Kpeha’s Song Ethics And Culture In Urhobo Udje Poetry

Description

My brother Kpeha, composer, singer and dancer of Udje died in 1952, in far away Aka (Benin territory), unlettered, childless and penniless, aged 50 years. In Owahwa all we remember him by today are his songs composed in the late 1930s, collected in this anthology. Kpeha’s life and death are the stuff of which Udje satire is made. Had I the gift of poetry I would celebrate him in Udje song. But, as our father, Kokpako, used to say if your hand cannot touch your back, use it to rub your belly’. This book is my attempt at singing his song, at telling his story, our story.

The author

Here is a blood demonstration, in limpid prose, of one art form, that of Udje poetry of the Urhobo, as truly a compendium of all a people possessed in the course of time.

Professor Emeritus J. P. Clark

This is truly unusual and remarkable book. The author, a distinguished medical scientist, looks back over six decades to his own youth in an Urhobo village where we encounter a boy set to be a fisherman… The deeply-moving story Professor Okpako so ably tells in this splendid book is about the life of his older half-brother Kpeha – composer, singer and dancer of the musical genre known as Udje. The raw emotion of Udje is revealed so that a new generation can appreciare how Urhobo society once was, through its music and dance. This is the power of people coming to terms with unending struggle and difficulty, and discovering they have the strength to endure against the odds. It is a song that Nigeria and the world need to hear.

Professor Emeritus Paul Richards