Song of Lawino and Song of Ocol

Song of Lawino and Song of Ocol are two long-form poems by Ugandan literary vanguard Okot p’Bitek, published in 1966 and 1970, respectively. Song of Lawino was originally written in the Acholi dialect of Southern Luo as Wer pa Lawino, and p’Bitek later translated it into English himself. Song of Ocol has no Acholi version, as it was originally written in English.

Together, the two poems tell the story of Lawino and Ocol’s failing marriage; Ocol sees Lawino’s commitment to Acholi traditions and lack of Western education as unforgivable shortcomings and has left her for a woman who adheres to a more “modern” (i.e., Westernized) lifestyle. The text explores themes of The Equal Value of Different Cultures, National Conflict on a Domestic Scale, and Patriotism in Tribalist and Nationalist Contexts.

This guide refers to the 2013 Kindle e-book edition of the text, published by Waveland Press, with an introduction by George A. Heron and illustrations by Frank Horley.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of racism, emotional abuse, sexual harassment and violence, religious discrimination, death by suicide, sexual content, and graphic violence.

Language Note: The source text uses the spelling “Acoli,” but this guide will use the spelling “Acholi” unless directly quoting the source text. Other Acholi words in the guide will be spelled according to p’Bitek’s spelling and put in italics. Racially offensive terms used in the text are only employed in direct quotations.

Plot Summary

In Song of Lawino, an Acholi woman named Lawino airs her grievances about Ocol, her husband, who is carrying out an affair with a woman named Clementine. Lawino claims that Ocol is verbally abusive to both her and her family, calling them “fools” and “kaffirs.” She believes that he is now in love with Clementine because Clementine tries very hard to look and behave like a white woman, powdering her face to make it look paler, straightening her hair, and abandoning traditional Acholi practices. For her part, Lawino has no interest in becoming more like a white woman because she is proud of her heritage and culture and thinks that Ocol should be too. Furthermore, she knows that it is impossible for her ever to actually transform into a white woman and therefore does not see the point in trying.

Lawino begins to address Ocol’s various complaints about her—e.g., that she refuses to learn European dances. Lawino responds that where Ocol finds the nudity involved in traditional Acholi dances vulgar, she finds several aspects of European ballroom dancing vulgar in their own right. She finds the physical closeness of dancing couples, especially those who are related to one another, disgusting. She does not like that the dances happen late at night or how filthy the ballroom and bathrooms become by the end of the evening. She concludes that she would be ashamed to dance like a white person and that she enjoys Acholi dancing. Ocol is also disappointed that Lawino does not eat or cook European food, that she does not know how to read European clocks, and that she is bad at keeping a punctual schedule. Lawino does not understand how clocks or charcoal stoves work and is afraid of them. She also does not think that these tools suit the Acholi way of life and does not understand why Ocol insists on her using them.

She is even more confused by European religion and has had bad experiences with both Protestantism and Catholicism. At one time, she attended evening classes at the local Catholic church but found the teachings to be meaningless, as she didn’t understand Latin, and the priests and teachers to be lecherous. When she tried to ask clarifying questions about the religious teachings, she was met with censure. Ocol is similarly derisive of her questions, calling them insulting to him. Thus, she is left to ponder the questions herself. Unwelcomed by Christianity, Lawino continues to practice traditional Acholi religion, but Ocol forbids her from seeing traditional healers. Lawino does not agree with him that Western medicine is more effective and finds his disdain for Acholi medicine insulting to their ancestors.

Having addressed Ocol’s criticisms of her, Lawino turns to listing her criticisms of Ocol. He is an active leader of the Ugandan Democratic Party, but Lawino does not think he is implementing the political ideals that he claims to support; despite preaching unity among the different peoples of Uganda, he expresses great animosity toward his own brother, who belongs to the opposing party. She also believes that he has been emasculated by the books he reads, as have all the young boys in their community who attend European schools. She believes that the books have made him reject his rightful culture. Despite these failings, she ends the song on a note of hope, listing a series of actions Ocol can take to cure himself and asking that once he is cured, he once again treats her fairly.

In Song of Ocol, Ocol dismisses Lawino’s song about him as the bitterness and irrationality of someone who has already lost. He does not mention his marital dispute with Lawino over Clementine and instead focuses on his many criticisms of Africa and how he thinks these “problems” should be fixed. He envisions violently destroying both the cultures and landscapes of Eastern Africa to make way for a new “modern” version of the region that is unencumbered by tribal boundaries. Brief moments of vulnerability as he is discussing this plan reveal that a profound sense of racial shame motivates his desire to enact such destruction. Most of Ocol’s criticisms of traditional cultures are based on the racist talking points of European colonizers; however, he also raises concerns about Lawino’s rejection of medicine and technology. The poem concludes with Ocol invoking John Winthrop’s 1630 sermon “A Model of Christian Charity,” declaring that his new East African society will be a “city on a hill.”