Rhythm in Oral Poetry as Interface and Interphase of Culture and Development

Abstract

This paper draws from an Ethnopoetic research carried out on the cultural aesthetics of oral poetry of the Makindi rituals performed by the Mbeere community of Kenya. The aim is to extend the discourse of that study by delving into rhythm beyond its significance as a central aspect of style in the poetry texts that are performed during the Makindi rituals and into focusing on it as a strategic innovation in cultural aesthetics that links the dynamic collective development of policies to their implementation in the quest of the society to transform life experience positively. The paper introduces rhythm as a term, explores its definitions in a variety of contexts including that of the African oral poetry. The aesthetic significance of rhythm in various spectacles of the Makindi ritual is illustrated after which the paper explains how rhythm is a unique cultural thread that weaves through society’s state of being into its state of becoming with efficiency and effectiveness worthy of attention because of its contribution to development and its sustainability across generations. The paper concludes that culture is rhythm and socio-economic development is a function of rhythm. In that regard, rhythm in Makindi phenomenon is realized through the rhythm of Makindi oral poetry in an aesthetic relationship which plays a critical role in the dynamics of development of the society. This creative fact is representative of the importance of African oral literatures in collectively (re)negotiating, (re)generating and disseminating cultural wisdom and presiding over its actualization for positive transformation. This Mbeere aesthetic milieu constitutes what Wasamba (2010) calls invaluable, intangible heritage for the present and the future generations across ethnic nations. In the end, the paper makes an appeal for institutions to rethink their relationship with oral literatures as a source of credible knowledge for use in matters that address people and their development.