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DOCUMENTATION OF DIRGE SONGS AMONG THE AMOKWE ORJI 

PEOPLE OF NIGERIA 

 

 

Linda Chinelo Nkamigbo & Ngozi Christiana Agu 

Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State 

 

 

Introduction 

Language documentation or documentary linguistics came into existence as a result of 

an urgent need to preserve endangered languages or endangered aspects of languages. 

Language documentation is an important tool for preserving languages especially endangered 

languages or endangered aspects of a language. It is this increasing phenomenon of language 

endangerment that has led to the emergence of documentary linguistics. Therefore if 

endangered languages are not adequately documented, there would be nothing to prove the 

existence of such a language. Himmelmann (2006) views language documentation as a 

subfield of linguistics concerned with the methods, tools and theoretical underpinnings for 

compiling a representative and lasting multi-purpose record of a natural language or one of its 

varieties. Similarly, Woodbury (2003) claims that language documentation is concerned with 

the making and keeping of records of the world’s languages and the ways in which they are 

used. For Woodbury, language documentation came up alongside major changes in the 

technology of linguistic data representation and an increasing focus on the threats posed to 

languages by endangerment. 

Language documentation is not what a researcher delves into without having a particular 

reason(s) in mind. There are basically three essential reasons for engaging in language 

documentation according to Himmelmann (2006). These reasons are: language 

endangerment, the economy of research resources, and accountability. 

 Today a substantial number of the languages spoken in the world are threatened by 

extinction and if they are not properly documented, there would be nothing to refer to such 

languages in the nearest future. Some languages are not endangered in the real sense but 

certain varieties of such languages could be endangered. Owners of endangered languages 

and endangered language varieties are aware of the phenomenon so, they readily welcome 

language documenters. Macri (2006), in affirmation of the above notion, says that those who 

really appreciate language documentation are those whose language or aspect of the language 

is endangered. It is in view of the objectives of documentary linguistics that this study sets 

out to document a cultural aspect of the people of Amokwe Orji - the dirge songs. Amokwe 

Orji is a community located at Udi Local Government Area of Enugu state, Nigeria. The 

phenomenon of dirge songs is an important cultural aspect of the Amokwe Orji community. 

Regrettably, these dirge songs are gradually going into extinction due to the advent of 

Christianity and civilization. The younger generation is no longer interested in the dirge 

songs. DJs, CDs, computers and other musical instruments are gradually over taking dirge 

songs. 



      

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Dirge songs in general are songs that express sorrow usually rendered at the funeral of the 

deceased.  According to Ogene (2010:8), “a dirge is an oral poetry that is meant to be sung at 

the burial or funeral of a person. It is shorter than the elegy hence makes a direct remark and 

expression of feelings”. For Okorie (2005:39) “a dirge is understood to be a song that mourns 

the death of someone”. Dirge songs in Amokwe Orji are rendered at the funeral of a woman 

or a teenage girl only. This is to say that dirge songs are not sung for men in this speech 

community. Again, it is only women that perform dirge songs in this community. Muti 

(2003) points out that the performance of dirge songs is mostly a woman’s affair in the form 

of songs and dances sometimes. The most identifiable and outstanding literary quality of the 

dirge songs is repetition. These repetitions are not monotonous neither are they due to 

hindrance in thought rather a means of emphasizing salient point that mourners might wish to 

express. 

 

 

Review of previous related literature 

 The issue of language endangerment has motivated some researchers and 

documenters into various practical works on language documentation. These works are 

mostly on languages that are already endangered. Urua (2012) in contributing her own quota 

to the preservation of endangered languages conducted a documentation project on dirge 

songs among the Uruan people of Nigeria. The documentation centered on the dirge which is 

a ritual funeral eulogy performed by elderly women and professionals at the demise of a 

family or community member and also performed during a terrible disaster. These dirges 

were traditionally used at funerals in this community but it is rarely practiced these days 

because of a shift to western funeral customs and has been a highly endangered cultural 

aspect of this language. In the same vein, Ajuwon (2010) conducted a documentary work 

entitled “the preservation of Yoruba tradition through hunter’s funeral dirges”. His 

documentation covered different cultural performances in Yoruba land. These cultural 

aspects of the Yoruba people are seriously threatened by extinction. The most endangered is 

the hunter’s dirge which celebrates the loss and fame of a particular hunter. His major aim 

was to preserve some of these cultures for the future generations. 

