SHIFTING TOWARD EAST AFRICAN ECOLOGICAL CRITICISM IN ORAL LITERATURE: AN ECOANALYSIS OF THE MARAGOLI SONGS Nabeta Sangili, (Maseno

University)1 ABSTRACT The field of ecocriticism is fairly a recent phenomenon in the world of literature. It is even much newer in East African scholarly academics as many literary works on the same are still scarce. In this vein, this research attempts to analyze ecologically the oral literature of the Maragoli ethnic community as a way of opening up this field to criticism in East African academics. The research mainly dwells on the green songs which are relevant to ecocriticism and which might make a contribution to African ecocriticism in the general field Ecological Criticism. The premise of this research was incited by the generally agreed view that every society and culture has a way of interacting with ecology hence different environmental perceptions. The research shows that the Maragoli community had a special way of educating her people through songs which were engineered on natural environment.

Introduction Environmental criticism is fairly a recent phenomenon in Literature and Literary Studies. It can be defined as the study of environment and environmental patterns appearing in literary works. According to Glotfelty and Fromm, ecocriticism: is the study of the relationship between literature and the physical environmentit takes an earth-centered approach to literary studies (1996: xviii) Sun and Meng argue that because the field is still new, it is experiencing the trouble of a clear definition (2006: 68-69). That there are many opinions on how to define the term but they advance Glotfeltys, the first professor of the ecocriticism. They also mention a plethora of extra terms that are related to this field: Ecopoetics, Green Literature, Environmental Literary Criticism, Green Studies, Green Cultural Studies, and Ecological Literature among other terms. A pattern observable in these terms is that a new name seems to be generated depending on the critique; those who dwell on culture seem to entail Green cultural Studies in their critics while poets will use ecopoetics.

Nabeta Sangili, African Languages Department, Maseno Univerity, Kisumu, phone (+254711806235), kenyaninixon@yahoo.com/jinixy@gmail.com

Over the last three decades, ecocriticism has emerged as a field of literary study that addresses how humans relate to nonhuman nature or environment in literature (Johnson 2009). Indeed many researchers agree that this idea was born in 1970s and 1980s but was not considered seriously for scholarship (as a field) until 1996 when Cheryl Glotfelty became the first professor in the field, though Coupe advances Burke Kenneth as the pioneer (2001: 413)1. Buell argues that This movement rises to correct somehow against the marginalization of environmental issues in most version of critical theory that dominated literary and cultural studies through 1980s even as the environment was becoming an increasingly salient public concern and a major topic of research in science, economics, law, public policyhistory and ethics (2005:3) Indeed in 1970s and 1980s, many citizens of the world did not pay much attention to the environment. They were mainly concerned with issues of race, gender, political and social activism. Issues touching environment in the media were mainly relegated to mid and back pages of newspapers. It is in this time that governments in Kenya were hiving off loads of acres of forests land to people of note, hangers-on and tribal and political cronies. It is at this time also that rivers and water sources began reducing and shrinking and the world began getting hotter and hotter. Glotfelty and Fromm aptly points out: You would quickly discern that race, class, gender were hot topics of the late 20th century, but you would never know that the earths life support systems were under stress. Indeed, you might never know that there was an earth at all (xvi) The birth of ecocriticism as a field and theory in literature as Buell mentioned above was to acknowledge the presence of Mother Nature in all kinds of artistic works. Authors have churned out many environmental literary works ever since the field was conceived. Today there exists a range of bibliography on ecocriticism including journals, books and literary works and nature writers (Johnson 2009, Raber 2007 and Sanyal 2008). In East African Kiswahili literature, Kithaka wa Mberias anthology Bara Jingine (2001) loosely translated, Another Continent, Emmanuel Mbogos Bustani ya Edeni2 (2002) translated Garden of Eden Said Mohameds anthology Jicho la Ndani (2002) translated The Critical Eye and his recent novel Babu Alipofufuka (2001), loosely translated The Reincarnation of Grandpa and the yet to be published works of Sangili and Arege all have a creative tinge of environmental issues in them. Generally, the authors speak of the consequences of a shattered environment within the region of East Africa which includes Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda: birds, people, domestic and wild animals die due to massive droughts and related causes, arable lands have been stripped off their fertility and floods run riot in the communities. The authors portray a society utterly despondent despite appeasing their demigods and gods for reprieve. In theory, ecocriticism tries to evaluate the themes and language as they are used in artistic works. Many literary writers, filmmakers and singers employ linguistic devices that are directly or indirectly engineered out of nature. Metaphors of places, diseases, social relationships and even metaphors of economy are hinged on nature and natural

