of actions and manhood. The worth of the praise songs is seen in the choice of metaphors. The TSwana of Botswana add women, tribal groups, domestic animals (especially cattle) and wild animals, trees, crops and various features of the landscape as subjects of their metaphors.

Kipury (1983) also notes that songs and poems are essential part of life to many communities in Kenya. There are rituals that are observed to the accompaniment of songs and dance. He further asserts that songs serve to embody the people’s philosophy, beliefs and values. This assertion is instrumental in studying imagery and symbolism in panegyrics so as to ascertain how they bring out the philosophy of the Kipsigis people. This argument was supported by Kabira and Mutahi (1988through his study on Gikuyu oral Literature and commented that; ‘Behind the seemingly simple songs a people’s philosophy and aesthetics can be directly or indirectly communicated (Kabira and Mutahi, 1988). Here, they argue that the philosophy and aesthetics of the community can be reflected in the songs.

On the other hand, Chesaina (1991) asserts that; the song is the most versatile genres of Kalenjin oral literature as it pervades   all walks of life in Kalenjin culture. He further argues that the intention of these songs is achieved through the use of imagery and contrast. This assertion positions the study of imagery and symbolism in the Kipsigis panegyrics in the centre of the wider literary context.

An important point about all Kipsigis praise songs is that all of them are composed through various experiences that either the composer or the hero in the song might have gone through in their lives. Rotich (2011) in his study of the songs of Kipchamba arap Topotuk comments that Kipchamba’s songs are of dual origin. Some of the ideas are sourced from personal experiences but have been appropriated into the community’s folkloric archive-communal consciousness and have been appropriated into the realm of artist’s lyrical and popular expression. These expressions carry with them imagery and symbolism.

According to the Kipsigis traditions, brave men were honored because they were perceived as people who had dedicated their lives towards making the society a better place to live in. This is why praise songs were always composed using images and symbols that were greatly admired and respected in the society. Towet (1979) affirms that the Kipsigis used to admire their great brave men. Such great men would be people who had looted cattle, sheep or goats from the nearby ‘enemy’ tribes. Mothers, sisters and even lovers of such brave men used to compose songs of praise to them and sing to their praise. Towet’s study focused on the Kipsigis folklore as a whole but this study will narrow down to the imagery and symbolism in the Kipsigis panegyrics. 

According to Dhlomo (1947) praises of animals are very common, usually of the male. Among the Zulu, cattle are a particularly popular subject, but wild animals also appear. In societies where status and birth were so important, the praise poems served to consolidate these values. As so often with panegyric, the recitation of the praises of the chief and his ancestors served to point out to the listeners the chief’s right to the position he held both through his descent from these predecessors whose great deeds were commemorated and through his own qualities so glowingly and solemnly depicted in the poetry. Praises at times contain criticism as well as eulogy and also a pressure to conform to expectations as well as praise for actual behavior. In this way, praise poetry could also have the implicit result of exerting control on a ruler as well as the obvious one of upholding his position. 

As per Nadel (1998) bards focus on accepted versions of history and achievements of leaders hence serving as an encouragement. This makes this study on exploration of how imagery and symbolism on the Kipsigis panegyrics helps in proving how laudation encourages the subjects to emulate those at the helm.

2.2 Conclusion

Heroic poetry or panegyrics extensively rely on the use of symbolism and imagery to adequately bring out their themes. Basing on the numerous studies that have been carried out by previous scholars, praise songs are part of the African traditions. Composers uses various creatures especially those that are held with a great respect and fear in the society to describe the bravery and accomplishment of their heroes. However, no studies have been done to specifically explore the criteria that were used by the composers to pick on the symbols and images that were deemed perfect to pass out the theme of these praise songs. It is important to note the specific symbols and images that were in Kipsigis panegyrics since it assist in communicating the beliefs and principles of the tribe. For instance, finding the reasons why male animals were used in the Kipsigis panegyrics will also shade more light on how the tribe viewed gender issues. Such information will also be used to determine whether the tribe has changed in view on gender issues following the current drive on gender equality.  

CHAPTER THREE

3.1 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

 This study will be qualitative in nature. As stated by Leedy and Ormrod (2015), the strength of qualitative research is its ability to provide complex textual descriptions of how people experience a given research issue. It provides information about the “human” side of an issue that is, the often contradictory behaviors, beliefs, opinions, emotions, and relationships of individuals (Leedy and Ormrod, 2015). Qualitative methods are also effective in identifying intangible factors, such as social norms, socioeconomic status, gender roles, ethnicity, and religion, whose role in the research issue may not be readily apparent (Mugenda, 2008). When used along with quantitative methods, qualitative research can help us to interpret and better understand the complex reality of a given situation and the implications of quantitative data.

Data from secondary sources will supplement the analysis of praise songs collected and the information retrieved through questionnaires. Archival materials like books, theses, and articles in referred journals will be adopted in this study so as to acquire secondary data. Questionnaires, observations and participation in the singing of the panegyrics will also come in handy during this study. Copies of the existing recorded panegyrics will also prove valuable in this study.

3.2 LOCATION OF THE STUDY 

This study will be carried out in two sub-counties in Bomet County which are occupied by the Kipsigis community. The two sub-counties include Chepalungu and Bomet Central which are popular for their resilience in preserving the Kipsigis traditions and culture.

3.3 TARGET POPULATION

Creswell (2005) defines a population as a collection of objects or persons which have similar observable characteristics which define them. The target population of this study is the residents Chepalungu and Bomet sub-counties within the age of 55 and above.

Table1. Target Population