Luo language is a group of closely related languages spoken by River-Lake Nilotes, who trace their origin in the area we today call Republic of South Sudan. The language calls itself "Dholuo" or "Lep Luo" in other dialects and is spoken by the Acholi of Uganda, Luo of Kenya, Jopadhola, Lango, Alur among other tribes.
We have painstakingly compiled a list of some Luo words which we think you've most probably come across while listening to luo content and would like to know what they actually mean. Let's get right into it, shall we?
1. Hera - Hera means love. It is both a noun and a verb. It is the first Luo word that anybody interested in learning the language usually encounters. From album titles, song titles to baby names and pet names, it pervades everything. Hera remo, hera mwandu, hera bungu, hera mudho and hera apilo are all music titles by various luo artistes. Hero remo translates to "love is blood" (the word "is" or its Luo equivalent "en" remarkably doesn't have to be used often in Luo dialogue.). The title "hera remo" doesn't make much sense in luo just as its English equivalent "love is bloody" is nonsensical. Maybe the artist just wanted to convey the idea that romantic relationships are a matter of life and death, in which case he should have used the phrase "Hera en tho gi kuo" instead. Don't you think so? It is from the root word "hera" that we get such words like aheri (I love you), waheri (we love you), ihera (you love me), gihera (they love me), giherowa (they love us), waherogi (we love them), uherowa (you love us) and phrases such as aheri matek (I love you very much), miya hera (give me love), waher're uru (let us love each other.) Our language is so interesting, isn't it?
2. Jaber - Jaber actually translates to "the beautiful one". It is a word Luo people use to refer to girls, ladies and women, even those who cannot be considered by any stretch of the imagination to be beautiful. I reckon "cutie" is more appropriate translation. Igwe Bandasson has a song "titled "Jaber Achie." meaning "beautiful Achie". Achie is of course short form for "Achieng'", a name given to baby girls born during the day. Jaber is a polite way of calling a girl or woman of your age or younger. Using the term on older women is considered deeply disrespectful.
3. Nyathi -Nyathi actually means "baby" or "child" but just like in many other languages (English included) the meaning has been extended to include a pet name among lovers. In Okatch Biggy's song Nyathi Nyakach for example Okatch asks, "Nyathi Nyakach atimni ang'o?" translating to "Nyathi Nyakach,what can I do for you?". Okatch goes on to say, "Nyathi maber aluongo Lizzy-na..."(Beautiful baby, I call you my Lizzy...). Nyathi Nyakach in this sense means "lady from Nyakach" and not necessarily a child from Nyakach. Omondi Longlilo famously warned some lady in the adlibs of his track Anita nyar Usonga with the words, "Nyathini abiro chami!" which means "Child, I will eat you!" But Omondi Longlilo wasn't a cannibal so you can only guess what he meant.
4.Chuny - This is the most difficult word to translate, not necessary because it's difficult to understand but because of the disconnect between what it means and what it implies. Let me explain. "Chuny" literally means "Liver" but implies "the heart". This is confusing but let me try to break it down. The organ that Luo people call "Chuny" is the liver. The word for heart in dhoLuo is "adundo" yet when Igwe Bandasson sings "nyathini ahero gi chunya" he doesn't mean "I love this child with my liver" but rather "with his heart". So, we can say that chuny actually means both liver and heart. But when you walk into a butchery and ask for a kilo of chuny you'll most certainly be given a kilo of animal liver and not heart. I hope you get the point.
5. Jowi - Jowi means "rhino". Luo people use it as chant to express grief, sorrow or inspire courage.
6. Kalando - This means "brown one" but it goes beyond the literal meaning. Let me explain. Luo people, like most African tribes, adore women who are light skinned - and this has nothing to do with leftovers of racial prejudices. They call them many names in praise. "Kalando" is one such name. It's exclusively for light skinned women. It is not a given name, though I think it can make an excellent one. It is usually a nick name or praise- name if such a thing even exists (in Luo culture it does). Needless to say, it is used exclusively for women. I guess I have said that already, haven't I? Musa Juma's song titled "saida" uses a shortened, cute rendition of the word "lando" or "brown" to praise Saida's for her skin tone.
7. Obera - This is another supposedly 'romantic' word that Luo men use to enchant their women. Loosely translating to "cutie" is is derived from the root word "ber" which means anything from good, beautiful all the way to desirable and appropriate. Onyango Alemo of "tho luro" fame sings this line in his song titled Tabia Mbaya: "obera nyako nyathi mahero.. mano tabia mbaya.." It is tough to translate that but "this beautiful woman whom I love" is pretty close to what Onyango meant to say. In the aforementioned song by Musa Juma, he sings "Lando oberana mama, nyathi mahero.." or "brown lady, the child whom I love..". Go ahead and laugh: there's a deep-seated obsession with light-skinned women among Luo people and this comes out very clearly in many song lyrics.
8. Jaduong - Finally, a word that has nothing to do with women. This word means "Elder" or an old person. But there's a twist. You've probably come across the phrase "nyar-jaduong'" in many Luo songs (There's a John Junior's song where he uses the word a lot but I cant remember its tittle). You must have been wondering what it means. Worry no more; demystifying these buzz words is what we're here for. So, "nyar" means "daughter of" or "a girl from (a place)" and "jaduong" means elder. Nyar-jaduong therefore loosely translates to "daughter of an elder" but that it not what it actually means. You see, Luo people refer to their father in law as "jaduong" irrespective of his age. It goes without saying therefore that "nyar jaduong" is one way of referring to your wife or partner. The logic is, your wife is supposed to be your father-in-law's daughter. It is meant to be romantic, so don't dare use it when you've just had a fight. In summary, Jaduong means either an elderly person or father-in-law (irrespective of his age).
9. Yawa - I'll admit upfront that I don't know what this word means,exactly. No one does, yet we all use it. I'm not sure whether it even qualifies as a word, yet it is one! It's hard to pin down, but I'll try. "Yawa" is just an exclamation akin to "ouch" or "wow"... (Well, I'm not a language expert so you can excuse my ignorance). It is used in many instances - in fact on almost all instances - and in that fact alone lies its ambiguity and meaninglessness. I think the best translation of "yawa" is "Oh" therefore 'Oh, my God' in Dholuo would be something like, "Yawa Nyasacha!" But as an exclamation, yawa means more than just "oh". It is used to express a feeling of exasperation or annoyance. For example when some pesters you too much, you can say "Yawa aol!" to mean "Hey, enough!" Aol doesn't actually translate to 'enough', but I hope you get the point (this is an interpretation rather than a translation). Yawa, Otieno asesayo mondo okelna pii modho to pok okelo nang'o?
10. Ang'o? - Without wasting your time, ang'o?" means "what?"
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