surrounding. In African societies, fashioning of riddles and tongue twisters were natural endeavors in terms of setting and unraveling the riddles. These elements of oral literature have been acculturated in written African literary genres like the novels, plays, short stories and poetics. Constructing African Ecocriticism African communities from North Africa to South Africa, West Africa all the way to East Africa are interwoven in a web of linguistic integration. By linguistic integration we refer to protolanguage and language genetics. African languages did split as the linguistic communities migrated to look for novel settlements, pastures, and arable land among a host of other factors. This brought about ethnic groups with varied dialects that can be defined in terms of subsets of a larger protolanguage. When carefully analyzed, Bantu language families display near similar characters and so are Nilotic language families and Cushitic languages and so forth. We have assumed (temporarily though) this line of linguistic similarity because we argue that language is culture. Though every language is distinct in its own way, even dialects, they display near -minor-similar characters. And if we have minor linguistic similarities then it follows that some cultural aspects by virtue of linguistic similarities will have a home ground. That would explain why in some African communities, a similar culture runs through the Bantu, Nilotes or Cushitic communities, for instance circumcision and traditions that accompany it. Among the Bantus, circumcision was mainly done to the boys and specifically in a secluded area3. The areas that were of great significance were and still are the designated forests. Though we have this as similar culture, we acknowledge that within it observable dissimilarities occur. Africa as continent is endowed with immense natural beauty. The continent is bestowed with a diversity of ecosystems ranging from extensive mountain areas, savannah and dry land areas, lowlands, coastal plains and tropical and rainy forests and deserts. All these ecosystems have since the years of yore been of great significance to the African communities in terms of food, knowledge, religion, medicine, wars and raids, cultural and traditional practices like circumcisions. Hence culture and environment in traditional African communities were inseparable. Among the Waswahili community of Kenya along the coast of East Africa, the natural environment was of critical value in expressing oneself or explaining issues in conversations. For instance, if one wanted to express his undying love for a woman, he would simply make reference to nature: he would call her a flower; her eyebrows would be compared to the sprouts of the acacia tree and her chin to the nutmeg tree. After these praises the woman would be smitten and eventually fell for the man. If an individual was deemed to be harsh or too defensive, he was environmentally metaphorized as the pepper. This metaphor replicates itself among the Luhya people of western Kenya. Among the sub ethnic group of Luhya people, if one was harmful or defensive, he was deemed itava tii4, type of a green fencing thorny shrub. Describing people and situations in conversations was environmentally contextualized thus it would not be easy for a stranger

