AndrewWanhMayik_songYouWouldHaveBeenMarried

Abstract

The recording at the center of this item is a Shilluk song. Young men would seek new dancing mates if the girls with whom they dance were taken by another group. They can also seek to win girls from another village if they outnumber the girls with whom they dance. The young men must first try to win the leader of the girls, who will talk to the girls and convince them to accept the young men as their dancing mates. In this song, the leader of the girls accepted to dance with Dhøgalal youth, because she thought that she would be married. But she did not satisfy the young men; the result was this insulting song which says to the girl: our rich family would have married you, but we are sorry. We know that your family also expected that we could marry you, but now they are crying that cows went away, because we found out that you are an arrogant girl and you are ugly.