Skip to main content

AWUORO ASEMBO KOKISE!

 The late Ochieng' Kabaselleh wrote many songs but few are as intriguing as his dedication to his departed dad, titled "Wuora Ogolla Adoyo".  Recorded in the 90s, the song is emotional yet soothing, almost exploitatively poignant. I must have first listened to the song in the early 2000s soon after losing my own dad and personally identified with the agony, grief and the outpouring of emotion in the song. Sung in a mournful tone, with passion and raw emotion all over the lyrics, it's hard to listen to the song without being moved.

One thing that stands out the most is the phrase, "awuoro Asembo Kokise" (I'm astonished at or I detest Asembo Kokise) which evokes a deep feeling of anger and resentment over the small village in Siaya County from which his late father ailed. He wonders why - even how - they dared to bury his dead father in his absence. Ochieng' Kabaselleh never got to meet his father. The story goes that he had been raised by his mother. It was not until he was an adult that he started the journey to trace his father's whereabouts. His search eventually led him to Asembo Kokise where the fresh grave of his late father awaited him. He had been buried just a few days before Kabaselleh's arrival. In the aforementioned song, composed in his father's honour, he asks his departed father - as if he could hear him, "Couldn't you wait for me just a little longer, or is it my return that has chased you away?"

The Late Ochieng' Kabaselleh

''A wuod Asembo Kokise kamung'eyo Ramba. A wuoro Asembo Kokise eee eeeh. A wuoro Asembo Kokise eeeeeh" Kabaselleh sung mournfully and it's hard to not to sympathize with him. In the song he lists relatives he never got to meet - all dead and buried while he was away. He mentions Odigo koda Oracha,  Oyier wuon Ofinyo, Oleche koda Keo, Ogola wuod Adoyo thuon Ratego, Achola, Dwele, Kodongo Seme lang'o, Okinda koda Rage, Elijah Odhiambo, Adero wuon Kondo, Ojiwa koda Obwago, Ong'owo koda Wanjere and Rosa Auma.

"Liwa ya tata na ngai, bandeko!" Ochieng Kabaselleh wept in Lingala, a testament to his estrangement to his ethnic Luo identity. He dressed like a Congolese, spoke Lingala and played rumba music. He took a Congolse name "Kabaselleh" and deliberately spoke broken Swahili to further accentuate his assumed Congolese identity. There was little about him that was truly Kenyan, let alone Luo. He had grown up in Nairobi, a whole day's drive from the place his estranged father lived. He hung around Congolese and Swahili singers and laced his lyrics with Lingala words. At some point in the song he says, "Kufa kwako baba, shida kwetu. Sisi watoto yako.." loosely translating to "Your death oh father, is a problem to us. We your kids."

He concludes that his sorrow will live with him forever. He asks his new found family - the people of Asembo Kokise - to forgive him because after all "awoud Asembo Kokise eh eh (I'm a son of Asembo Kokise)" he sings repeatedly as if trying to win an argument. "Nyis JokAdoyo, JoK'Odhiambo duto mondo ong'won-na eh" (Ask the family of Adoyo and Odhiambo to forgive me) That's the least they could do for him. After all, he was their kin and he'd never leave them again.

 

Comments

  1. Derrick Orek24 September 2022 at 03:57

    Greatest song of all time

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous12 February 2024 at 03:42

    Ogola was burried in his Eldoret farm. Ochieng was also burried there not Asembo

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous21 July 2024 at 06:25

    Greatest song truly, I was moved by it

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TWENTY LINGALA WORDS YOU SHOULD KNOW THEIR MEANINGS

Over the last couple of decades the Lingala language has gained and continues to gain unprecedented popularity in Kenya . Many Kenyans now can speak fluent Lingala. Some even sing in the langauge! I'm talking about Papa Fololo, Igwe Prezda Bandasson, Awilo Mike of Jamnazi Africa and Fofona Bangali to mention but a few. Part of the reason for this popularity is: Lingala is easy to learn especially for Swahili speakers (For Lingala-Swahili similarities, click here ). I mean, it is ridiculously easy. So easy, in fact, it takes just a few months. I'm not talking about the Lingala you hear in songs that's bedeviled with iterations of Lingalized French (Hahah, what does that even mean?). I'm talking about Lingala in its purest form here, the one not polluted with foreign languages. Another reason for Lingala's growing popularity in Kenya is down to how it pervades our popular rumba songs and radio stations. For the average Kenyan, not a day passes without hearing at leas...
91 comments
Read more

TEN LUO WORDS YOU SHOULD KNOW THEIR MEANING

 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 eq...
Post a Comment
Read more

TOP 5 LUO BENGA SONGS AND MUSICIANS OF ALL TIME

Luo benga is a crowded scene. It is a boiling pot teeming with hundreds of artistes, both dead and alive, young and old, male and female jostling for space in this very competitive music world.We have legends like the late George Ramogi, the late Owino Misiani (also known as DO Misiani), The late Okatch Biggy, the late Prince July, the late Prince Kassam, the late Omondi Tony, the late Kollela Maze, The late Kodiyo, to sample but a few. We also have an emerging crop of young talents like Dolla Kabarry, George Dume, Otieno Small, Kamaliza Majengo, Aluoch Jamaranda, Reggie Kabaselle  (son of the late Ochieng Kabaselleh ), Aluoch Jipanoran, Ogina KoKo, Omondi Longlilo, and the old guards like Jerry Jalamo Ka'John  and Osito Kalle to mention but a few. We cannot all agree who is the best and I am not going to impose my choices on you. But we can agree that from the long list of Benga artists in Luoland a few names stand out and a few songs stand out from the bunch like giraffe in...
24 comments
Read more