to comprehend the whole obscured conversation. The languages were full of beads of recondite metaphors, tropes, proverbs, riddles, tongue twisters and descriptions so intelligently mechanized that it took an intelligent member of a community to understand. For instance, among the Adinkra of Ghana, they had proverbs like Akoko nan tia ba na enkum, translated when the hen treads on her chicks, she does not mean to kill them and when two rams clash in a fight, one must surrender to another. Such proverbs had a didactic structure whose aim was to teach the Adinkras and they called on remote wisdom to discern and decipher correct meaning. Among the African communities, crops and planting seasons held central position in their lifestyles. They raised and tended for crops because the crops were their lives. The cycle that the crops took, from planting the seed, weeding, harvesting and storing was a sacred affair. Usually when planting, the communities would offer sacrifices and during harvesting seasons, the whole community was thrown in a lingering festive mood. It was in this time that many girls got married and others engaged. Young testosterone-filled men would woo a girl using love lines like you are so full like the granary in our compound; your breasts stand like the yellow papaws in my fathers farm. The young would gather around the elders for storytelling. The stories were fundamentally hinged on nature surrounding them or even land far away. The elders would tell them of how ogres used to visit their lands during harvesting seasons and consume the whole village until one young courageous warrior would stand up to the ogres, slaying them. Environmental issues would transcend from storytelling to dressing. During the Pre-Arab and Pre-Western dispensation in Africa, clothing among the people of interior Africa was special leafs and reeds woven expertly, wild animals hides, or pieces of tree barks. Among the Adinkra of Ghana in West Africa, their clothes had symbols that communicated the wearers status in the community, code of conduct, popular sayings, cultural values, proverbs, animals, plants, celestial bodies, historical events and objects. These symbols had meaning depending on the wearer and the context he was found in. This is also replicated among the Waswahili of Kenya. Their Kangas5 have symbols and wise sayings that are didactic in nature. Many kings and queens in Africa wore special animals skin, for instance, the Columbus monkey skins, and the lions skins as a sign of authority, glory, honor and high esteem. Apart from the dressing code the traditional African utensils were mainly products of wood and clay. The cooking pots, the bowls, the cooking sticks and other kitchen accessories were wooden or clay. The clay and wood used was very special because it was to last for a long time in service. Houses that were erected in compounds too composed of wood and clay. Within these compounds, many different types of trees were planted. Some of them were fruits, herbs and general trees for shade during hot afternoons. During wars, raids and hunting, nature was the best and trusted friend. The warriors before making an ambush, they would hide in forests and mountains. Their weapons were mainly arrows and spears. The weapons were made of special hard wood like the ebony and teak wood. Special poisonous and sedating herbs were applied on the arrows and

spears. In hunting, dogs were the mens best friends. They were treated with respect by being given blood and part of the game. The hunters were also trained in tracking the animals smells hence they could sense the presence of a prey or dangerous animals like the lions. If the game was far away deep into the thickets, the hunters had acquired the art of coercive dialogue via mimesis; they just mimicked the games sound and the prey would come. The Kombai of Papua New Guinea who are of an African descent, because of the deep respect for wild animals, would offer apologies and repent to the hunted game for cutting short its life due to hunger. Their homesteads were houses build on trees. These African communities had an immense and amazing knowledge of ecology that the modern learned couldnt parallel. A classic and glowing example is the Babongo of Gabon in West Africa. This ethnic community has lived in the forests since time immemorial but due to logging and deforestation, they are being forced to migrate and integrate with the rest of the nation. Their knowledge of flora and fauna has baffled the modern world of medicine. The western countries have been earnestly researching on one ingredient Ibogain of the Iboga herb. The herb has been adopted as a treatment for heroin addicts, alcoholics, and people traumatized since childhood. It is believed that this herb can help the addicts to depart from their previous enslaved lives and habits. The Iboga herb forms just a part of the traditional African medicine. Mwangi supports this debate when he argues that Things Fall Apart typifies African village life and its richness as an organic selfsustaining forest which has almost everything that the west- in its arroganceclaims to have come to introduce. In the forest of Umuofia, there is a system of education, a rich philosophy, and a sophisticated art, not to mention complex religion and medical practice (2004) Another outstanding example is that of the Khomani Bushmen. Finnegan compliments Mwangis argument that among the southern Bushmen in particular, there is also some attempt to make themselves up to resemble the animals by using paint, or the skins or horns of animals. These dramas of the desert represent the different stages in hunting (1970:502). This is part of the traditional education that Mwangi insinuates in the African societies. In a nutshell, the relationship between nature and humanity in Africa is as complex as ecology itself. The culture, the religion, medicine, education, social life, language and food were hinged on the natural surroundings. Many authors of African literature having been born and raised in these cultures have exported this interconnection in their novels, plays, poems, and short stories. The Maragoli6 and Their Oral Literature The Maragoli is a patriarchal sub-ethnic group of the larger Luhya ethnic group, dotting the west Kenya counties of Kakamega, Vihiga, Bungoma, Busia, and Trans-Nzoia and partly in Nandi County found in the Rift Valley region. In the 2009 Population and Housing National Census results released in 2010, the Abaluhyia are the second largest

