Tero Buru: The Luo Musical Extravaganza and a Rite in a Rite
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Date
2011-05-14
Authors
Orawo, Charles Nyakiti
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Academic Journals
Abstract
Tero Buru was one of the Luo rites of passage performed at the funerals of adult members of the
community. As a funeral rite, it was performed as the last rite before the body of the deceased is
washed and taken to the grave for burial. It was similar to the requiem, the contemporary Church
Service performed by Priests at funerals of the deceased Christian believers in the Luo territory.
In Tero Buru the eldest son of the deceased played a leading role. As earlier observed, there were
two types of Tero Buru; the first type being performed on the burial day and the second type
performed later, after the burial. Irrespective of the type preferred, there had to be a mini Tero
Buru to enable the buried to take place. Tero Buru was a rite in a rite. The main rite, the funeral
ceremonies itself could not take place unless there was death in the community. If the dead was
an adult member of the community, then, Tero Buru rite had also to be performed as per the
custom. Since death begot funeral ceremonies, death of adult members of the Luo community
also begot Tero Buru. In short, Tero Buru was a rite in a rite. Tero Buru was a rite in which music
played a very significant role. It was nothing but song and dance. The participants of Tero Buru
literally sang, recited, played sound producing resources and danced. The sounds produced to
which they pegged their movements were as varied as the groups involved in the Tero Buru
activities. Because of the diversity experienced, performances at Tero Buru qualified not to be
considered as a music performance but rather, an extravaganza, a musical extravaganza. This was
because no one group could claim the monopoly or a leading role. All the participants claimed to
play equal roles. They were all equal partners in the extravaganza. All were joined in the quest of
fighting death; an enemy that had caused havoc in the community.
Description
A Research Article in the International Journal of Current Research
Keywords
Thum, traditional Music, Musical Instruments, Performance, Music Genres, Western Culture, Luo Lyre, Jathum, African Rituals
Citation
Nyakiti, C.O. (2011)“Tero buru: the Luo musical extravaganza and a rite in a rite.” International Journal of Current Research. (ISSN-0975-833X) , Vol.3, Issue 5, pp.164-169