The Construction of Manhood through the Performance of the Bukusu Circumcision Songs

Abstract

Songs are part and parcel of the lives of many African communities as they carry values, norms, customs and aspirations of the communities. The Bukusu community, just like any other Kenyan community which adhere to the traditional customs has songs that are used in various rituals. Among the many rituals performed in Bukusu community is the traditional male circumcision, a rich theatre which is always accompanied by live tunes. The performance of these circumcision songs does not happen in a vacuum, it takes place within specified contexts which give rise to meaning. The Bukusu circumcision songs are socially significant as they have serious implications on the society’s beliefs. These songs are cultural symbols used to construct manhood in the sense that the newly initiates transits from childhood to adulthood. Once they go through this process, they are expected to be responsible adults who observe righteousness. This necessitates a concerted effort to unearth the construction of manhood through the performance of the Bukusu circumcision songs. The paper employed participant observation, oral interviews and open ended questionnaires in collecting songs. In sampling of the songs, the paper employed purposive sampling technique. This paper employed hermeneutics theory in examining how manhood is constructed through the performance of the Bukusu circumcision songs. The overall purpose of this paper is to contribute towards the understanding of how the Bukusu perceive and construct manhood through the performance of the Bukusu circumcision songs which will eventually contribute new knowledge to songs as a genre of oral literature.