Still on the issue of documenting endangered languages, Vallejos (2010) documented 

aspects of the Kokama language which is a deeply endangered language from the Peruvian 

Amazon. The research revealed that the few remaining fluent speakers of the language are 

mostly older than sixty years of age and use the language in very restrictive situations. Then 

again, children no longer learn the language. In this case, one can understand and appreciate 

the level of work done by Vallejos in trying to preserve the language of this particular speech 

community. Another interesting project in language documentation is that done by Kaddo 

(2013). The project involved a basic documentation of Migaama. Migaama is a Chadic 

language of the East branch spoken in the vicinity at the Centre of the Republic of Chad. This 

language is severely endangered. The speakers of the language migrated to other 

communities during their civil war. The young people, on the other hand, prefer to speak 

Arabic or French. These and other reasons caused a breach in the continuity of the language 



      

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thereby resulting in endangerment. Kaddo’s major interest in this project is on the literary 

genres of the language. 

Kabisch-Lindenlaub (2011) tried to document the Golpa language.  Her project called 

“the analysis of the Golpa stories”, aimed at producing an annotated and illustrated Golpa 

story book about the people, their land and culture. Golpa is a severely endangered Yolnga 

language spoken in Elcho Island, Northern territory, Australia. Most of the stories in the book 

are part of a huge collection of audio recordings made back in the 1960s by B. Schebeck. 

These texts were never analysed until the onset of this project. There are only few Golpans 

left who still speak and understand the language to a considerable extent. Language 

documentation is an important tool in preserving endangered languages. A great number of 

the world’s languages are threatened by endangerment; hence language documentation came 

into existence as a way of salvaging this problem. Language documentation involves the 

preservation of language materials for use by future generation. This present study attempts 

to preserve a genre of Igbo oral tradition – dirge songs.  

 

 

Methodology 

The performance of dirge songs in Amokwe Orji is restricted to elderly women, 

therefore, data were obtained from elderly women who are between the ages of 60 and above. 

This selection is made just to ensure that the data are obtained from those who have a direct 

involvement in the dirge songs. The dirge songs were recorded as the women performed at 

different places in the speech community. The data collected for this research work were 

analyzed by the use of simple descriptive method. Each of the songs was transcribed 

phonologically and translated into English after which a little commentary was made about 

the songs. 

 

 

Data presentation and analysis 

The first section handles the data presentation which involves the phonological 

transcription and translation of the dirge songs. It is worthy of mention that the transcription 

is dialectal that is, it involves the rendition of the dirge songs as the dialect speakers will say 

and not standard Igbo. The second section presents a discussion of the data. 

 

Dirge Song 1 

/ↄwʊ ee o meɹe oje/ 

‘oh death it has occurred to someone’ 

/mʊ na oje ga eβi/ 

‘whom shall I live with’? 

/ↄwʊ gbuɺu ŋwa mmadʊ/ 

‘death killed someone’s child’ 

/ↄwʊ mʊ na oje ga eβi/ 

‘whom shall I live with’? 

/ↄwʊ ee o meɺe oje/ 



      

Current Issues in Linguistics, Language and Gender Studies: A Festschrift in Honour of Professor Cecilia Amaoge Eme 

 

 
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‘oh death it has occurred to someone’ 

/mʊ na oje ga eβi/ 

‘whom shall I live with’? 

 

Dirge Song 2 

/na mbʊ ka ↄwʊ bidoɺo/ 

‘death has been in existence from the beginning’ 

/na mbʊ na mbʊ ko bidoɺo/ 

‘in the beginning, in the beginning death has been in existence’ 

 

Dirge Song 3 

/ugegbe a kʊwala ↄ kʊwala/ 

‘a mirror has broken, it has broken’ 

/ezigbo ugegbe a kʊwala ↄ kʊwala/ 

‘a good mirror has broken, it has broken’ 

/ↄ kʊwala niwe/ 

‘it broke in anger’ 

 

Dirge Song 4 

/jekwana ŋwane gi iɦe ko ɺie/ 

‘give your brother something to eat’ 

/gwakwanʊ ŋwane gi oku kↄ nʊɺʊ/ 

‘speak to your brother let him listen’ 

/ʊbↄʧi ↄ gabʊ ↄ bʊ ŋwane gi ga akʊ nisi/ 

‘The day of your death, your brother is the first point of call’ 

/ndi ↄzↄ ga aβia mgbe o ʤiɺi sↄ ɦa/ 

‘others would come at their own convenient time’ 

/ma ɦa ŋwe efe βia mgbaɺu/ 

‘if they are less busy to come for condolence’ 

 

Dirge Song 5 

/ↄwʊ lee lee lee/ 

‘oh death’ 

/ↄwʊ ka aɲi ike/ 

‘death is stronger than us’ 

/ↄwʊ e weɺe ŋgaga si na windo/ 

‘death has playfully through the window’ 

/magbuɺu oje ↄma/ 

‘snatched a good person’ 

/ↄwʊ na abani ole ŋke ka mma/ 

‘death and night which is better’ 

