{"id":61656,"date":"2020-10-05T15:09:20","date_gmt":"2020-10-05T13:09:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/?p=61656"},"modified":"2020-10-05T15:09:22","modified_gmt":"2020-10-05T13:09:22","slug":"luo-religious-practice-in-obongo-nyakalaga-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/luo-religious-practice-in-obongo-nyakalaga-music\/","title":{"rendered":"Luo religious practice in Obong\u2019o Nyakalaga music"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Uncovering the long history of Luo religious practices in the life and work of  Vioxii Dede, Japesa and Khaligraph Jones<\/strong>.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Hip Hop artists Vioxii Dede, Japesa, Khaligraph Jones, Tat Yen and comedian Eric Omondi channel their energies to showcase their Luo religious cultures.\u00a0In Dholuo \u2013 the language of the Luo of Kenya and Tanzania, Nyasaye is the title reserved for the Almighty God. According to veteran journalist Philip Ochieng\u2019, Nyasaye is a derivative of the verb \u201csayo\u201d \u2013 which means to beg, to supplicate, or to beseech. Therefore, a reference to the one before whom you kneel to pray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among all the Luo speaking peoples of Uganda, Sudan, Eritrea, the Central African Republic, Kenya, Tanzania, Democratic Congo, and Ethiopia, Nyasaye has various translations such as Juok, Jok, Jog, Juogi or Joghi, all used in reference to the term \u201cGod.\u201d\u00a0 The Kenyan Luo also had other euphemisms for Nyasaye(God), such as Obong\u2019o Nyakalaga<\/a>. In the Acholi dialect, “Bongo” is the synonym to “onge” in Dholuo, which means nonexistent or absent. From “Bongo”, the Luos coined the name Obong\u2019o, to mean one of a kind, whose source is unknown, or the only begotten one. While Nyakalaga means the all-powerful, ubiquitous one, it literally translates as “he who crawls everywhere” \u2013 exhibiting the omnipresent nature of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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