The Woman's Voice in Unyago Oral Poetry: A Case Study of Swahili- Speaking Clusters in Kisumu and its Environs

Abstract

This is a study of Unyago songs (poems). It investigates the structure of the songs and their socio-cultural contexts. Among other related issues, the Study examines Unyago as a Women's specific institution for initiation. The location of the study is Kisumu Municipality and its environs. The informants are Kiswahili speaking clusters, and the research methodology includes a feminist literary framework,the ethnographic theory, participant - observation and unstructured interviews. The major finding of this study is the Unyago is a theatrical stage,in it there is the performance of songs, dances and conversations.in it women's desires, perceptions of themselves, their sexual and gender identity, and their own lives are expressed;the . male gender, sexual politics and relationships between men and women are revealed. We discover that the Unyago performance encompasses art and life and that the two are inseparable. Ultimately, the findings establish that, through Unyago rituals, girls change and mature into women who in turn acquire their gender identity. The social interactions opportuned by Unyago, empower the women to exert control over their lives and that of their society as a whole. This empowerment gives them what the thesis calls a voice, the voice is identifiable as a process that starts with the girls' puberty, through all the Unyago and Unyago-related ceremonies like dari ya