| dc.description.abstract | This is a study of the art of rig r no v/hich is a
genre of Luo oral literature.
The terra ncoro is in the singular. Like1 some
Luo words whose singulars end in ro, the two let tors
are replaced by che in the plural which becomes
ngeche.
Scholars of Luo oral tradition and culture
translate and define ngero mistakenly as the proverb,
thus making it lexically and culturally English by
assuming that their naming systems are universal for
all mankind. This generalisation variously identifies
the ngero with short expressions, comprising brief
statements, phrases and incomplete sentences.
In this thesis over two hundred texts (ngcche)
and oxp 1 anatc>ry da.ta (some in the- agpo: dic:es) prcvidc
clues for analyses, interpretations and conclusions,
revealing features unknown to the proverb as defined
in the English dictionary thus proving the concepts
of brevity and incompleteness as terms describing the
ngero as inadequate and false. A ngero , whether only
one word or a little more, is compietc, with the socio
cultural background and context making it a long and
(JV)
huge text. These charuc< ■ ri sties make run so mind,
bigger than t he Eng] i r.h j: rc ver1j , vi t h mar; ■/ ,j - -r c t. s t o
its definitions.
One of the definitions is that rinero is a
complex, puzzling matter or utterance. Verbosity,
circumlocution and apparently unf u.l f ii lab] o promises
are aspects of ngero synonymous with s i (fan a. Ngero
and si sari a also mean folktale.
Riddle is rigoro . how commonly called
kitanda will, a Luoni sVtioii of the Kiswahili Q>Uvi i'.i- ct C.viC'V^." kitonda wlii, riddling is a children's verbal and
intellectual game, preparatory to sophistication in
ngero. Allusive, diplomatic talk, mind-teasers and
didactic utterances are forms of ngero.
People's extraordinary characteristics and
historical memorabilia are called ngero.
A person with unpredictable and intractable
characteristics is called rangero (ra makes ngero
adjectival and descriptive of the character.)
Figurativeness, al1iteruticn, purposive repetition, O'? phonaesthetics and aggluti r. a t i v enoTd ore features of
ngero.
With all those features, ngero conveys the feelings,
perceptions, emotions, desires, morals, norms, traditional
sagacity, and‘ concurring and opposing sociaj
ideas of its users. The study therefore concludes that
and therefore a verbal .social activity rcootivo to
creat Ivj ty . Conversations from which no ere; in derived
the ejonre Dc-ir.e part of those proces
object.
is a social
The final picture is that ngcro is a cluster of
complex phenomenon, ramifications, and imp!ications for
which most concepts of existing scholarship are inadequate,
for example, the folktale -form of ngcro is often
compressed into a few words, meaning the understanding
of the brief-form is incomplete without the folk-tale
form and vice-versa. Another case is pakruek. A person
praises himself on a merry-making occasion in negative
terms, alluding to somebody in the party or simply having
fun and being didactic. This is called pakruok, in certain
respects a source and form of ngero; it is a praise-game
as we 11 as beig educative. On its own , pakruek is a
huge tip cf i.he ice-berg called naeg-o,
The inLergeneric relationships involved are resolved )
by relying on the Luo oral dictionary. This thesis
reveals the existence of the relationships and concludes
that further investigation of the genres is necessary
to mao cut the who 1 e range of nciere ' s comp 1 exi ty. | en_US |