ethnic group after the Agikuyu with a population of 5,338,666 people. The total number of ethnic groups constituting the Abaluhya is in dispute (Kabaji 2005, Onyango 2006 and Kobia 2008). Nonetheless the Abaluhya ethnic group has the following 18 groups: the Bukusu, Maragoli, Tachoni, Tsotso, Idakho, Isukha, Tiriki, Samia, Banyore, Marachi, Kabras, Bakhekhe, Bakhangala, Marama, Banyala, Kisa, Wanga and the Bakhayo. In the 2009 census, the Maragoli are second to the Bukusu in terms of population sizes (Kenya National Bureau of Statistics 2010) According to the International Research Development Centre, the Maragoli covers an estimated 198 square kilometers immediately north of the equator and on the eastern fringes of Rift Valley Lake Basin. It should be noted that this area is estimation as other researchers estimate it at 200 square kilometers (Maragoli community Development Organization report 2005). Generally, the ecology of Maragoliland is habitable; the weather is always very hot during the months of November to February but cold during August and rainy seasons. The area receives rain twice per year to support a variety of subsistence, and commercial farming activities. The crops mainly planted are maize, beans, cassava, sweet potatoes, green vegetables, bananas (these are subsistence crops), coffee, Napier grass, tea and trees, which are for commercial purposes. They also rear livestock like cattle, sheep, goats and poultry. Poultry is so central to the Maragoli and Luhya in general. It is believed that if one does not have a chicken in his or her compound, then he is not a typical or exotic Maragoli. The main food on the Murogoris menu is ugali, a staple food which is a glutinous polenta-like mixture made from flour (of maize, millet, sorghum, cassava or a mixture of them) and boiling water. Usually, when this food is not on the menu especially for dinner, the Avarogori say kogoni ndyo translated we slept hungry. The topography of Maragoliland, an area with high degree of variability is always a site to behold. The land is dotted with undulating hills and valleys, water springs and rivers that contribute to Lake Victoria, Africas largest fresh water lake. In some areas, boulders spring from the earth. In dry seasons, the springs and the rivers though thin in volume capacity, they do not completely dry up. Therefore some parts of Maragoli have not really suffered acute water shortage for a long time. The Maragolis are hospitable people who greet one another mirembe translated as peace. The rejoinder to these greetings is mirembe mno that is, plenty of peace. They are part of the Bantu group whose origins points to West African region of Cameroon although they themselves as informed by their traditional folktales, believe to have originated from Egypt. Their oral literary songs and teachings are usually invoked to support this belief. They have always likened themselves to the Israelites who were liberated by Moses from the land of slavery, Egypt. Their culture, the environment and the neighbouring ethnic groups like the Dholuo, Kalenjin mainly feed part of their oral literature. The oral literature of the Maragoli is simple yet complex. When looked at from the facade it is just for didactic and entertainment purpose but when critically analyzed, it reveals deeper issues of gender, class, ideology, politics, religion, responsibility,

