SOURCE: Okumu, Charles. “The Form of Okot p'Bitek's Poetry: Literary Borrowing from Acoli Oral Traditions.” Research in African Literatures 23, no. 3 (fall 1992): 53-66.

In the following essay, Okumu discusses p'Bitek's use of literary devices that reflect his Acoli background.

Acoli traditional culture is a living culture in which folklore contributes to the governing of society. Regularly performed before responsive audiences, Acoli folklore genres are as old as Acoli society itself, but they are also individual creations by means of which people fulfill their psychological needs. Over a period of time, these genres become imprinted on the society's collective consciousness, but each performance is unique in the sense that it takes place at a specific time and place. Highly specialized genres like oral songs are performed by adult professional singers who often accompany themselves on a musical instrument. The proverb is another specialized genre, and it is used by Acoli...