EAC, calls for regional peace dominate fete

By GEORGE ORIDO

The East Africa Community got a boost yesterday when students presented folk dances from Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia during the ongoing Kenya Schools and Colleges Music Festival in Nakuru.

Lokitaung Primary School from Turkana County was in a class of their own when they rendered a Merile traditional folk dance Eku eku from Ethiopia in praise of a healthy, well-fed bull.

The young men were so synchronised and fast paced, it was hard to catch up with every move enhanced by their high jumps that only rival Kenyan Maasai morans.

Clad in predominantly red costumes and headbands decorated with ostrich feathers, it was a sight to behold to see Kenyan Turkana view their perennial cattle rustling neighbour across the border, positively.

Lokichar Primary School danced themselves to great heights with a Karamoja traditional piece entitled Ekaro, which is sang by young warriors proud of the large heads of cattle they herd.

Their dance movements were a mix of agile and high-octane formations that kept members of the audience on the edge of their seats.

Its message is crucial — keep the peace always with the neighbours for a stable and prosperous life.

When Uganda Head of State Yoweri Museveni attended President Uhuru Kenyatta’s inauguration ceremony in Nairobi three months ago he pleaded with the new regime to “stop Pokots from stealing my cattle” and this hopefully is music, literally to anyone interested in peaceful co-existence between Kenya’s Pokot and Uganda’s Karamoja.

Also from Uganda was a Bagisu traditional dance performed by the talented Don Bosco School from Nairobi. The dance is meant to encourage young men to face the knife.

The women characters in the dance put emphasis on the waistline that gives importance to their feminity, perhaps an enticement for the young boys set to cross over to adulthood where certain privileges may be enjoyed.

Tumaini Senior School was special in their South Sudanese dance, Yasaalam, performed by young warriors.

The performance was energetic as it was menacing with men dressed in white robes complete with a turban and the women dancing along in colourful dresses.

When all is said and done, the message is clear that the warriors are interested in peace.

Never to miss in this category was the Baganda dance well presented by Angels Junior School from Mombasa as well as Light House Grace Academy who proved that the body could easily float on its toes and in an enjoyable fashion.

Other schools involved in this regional class include Kibware Primary (Nakuru), Mwiki Primary (Aberdares), Kodich AIC (Turkana), High Gate Academy and Sandiki primary schools.

In a day that crossed borders, the Scottish dance was live at Lohana Hall with a tight race between defending champions Booker Academy from Mumias and Springboard Academy from Busia.

The Scottish dance is one of the most colourful categories, with performers wearing traditional Scottish costumes, including kilts for men!

Graceful dance movements with pairs enticing each other for a dance are the order of the day.

In future, it will be a big break to have students trained to play the bagpipes live on stage as opposed to playback music that has perennially brought problems as machines conspire to spoil a really good party.

Amobo Primary School from Nakuru reminded the audience of the crucial benefits that the beast of burden adds to society and asked for proper treatment of donkeys.

“The donkey toils for you, carrying heavy goods, fetching water, pulling the cart and yet you treat it so harshly,” so the song went at the mixed voices class for own composition.

In yet another class, children from Ruaraka Academy, Zombe, and Kidfarmaco primary schools, among others, called for the society to embrace a culture of transparency and accountability so as to ensure prosperity for all.

Makueni Deputy Governor Hon. Adelina Mwau was impressed with the quality of performances and invited other leaders to come to the festival in what she terms “an entertaining but educative experience”.

She asked counties to invest in public Early Childhood Development centres since the category was dominated by private ones.