pragmatics, and ecology among other critical elements. It brings forth the complete pillars of the Maragoli community. The main genres of the Maragoli oral literature are drama, the riddles, proverbs, prose narratives, songs (children songs, wars songs, wedding songs, and mourning songs), poetry and tongue twisters. All these genres were performed at different times depending on the occasion. The Maragoli oral performer put greater emphasis on performance. He or she would involve formulating the words, expression, tone, gesture, passion control, rhythm, facial expression, and dramatic use of pause. These were significant elements of a good oral performer among the people of Maragoli. The main genre that was and still is significant was the folktales. As Kabaji points out: In traditional Maragoli society, the folktale telling tradition was a daily preoccupation. As darkness engulfed the environment, children would retreat to their grandmothers or mothers hut to be told and to tell tales (51l) The culture of storytelling was mainly done by women and at specific times. It was a taboo to tell tales during the day, a time specifically dedicated to work and building the community. Before the stories began, the children would be allowed to set and crack riddles or sing songs that set in the mood for the storyteller. An individual would stand before the audience and lead the narration and performance or a group of performers who took turns, one after the other, did the art of storytelling. Thematic backbones of these stories were varied, as one would narrate a story of war and conquest, wedding bliss, punishment and even the ogres. Sweetening the story would engross many literary oral narrative devices such as suspense (that could last for days), tonal variation, and facial expressions, involving the audience in singing and answering questions among other devices. One important element that conspicuously features in all the genres and is relevant to African environmental criticism is nature and natural objects. Many folktales, proverbs, riddles, songs, dramas, displayed a plethora of natural objects like rivers, moon, sun, trees, animals, hills, grass, insects, green vegetables and edible roots. These objects were germane in conveying the meanings of riddles, and engineering tropes; they were used in a didactic way to satirize some members of the community who went against the grain of social and religious morals. In instancing this point, the folktales of Anakanani and Anakamuna, The ogre and his six children, A goat and her children, The girl who went to harvest tsinzagayaga, Kalasimba and his wife are called into application. All of these tales have natural objects in them. The tale of Kalasimba and his wife is more interesting as it involves not only the leafy green pumpkin but the birds of the air too; the husband, Kalasimba, leaves instructions to his wife to prepare lunch for the family except pumpkins. The wife ignores him and cooks Amahondo, the pumpkins, only for them to kill all the eleven children. The wife is traumatized and nobody being in the vicinity of tragedy, sends three types of birds- irijikoro (crow) irive (eagle) and imbiravirize. Of all the three birds, only imbiravirize heeds the plea while the other two mocks her. The bird purposively sings to Kalasimba who after listening carefully, dashes home to find a tragedy of immeasurable magnitude. The story ends with the ultimate resurrection of all

the eleven children and a reproached wife. Basically within this tale, nature is used as a means of rebirthing the children into a new phase of life, and also a messenger of news. We realize that nature can be a friend of man and also an enemy depending on circumstances. Ecoanalysis of Maragoli ecosongs Ecoanalysis is a new term that we have specifically coined to mean ecologically oriented analysis while ecosongs would refer to the songs that bear natural objects as main themes, tenors or vehicles of meaning. The scope of our study as earlier outlined is the Maragoli oral literature. We will indulge children play songs, war songs, hunger songs, wedding songs, and general songs that bear ecology. We have categorized these songs anticipating the diverse roles of nature in all these categories. Hunger Songs Hunger is not a new phenomenon among the people of Maragoli. In fact they have even documented the bouts of hunger since the year 1870. One old man, Mulinya Herman who informs this insightful research mentions the following bouts of hunger and the year of occurrence (in brackets) that has afflicted the Avarogori: Isavili 1870; Obande 1907; Lilega 1917; Kekombe or Baika 1943; Egorogoro or Mugorogoro 1980. These bouts were so perilous that those who survived composed songs for reminiscence. The Obande hunger was so devastating that many people crashed dried and ground banana stems for food. Some of the songs have environmental artifacts like the wild greens, animals, banana stems among other artifacts. For instance, Mama mbee tsimbindi nzie kumiza Mama mbee tsimbindi nzie kumiza Nzie nzie nzie Nzie kumiza Kiravura kitiezo ngani inzala ya kwita Norori katsianda osiezanga no gonga Nzie nzie nzie Nzie kumiza Translation Mama give me cowpeas to go and saw Mama give me cowpeas to go and saw To go and saw To go and saw Were it not for kitiezo Hunger would have decimated us So when you see meat You grind flour with pride To go and saw To go and saw