/ↄwʊ emeɺigo/ 

‘death has won’ 



      

Current Issues in Linguistics, Language and Gender Studies: A Festschrift in Honour of Professor Cecilia Amaoge Eme 

 

 
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/ʊmʊnne m unu aɦugonu iɦe ↄwʊ meɺe aji/ 

‘my brothers you have seen what death has done to us’ 

/ↄwʊ e weɺe ŋgaga si na windo/ 

‘death has arrogantly through the window’ 

/magbuɺu oje ↄma/ 

‘snatched a good person’ 

/ↄwʊ na abani ole ŋke ka mma/ 

‘death and night which is better’ 

/ↄwʊ emeɺigo/ 

‘death has won’ 

 

Dirge Song 6 

/ŋwane aji ŋdo/ 

‘our brother sorry’ 

/ŋwane aji ŋdo/ 

‘our brother sorry’ 

/ŋwane aji dibe na obi adiɺa aji mma/ 

‘our brother take heart for we are not happy’ 

/akʊ ʧaɺa aʧa ke egbe βiaɺa buɺu/ 

‘a ripe palm-nut has been taken by the hawk’ 

/egbe buɺu ja oβi adiɺa aji mma/ 

‘the hawk took it and we are not happy’ 

 

Dirge Song 7 

/dibe dibe dibe/ 

‘endure, endure endure’ 

/ndidi ka mma/ 

‘endurance is better’ 

/oje o meɺe ja dibe/ 

‘whoever it befalls, let him endure’ 

/ndidi ka mma/ 

‘endurance is better’ 

 

Dirge Song 8 

/ɛbeɺe mʊ akwa/ 

‘I cried’ 

/ɛtiɺi m mkpu/ 

‘I screamed’ 

/alo mʊ na ŋwane m galikpa/ 

‘The discussion that I would have had with my brother’ 

/ↄwʊ weɺe dↄkasia ja/ 

‘death disrupted it’ 

 



      

Current Issues in Linguistics, Language and Gender Studies: A Festschrift in Honour of Professor Cecilia Amaoge Eme 

 

 
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Dirge Song 9 

/ↄ gabago ʤeɺuselem/ 

‘she has gone to Jerusalem’ 

/ↄ gabago ʤeɺuselem/ 

‘she has gone to Jerusalem’ 

/ebe ndi maɺa mma neʤe ʤeɺuselem/ 

‘where the beautiful ones go, Jerusalem’ 

/obodo bʊ sↄ mma/ 

‘a beautiful city’ 

/mama agabago ʤeɹuselem/ 

‘mama has gone to Jerusalem’ 

/ↄ gabago ʤeɺuselem/ 

‘she has gone to Jerusalem’ 

/ebe ndi maɺa mma neʤe ʤeɺuselem/ 

‘where the beautiful ones go, Jerusalem’ 

/obodo bʊ sↄ mma/ 

‘a beautiful city’ 

 

Dirge Song 10 

/abiakwana m I gʊɺʊ ↄwʊ ɛgu/ 

‘I have come to sing for death’ 

/ↄwʊ ee/ 

‘oh death’ 

/abiakwanam igʊɺʊ ↄwʊ ɛgu/ 

‘I have come to sing for death’ 

/ↄwʊ ebeɺe emeɣu gu/ 

‘death you are heartless’ 

/abiakwana m ibeɺe ↄwʊ akwa/ 

‘I have come to cry for death’ 

/ↄwʊee/ 

‘oh death’ 

/a biakwanam ibeɺe ↄwʊ akwa/ 

‘I have come to cry for death’ 

/ↄwʊ ebeɺe emeɣu gu/ 

‘death you are heartless’ 

 

Dirge Song 11 

/ↄwʊ ike ɦaa aji ka aji melʊ ŋgaga/ 

‘sudden death allow us to enjoy ourselves’ 

/aji nekpeɺe ↄwʊ ike ɦaa aji/ 

‘we are pleading with sudden death to allow us’; 

/ka aji melʊ ŋgaga/ 

‘let us enjoy ourselves’ 



      

Current Issues in Linguistics, Language and Gender Studies: A Festschrift in Honour of Professor Cecilia Amaoge Eme 

 

 
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/a malʊ m eʧi/ 

‘I cannot predict tomorrow’. 

