Skip to content

When the drums beat, and the black youths kick up dust, they dance with energy and vigor. They dance with a healthy spirit, naughtily with pride, and full of life. It's a dance filled with competition, provocation, and challenges, showcasing their youthful exuberance and cultural pride.

— Okot p'Bitek Song of Lawino and Song of Ocol (1966)

Another quote →

More quotes by Okot p'Bitek

Perhaps she has aborted many children, or maybe she has even thrown her twins into the pit latrine!

Song of Lawino and Song of Ocol (1966)

In the wisdom of the Acoli, time is not stupidly split up into seconds and minutes. It does not flow like beer in a pot that is sucked until it is finished.

Song of Lawino and Song of Ocol (1966)

I really hate the charcoal stove! Your hand is always charcoal-dirty and anything you touch is blackened; and your finger nails resemble those of a poison woman.

Song of Lawino and Song of Ocol (1966)

Each man, though not necessarily with his wife, dances inside a dark house. They shamelessly hold each other tightly, so tightly that it feels as if they can barely breathe.

Song of Lawino and Song of Ocol (1966)

I am terribly afraid of the electric stove, I do not like using it because you stand up when you cook.

Song of Lawino and Song of Ocol (1966)

All Okot p'Bitek quotes →

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Okot p'Bitek (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.