The hunger song depicts the environment as a savior against the ravages of hunger. In this instance, kitiezo is a wild green shrub that is edible after boiling. In African societies generally, when famine struck, the members of the community especially women went to the forest to search for wild greens, tree barks, seeds, pods, roots and poisonous fruits to try and tame hunger. Boiling for close to a whole day before they could be served disarmed the poison in these plant parts. In the above song, the singer is acknowledging the redemptive power of wild nature in times of great and deadly famines and also the undertone in the song is a call to conserve the kitiezo, a symbol of food in times of great famine. This call of conservation is applied to the totality that is Mother Nature. It should be noted that there are many hunger songs among the Maragoli but for our thesis, we only deal with one song. Children play songs The Maragoli children are usually a jovial lot. Wherever they gather, they sing songs and play together. Sometimes, they can go to neighboring villages just for play. Their games are for pleasure and also for competition. Many of their songs involve dances and simulation of actions that are in tandem with the contents of the songs. Some of the songs had environmental elements hinged on them. For instance, Vaana vange kwumbakira msaara ki? Kwumbakira msangura Vaana vange kwumbakira msaara ki? Kwumbakira msangura Mryango gwadinya? Gwadinya Madirisha gadinya? Gadinya Translation My children which tree did we build our house with? We built with msangura My children which tree did we build our house with? We built with msangura Is the door strong? Yes, its strong Are the windows strong? Yes, they are strong According to Mary Egehiza who sang this song for me, it had a didactic purpose: to educate the children on nature preservation. The msangura, a hardwood tree was and is still an integral part of house construction because of its strength and durability. If one

did not build his house using this tree, it was deemed a scrawny structure that could not last. The children sang this song while in a circle. The soloist in the middle of the circle would then try to break out from the circle centre. If the soloist ultimately broke out, the weak point (the hands of the children) was considered not to have used a msangura tree to build their house. Such a song was indeed a call to the children to learn types of trees and their uses in the Maragoli community and above all to preserve them, as it is them who after having grown up, they would want to erect houses away from their fathers using these trees. Another song Senge nzigula mryango was sang by children as a way of enjoying themselves. This song is sung while sitting down and the child digging using fingers looking for a senge insect. The senge insect was usually found beside the door of the mud houses. The song goes thus Senge senge nzigula mryango Mroji aranzita Senge senge nzigula mryango Mroji aranzita Translation Senge senge open the door for me The witch will kill me Senge senge open the door for me The witch will kill me The child would continually sing the song while digging for the insect. If the esenge was not opening the door the child would refill the hole and move to another place to try his luck. The song stems from the fear of witches who would roam in the night with intent of malice. It should be noted that the lexeme senge has more than one meaning thus polysemous. It means: an auntie, a natural black mark on the body of person and a type of an insect under discussion. Children used such a song typically for play. War songs Maragoli community does not have a deep history of war and war stories. Maybe this explains why they greet one another peace. War songs among the Maragoli people are not many and this research found out only two songs related to our interest. In the songs, the warriors metaphorically refer to themselves as leopards to show swift and precision in waylaying and taking down the enemy. For instance, Inze Ingoyi (I am the leopard) Ninze ingoyi woo, inze ingoyi woo; Haa ninze ingoyi Ninze ingoyi woo, inze ingoyi woo;

