Okot p'Bitek (7 June 1931 to 20 July 1982) an Ugandan poet is considered one of the greatest contemporary African poets.His prose poem Song of Lawino brought him international recognition;a poem initially written in Acholi language but translated into English in 1966. The poem relates the marital crisis of an estranged couple which mirrors the social problems of Post colonial Africa.Just like Ngugi, p’Bitek is also unusual for the degree to which he rejected the European influence on Africa. His works ruthlessly critique Africans who have fallen under the spell of such European ideals such Christianity which influenced his decision to reject the religion in the 60's.
In the poem p'Bitek presents Lawino; the voice of the poet who cries out to the husband Ocol who has developed a penchant for the Western ways and wishes everything is westernized. Here p'Bitek presents African elites who have lost the inherited cultural value in wild pursuit of the incompatible and complex ways of the whites.The work relies heavily on the Acoli tradition as it presents vividly the culture and customs of the sect.As reflected in the poem, elaborate dance play a vital role in their social events such as courtship.Central also to the culture is a pre-Christian religion based on a polytheistic concept—the notion of Jok. Jok represents the spirit of individual clans, villages, or wild animals—anything of significance to the life of the Acoli. A Jok can be beneficent or malicious; either way, it is an Acoli’s duty to appease the spirits, both good and bad, to ensure success in human endeavors.In p’Bitek’s poems, Ocol is a Catholic Christian while his wife clings to Acoli belief.The religiously split household was not uncommon in Uganda.
"Song of Lawino,” Lawino recalls sneaking away from night school to attend a “get-stuck” dance, where young couples declare their love for each other. Ocol, by contrast, stuck to his studies with diligence. At the end of his course of education, he finds himself alienated from his people, his village, even his wife. Access to Western knowledge makes him intolerant of what he comes to regard as superstition, and he is unable to appreciate Acoli culture. Ocol is representative of a common type in postcolonial Africa: the educated African who feels closer to the traditions and practices of the European invader than to those of his own people. This group imported European goods, followed Western ways, even preferred women who mimicked the styles of white women. They put their faith in Christ, and could be as intolerant as any white priest when considering indigenous theology. Humorously, Okot p'Biket criticizes colonialism and its evil effect on Africa and how unjustifiable the invasion of Africa is by the Europeans.
