Selected Poetry of Okot p'Bitek Symbols, Allegory and Motifs

Selected Poetry of Okot p'Bitek Symbols, Allegory and Motifs

Banknotes - “From song of Ocol”

The speaker questions, “Did you dream/That the leaves/Would become banknotes/And be scattered by the wind/among the villagers?” The banknotes signify the economic liberation, of citizenry, that would arise as a result of self-rule.

Dowry - “The Horn of My Love”

Dowry corresponds to the exchange value of a woman that is about to wed. A man must meet the obligation of dowry which is offered to the girls’ parents before he is certified to get married to her.

Bitterness - “My Husband’s Tongue is Bitter”

Bitterness is a motif for verbal abuse which distresses the speaker. A bitter tongue principally emits verbal abuses.

The Pumpkin - “My Husband’s Tongue is Bitter”

The pumpkin indicates entrenched customs. The speaker apprises her husband, “The pumpkin in the old homestead/Must not be uprooted!” The husbands’ disregard of the customs of his people is analogous with uprooting an advanced pumpkin. The wife suggests that Ocol’s predisposition for modernism would dislodge his authentic identity.

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