Haa ninze ingoyi Haa aha! Ninze ingoyi Haa aha! Ninze ingoyi makudieganga ku vidiego Haa ninze ingoyi Translation Its me the leopard, its me the leopard Hoo! Am the leopard Its me the leopard, its me the leopard Hoo! Am the leopard Hoo! Ohoo! Am the leopard Hoo! Ohoo! Am the leopard who dances on spot Am the leopard In another war song, imbwa irarira (The dog Cries) Imbwa irarira kivala Imbwa iralira Imbwa iralira kivala Imbwa iralira O ohoo Iralira O ohoo Iralira ne kigumba ku munwa Imbwa iralira Translation The dog cries from a distance The dog cries The dog cries from a distance the dog cries O ohoo it cries O ohoo It cries with a bone in the mouth The dog cries The Maragoli warriors regarded themselves as leopards and dogs due to their fierce nature. Though the dog might sound derogatory when abused as in ove imbwa! (You are a dog!), one should not be deceived; a fierce dog can ruthlessly tear an enemy into pieces in a span of moments. The use of a dog as metaphor also illustrates the warriors as

predators who could strike in the day and in the night. The utilization of wild and tamed animals in war songs forms an unchangeable interconnectivity of ecosystems: humanity benefits from nonhuman be it health wise, economical viability, social harmony or linguistic integration. It would be difficult to imagine a functional society without these creatures. Wedding songs Marriage among the Avarogori is a sacred and joyous affair. According to Kabaji it is a meeting point between the dead, the living and the unborn (41). Marriage traditionally indicated that the woman or the man was ready to move out and start his own family. Unlike in modern day, traditionally, the woman or the man was ashamed if s (he) was not married and it was a point of worry to family members. They would not be allowed to hold or partake in some social undertakings and responsibilities and sometimes they would be mocked, satirized and used as examples by community members. Those who decided to wed traditionally were bedecked with flowers and beautiful beads and praised in song and dances. For instance, Nakusiahe Nakusiahe Muhonja witu amawa Nakusiahe Nakusiahe Muhonja witu amawa mere Translation We will adorn We will adorn our Muhonja with flowers We will adorn We will completely adorn our Muhonja with flowers Flowers generally acquire a social function all over the globe: they are used as get well message, a show of love and affection and also a congratulatory sign. Among the Avarogori, flowers in weddings showed a sign of love and affection towards the lovebirds. The above song nakusiahe7 was sung especially by women as they presented and bedecked the bride and the groom with flowers and flowery gifts. The song is sung zealously with pomp, color dance and sharp ululations. Folkloric Songs Generally, some songs could not be placed in any of the above categories hence we have created a category called Folkloric songs. The songs were functional in folktales as they were used to make storytelling lively and audience-involved besides forming a thematic axis. Indeed the two songs we have analyzed under this general category are extracts of folktales. For instance, Tsie tsie tsia mmbo Tsie tsie tsia mmbo

Tsie tsie Tsia kolola Kalasimba Tsie tsie Mahondo ga yataga Tsie tsie Ga maliyi avana Tsie tsie Likomi na mulala Tsie tsie Katiguli isugudi Tsie tsie Amanani geduvule Tsie tsie Am going, am going far, Am going, am going far Am going am going Am going Am going to tell Kalasimba The pumpkins he planted Have killed the children Eleven of them Play the drum So that ogres can dance Am going am going The song is usually sung during storytelling and specifically in the story of Kalasimba and His Wife. It is sung by imbiraviritsa, the messenger bird that is sent by Kalasimbas wife to inform him of the tragedy befallen his house. The song mentions how the pumpkins have killed the eleven children. However, one inconsistency appearing in the song is the last four stanzas. There is no relationship even sketchy between these lines and the rest of the song. In another song: Nondanga kayundi ka baba Nondanga kayundi ka baba Kaniezanga uvwuki Uvwuki vunavulugu Am pursuing my fathers bird Am pursuing my fathers bird That excretes honey Sweet honey The above song is sung by a girl in the tale Mukana yasura avayayi (the girl who rejected suitors). In the story, the girl refuses to marry suitors who come to seek her hand in

