Sigweya
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A sigweya is a solo spoken-word performance used by the Luo people to extol the values of a specific person or people. While commonly used at funerals to commemorate the deceased, a sigweya can also be performed to living people, such as at weddings and festivals.[1]
The Luo constitute the second-largest ethnic group in Kenya.[2] Within Luo culture, spoken-word performances are often used to express emotions, including in chode, performed between lovers, and nyono, performed by multiple people who are in mourning.[3] The sigweya is most commonly compared to elegies and dirges, though it is not exclusively used to commemorate the deceased. Luo people believe that life begins and ends with immortality, from spirit (Dholuo: tipo) to body (ringre) and back to spirit. While the physical body dies, the spirit lives on, retaining the individual's identity.[4] The spirit believed to eventually return to a body in the form of their descendent, and newborn Luo children will often be referred to by spirit names such as Nyatiegari (lit. 'great grandmother') due to the belief that they share the same spirit as a deceased relative or ancestor.[5] The specific custom of performing a sigweya is believed to have started with Luo soldiers.[2][6]