 

 

Discussion of findings 

 In dirge song 1, the performers make a direct remark to death by a way of rhetorical 

question. The mourners go on to inquire from death who they will live with since death has 

taken away someone dear to them. Dirge song 2 tries to express the notion that death is a part 

and parcel of man since it has been in existence form the beginning of the world. In dirge 

song 3, the deceased is compared directly to a mirror. The verb ‘break’ in the dirge is 

repeated severally to emphasize the destructive nature of death. As we know, when a mirror 

is broken, it is always difficult to assemble the pieces. The mourners see the dead as a broken 

mirror because once a person dies, he never returns to life.  Dirge song 4 has a central 

message of brotherhood and unity. The performers try to admonish the living to always show 

love and care to their brothers while they are still alive. This is important because on the day 

of a person’s death, the brother(s) will be the first point of call. Others are secondary 

participants. In the same vein, the performers in dirge song 5 point to the fact that death is 

stronger than humans. Also observe that the word ‘death’ was repeated in virtually all the 

lines. In dirge songs 6 & 7, the singers sympathize with the deceased’s relatives. In dirge 

song 6 in particular, the mourners again compared the dead to a palm-nut and ‘death’ to 

hawk. This comparison exemplifies the use of metaphor.  Dirge number 8 depicts a 

mourner who wanted to have a good time with his brother but was interrupted by death. In 

situations like this, the affected person is left with no other choice than to wail as the dirge 

song expresses. 

On the contrary, dirge 9 does not in any way express grief rather it is a reassurance 

that the dead has gone to a place of rest which the performers refer to as Jerusalem (since 

dirge songs are performed only at the funeral of a woman in this speech community, the 

singers used the word ‘mama’ in line 5 to demonstrate this fact). Also, the word ‘Jerusalem’ 

as in the dirge indicates a kind of influence from Christianity which is now gradually 

dominating the performance of dirge songs in Amokwe Orji speech community. Again one 

can say that dirge 9 is rendered only at the demise of a very old person example someone that 

lived a fulfilled life. Dirge 10 expresses the heartless nature of death. Again, the word ‘death’ 

was repeated to emphasize the seriousness of death. Finally, dirge 11 expresses a plea by the 

mourners. The singers use the figure of speech ‘personification’ to assign the quality of a 

human being that is, the capacity to grant a plea, a verbal action done by humans alone, to 

death. The last line in dirge song 11 expresses the notion of uncertainty. 

 

 

Summary and conclusion 

The data presented above reveal that all the dirge songs in one way or another express 

grief over the loss of someone except dirge song 9 which does not express sorrow in the strict 

sense of a dirge. It rather gives comforting and reassuring expressions. It also demonstrates a 

fulfilled life. Again, it was observed from the data presented, that the performers of the dirge 



      

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songs employ certain literary devices such as repetition, rhetorical questions, metaphor, 

personification, apostrophe etc. while expressing their feelings through the dirge songs. The 

frequent occurrence of repetition was not as a result of hindrance in thought but as a way of 

emphasizing salient points which the mourners may wish to express. 

From the findings so far, one can conclude that all the dirge songs documented in this 

research in one way or another express sorrow and mourn over the demise of a person. Also 

only elderly women perform the dirge songs in Amokwe Orji speech community. The non 

interest indicated by the young generation in the dirge songs due to the advent of Christianity 

and civilization, shows clearly that the dirge songs are endangered. Also the very few old 

women who have knowledge of the dirge songs will soon die and this implies the death of 

dirge songs. 

 

 

References 

Ajuwon, B. 2010. The preservation of Yoruba tradition through hunters’ funeral dirges. 

Journal of International African Institute, 50 (1) 34-47. 

Himmelmann, P. 2006. Language documentation: What is it and what is it good for? In 

Gupper, J., P. Himmelmann and U. Mosel (eds.) Essentials of language 

documentation. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 

Kaddo, S. 2013. A basic documentation of Migaama. London: Hans Rausing Endangered 

Languages Project. 

Kabisch-Lindenlaub, J. 2011. The Analysis of Golpa Stories. London: ELAR. 

Macri, M. 2010. Language documentation: Whose ethics? In Greenoble, A. and A. Furbee 

(eds.) Language documentation: Practice and values. Amsterdam: John Benjamins 

Publishing Company. 

Muti, B.J. 2003. Stylistic pattern in oral literature: The form and structure of Bakweri Dirges. 

Nordic journal of African studies,12.  

Ogene, M.S.2010. Literary appreciation: Theory and practice with creative writing and 

textual criticism. Enugu: Ndix educational Publications (NIG). 

Okorie, N.B. 2005. A concise  glossary of literary terms. Enugu: Phema Publications. 

Urua, E.A. 2012. Documentation of dirge songs among the Uruan people of Nigeria. London: 

ELAR-SOAS. 

Vallejos, R. 2010. Integrating language documentation, language preservation and linguistic 

research: Working with the Kokamas from the Peruvian Amazon. Language 

documentation and conservation, 8. Mexico: University of New Mexico. 

Woodbury, A. 2003. Defining documentary linguistics. In Austin, P. (ed.) Language 

documentation and description, 1. London: SOAS. 

 

 

 