marriage. One young man decides to transform himself into a beautiful bird that excretes sweetest and finest honey. The bird lands in the farm where the girl is tilling and the beauty instantly captivates her. She decides to take the bird home. While at home, she puts the bird in a pot and covers it and to her amazement, she finds the pot filled with very sweet honey. After filling all the pots in the house, the bird escapes. The girl follows it into a far land while singing and then finally, the bird transforms itself into a handsome man and marries the girl. The song was used to teach the young marriageable girls that they could not escape the marriage requests from men. The young men can use all the tricks and intrigues up their sleeves just to get the most stubborn girl. The appearance of a plethora of natural objects like the flowers, trees, persons and many other elements of nature in Maragoli oral literature, and the concern to the literature lecturers and students is an indication of a wide maybe (un)explainable web of entanglement that exists between literature and nature. Oral literature and indeed ecosongs among the Avarogori as ecoanalyzed has shown that themes were carried on the backs of nature and natural objects like flowers, trees and not only were the songs for entertainment but also for didactic concern. Traditional African education was carried out on these platforms of orature and it became easy for the community to learn and appreciate holistic life. They grew to appreciate nature and its role to complete social functions. Conclusion This research has attempted to ecoanalyze the oral literature of the Maragoli people of western Kenya and specifically engaging the songs hinging on nature and natural environment. Indeed as we have found out, nature and people are not independent; a symbiotic-kind of relationship exists between them. Destroying nature means a destroyed culture and a destroyed culture means a ruined oral literature. No single society would appreciate if they lose a gem like the indigenous literature. This we ought to protect zealously within our formal or informal education systems. Documenting findings like these might not be the ultimate solution but rather conserving the very well of literary knowledge which is the natural environment. The field of ecoriticism is a revelation whose dispensation is now. Nurturing it would mean raising a generation of environmentally conscious literary scholars who do not just sit and lecture in Literature Departments as their surrounding thins so tragically but academicians who take up their roles as conservatists. The field, however young, poses a sound challenge to other fields to embrace the multidisciplinary approach to critical issues of our lives and our ecology. The well being of the Maragoli people and other ethnic blocs together with their literatures around the globe lies in the conservation of their environment and environmental deposits like oral literature. In the same vein, the future of modern and postmodern literatures also has a roosting net in the same nature. Any formal or informal attempt, conscious or unconscious effort towards environmental conservation is a huge step towards saving oral literatures of all global communities and these should be the fundamental challenge of the 21st century literature scholars.

End notes

Coup speaks of Kenneth Burke as follows This article is written in the hope that Burke will shortly be recognized as the first critic systematically to analyze culture and literature from an ecological perspective. According to Coup, Burke initiated this project over half a century before the rise of ecocriticism (413)
2

Read the Booklist of International Environmental Literature coordinated by Scott Slavic, World Literature Today Online 2009
3

Circumcision is an important process of maturity among the African people. It shows that one has finally developed into a man able to protect his community from intrusion. Traditionally it was carried out to people who had matured in body and who were ready to marry or wage war but in recent times, a child of four years old is circumcised and still called a man. The places of carrying out this ritual are changing as it is being carried out in partly homesteads unlike traditional sacred forests. The forests that were used for this rite of passage have been logged bare thus it is no longer holds secrecy. Moreover many parents are taking their children to modern hospitals for fear of HIV/AIDS
4

Itavaa tii despite being a green fencing shrub, it is a name for one of the sub clans of Mulogoli. The sub clan is Avavulugi who mainly dominate the area of Sabatia region of Vihiga County. It is arguably believed that Avavulugi were the main figheters or warriors during migration period and the possession of land by Maragoli is attributed to their fierce nature of fighting.
5

The Kangas among the Waswahili of Coastal Kenya is a type of a special sheet wrapped around the waist, or the whole body. It is a dress for women only and it forms part of their cultural legacy.
6

The Maragoli is also known as Maragooli or Avarogoori. In our research we shall use Maragoli and Avarogori to mean the people. Maragoliland shall refer to the area inhabited by the Maragolis.
7

Nakusiahe is a pluralized verb among the Maragoli people to mean we will adorn. This song has been and is still common even to this day in celebrations of nuptials, political homecomings, even in times of visitation by somebody great within the community.

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