LOOK: Birth of Jesus with Magi and Celestial Observers by Ancent Soi
LISTEN: “Nyathi Onyuol” (A Child Is Born) | Traditional Luo spiritual, arr. Enrico Oweggi, 1990 | Performed by the Nairobi Chamber Chorus, 2021
Isaya ne okoro k’owacho niya
“Kuomwa nyathi onyuol.”
Nyathi ma wuoyi, no luonge Hono,
Jabura, Nyasaye ma Jateko, Wuonwa, Emmanuel.Chieng’o nogo piny neolil piny neo kuwe,
Sulwe ne rieny, Nyathi n’o nyuol.
Kanyna n’oting’o Maria, yawa, kodhiyoe piny mar
Daudi kwargi kanyna n’oting’o
Maria yawa Maria ne pek Yesu Jawar
Kar nindo n’otamo Maria yudo
Bethlehem ne opon’g ting ma pek
Josef chwore n’o manyo ot tone ot otamo
Kuom hawi Josef n’onyis kund dhok
Gotieno nogo muoch neoyako Maria.Isaya ne okoro . . .
ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
Isaiah prophesied and said:
“Unto us a child is born!”
He shall be called Wonderful Counselor,
the Mighty God, our Father, Emmanuel!On that day
it was dark and silent.
There was no place
in Bethlehem for
Mary and Joseph.
By chance
they were shown
a shed, and that night
Mary gave birth
to the child.Isaiah prophesied . . .
This song of unknown authorship is written in the Luo language of the Luo people, who traditionally live on the shores of Lake Victoria in western Kenya and northern Tanzania. It was popularized by Muungano National Choir, who recorded it on their 1990 album Missa Luba: An African Mass—10 Kenyan Folk Melodies, as arranged by one of their members, Enrico Oweggi (sometimes rendered “Owegi”).
The Luo lyrics and loose English translation above are sourced from the liner notes of Christmas a Cappella: Songs from Around the World by Chicago a Capella (2008).
Other performance videos available on YouTube include those by Christ the King Church Choir in Kampala and the Choir of ACK St. Stephen’s Bamburi in Mombasa.
Art & Theology 