Thesis Title: Context, Performance and Socio-Cultural Significance of Babukusu Chants of Western Kenya.

Student’s name: Neema Natasha Simiyu

Supervisors

1. Dr. Joseph Musungu
2. Dr. Ben Nyongesa

ABSTRACT

The Babukusu cultural practices entail various forms of oral literature that define them in relation to their customs and beliefs. Chants are one of the many sub-genres of oral literature used by Babukusu community performed during traditional rituals in relation to culture and beliefs. Various chants are performed by various special chanters in relation to the event and the context at hand. They are also used in rites of passage, religious practices and promotion of ranks within Babukusu leadership. Little qualitative studies have been done on chants among Babukusu. The study therefore focused and explored the cultural contexts, performance and the socio-cultural significance of chants among Babukusu community performed in the four major rites of passage. The objectives of the study were: to examine the context in which Babukusu chants are performed, to describe the aesthetic value of performance of Babukusu chants in the rites of passage and to analyse the socio-cultural significance of chants in the Babukusu rites of passage. The research questions were as follows: Which are the various contexts in which Babukusu chants are performed?, How are the Babukusu chants performed to make them a sub-genre of oral literature?, What socio-cultural significance are revealed in the studied chants among the Babukusu community? The study was guided by Phenomenology and Semiotic theories to unwind the significance of the chant to the audience involved in relation to the principles of event (context), the transmitter (chanter), and the audience (participants). The study adopted a qualitative research methodology through the use of observation-participation, oral interviews, Focused Group Discussions, recording and photographing as primary methods of data collection and references from secondary materials such as literary journals and academic dissertations. Data was collected through a closer interaction with respondents, who included chanters of various chants in Babukusu community, the Babukusu elders and the specific audience who were involved in the various rituals. They were identified through purposive sampling, snowball sampling and stratified sampling within Western Kenya. The findings of the study depicted that Babukusu chants are very significant as they are performed in rituals to educate, criticise, encourage, discourage, praise or ridicule among other significance. The study was driven by the conviction of Babukusu cultural practices and rituals acknowledged and performed within special events in human life from birth to death. The study is significant as it provides more information on the Babukusu chants to literary scholars from other cultural backgrounds who are interested in the genre. Hence, acting as a reference material and a storehouse for oral literature. The study also promotes growth on the knowledge of African oral literature.