Welcome to Kakwa Web
There is no precise word for
‘web’ in the Kakwa language. Reference to ‘spider-web’, for example, is
kadi na lugegeri which literally means ‘house of spider.’ There is,
however, word for net which is known as bira. We can, therefore, coin the
term bira to refer to the worldwide web or to the Internet in Kakwa.
There are scattered pieces of information in the Internet and books on Kakwa.
However, much of this information is inherently inaccurate, negative,
incomplete, not well-thought out, simplistic, malicious and at best guess
work, with generalizations that amount to lack of knowledge and respect for
the Kakwa and their territories. They are also written largely by, and for,
foreigners.
The Kakwa web is designed to document and communicate to our next generation
what we know of our cultural and natural heritage: the wells, mountains,
hills, rivers, valleys, forests, dances, songs, burial rituals or foods
which are our legacy from the past, our beacons of today.
We are all well aware that the Internet is fast becoming a refuge for the
world’s indigenous cultural and natural heritage that would otherwise become
extinct. We are also well aware that this technology belongs to no one
culture. Therefore, through this bira, we can now learn, translate
and teach Kakwa in Kakwa, English, Arabic, French, Kiswahili or in corpus
(corpora) languages or in ‘machine readable texts.’
Big tasks and responsibilities still lie ahead. But we must continue to try.
During our long and passionate research into the different aspects of Kakwa
traditional culture and natural heritage, we have identified existing
cultural and natural heritage resources that can provide documentary base on
which to build comprehensive framework for the integration of our
traditional knowledge in wider educational and commercial programs. These
resources include oral histories, photos, video tapes, biographies,
traditional place names and maps, language materials, curricula resources,
or any other book, tape, video, DVD, documents or persons that can provide
insights into the traditional knowledge and skills utilized by Kakwa people
everywhere. Anyone who knows of more such resources, and is willing to share
that information, is encouraged to contact us as soon as convenient.
We are striving to restore what we have lost. Everything we do for, or on,
Kakwa is based on lemi: consciousness, unquestionable determination,
strong cause, strong conviction, honesty, and the right to do the right
thing — all the time!
MUSIC CLIPS: ( Right click and "Save" over title below )
Kuliya
ti La'Bi lo Kakwa
by Yuga Juma Onziga
This book strives to protect and cherish our cultural and natural heritage, and raises awareness, pride and action for heritage conservation, thereby enhancing the quality of our existence today
and for future generations.
116 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); foreign language; catalogue #06-2204; ISBN 1-4251-0447-9
US$30.43, C$35.00, EUR25.00, £17.50