#Arts&Culture #Feature
For decades, Nyatiti ruled the entertainment scene among the Luo community.
No ceremony, be it a wedding or a memorial celebration, was complete without either a Nyatiti or Ohangla (Orutu) player being invited to entertain the assembled guests.
But the advent of the guitar and other modern instruments has over the years relegated the hitherto adored instrument to the periphery.
With age taking a toll on the music gurus of yore who would hammer the eight-stringed instrument with gusto, very few of the current generation seem eager to take up from them.
The introduction of the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) in the Kenyan education system however seems to be changing the trend, with music teachers and select Nyatiti enthusiasts taking advantage to help pass over the knowledge to the young generation.
One such enthusiast is Charles Obong’o Makomenda aka Obong’o Nyundo, who not only trains young players, but also makes the traditional instrument.
Among his students are pupils of Ulawe Apate primary school in Alego / Usonga, who have now mastered the instrument and have won trophies up to the national level during schools’ music festivals.
According to Obong’o, there is a need for concerted efforts to preserve the Luo traditional music and instruments.
He laments that forums, where Nyatiti musicians should be invited to perform to attract the young generation, are dwindling by the day and are being replaced by the modern Ohangla.
“We should not allow Nyatiti to fade away,” he says.
He adds that the art of playing the Nyatiti was not only about the beats and dancing.
“It was full of moral messages that were used to teach the society,” he adds.
Obong’o’s journey to the Nyatiti music world began in 1963, he says, adding that by 1964, he would enter competitions with the then-established players.
A calamity, that he blames on the envy of those he used to beat in competitions, would later befall him when an unknown disease struck, making him lose the use of his legs.
“For one year, I crawled and could not walk,” he says adding that he suspects that fellow Nyatiti players may have bewitched him to slow him down.
According to Obong’o, all efforts were made to treat him but proved fruitless and at one time his father made a decision to have his legs amputated.
“It was my adamant mother who begged for time that saved me,” he told KNA adding that as time went by, one of his maternal uncles who was a traditional medicine man took him for treatment.
He said that it was the efforts of this uncle that saw him regain the use of his legs and from that time, he made a decision to stop active competitions and instead ventured into making the instruments.
“I nowadays devote my time to making Nyatiti and training those interested in knowing how to play it,” he says adding that he does not charge any fee.
Mzee Obong’o says that this voluntary service is his contribution to keeping the music alive.
Obong’o says that he has trained several musicians, among them a Japanese woman.
He, however, expresses concern that few Luos value the traditional gig as a majority have become besotted with Western-influenced music.
Speaking about the materials used to make the instrument, he says that he buys specific types of trees.
“I prefer “ondero”, “ng’ow” and “mugomra” trees as they do not crack,” he says adding “with the scarcity of some of these species, at times I am forced to use mango trees”.
“At this rate where even foreigners from far are coming to learn our music, I am afraid that soon they will claim ownership, forcing us to pay royalties before playing what belongs to us,” he laments.
His concerns are shared by a Nyatiti legend from Alego Seje, William Ogutu Omondi who started playing the instrument in December 1950.
Mzee Ogutu, who still plays it, says that Nyatiti should not be allowed to play second fiddle to modern music.
“During those days, whenever there was a celebration of any kind, whether in-laws visiting for dowry payment or mourning, each in-law would invite his favourite musician who would entertain the guests and the villagers,” he says. Adding that nowadays this is no longer the case hence limiting Nyatiti players.
He says that currently, they only rely on occasional invitations to play in urban centres.
Mzee Ogutu believes that county governments can still revive the younger generation’s interest in music by using the existing players to teach them.
As part of the efforts to revive the traditional gig, teachers Jared Otieno of Ulawe Apate Junior School and Thomas Amollo of Pap Boro Primary School have been using the elderly Nyatiti maestros to train their students.
According to Otieno, this has yielded fruit as some of his pupils have now mastered the instrument and have gone ahead to trounce opponents during music festivals, from the zone level to nationals.
“Over the years, Ulawe Apate school has become a powerhouse in music competitions, especially in traditional instruments,” he says. “This year, 2024, they won in the national music festival in Nyatiti and Orutu classes”.
His colleague, mwalimu Thomas Amollo whose school, Pap Boro participated in the music festivals for the first time this year, says they are eager to learn from the old musicians and have partnered with Ulawe Apate school to revive the music.
“We want to have the youth grow up with Nyatiti, such that in the next 10 to 15 years, the music will be back and embraced by the society,” he says.
Amollo calls for a change of attitude amongst the young generation who consider the music old-fashioned.
He says that the youth can make a living out of the music hence the need for most of them to embrace it.
Nyatiti is an eight-stringed classical instrument made of a carved wood resonator covered in cow skin.
The strings were traditionally fashioned from cattle tendons which were later replaced by nylon and plastic fishing lines of various sizes.
While playing Nyatiti, the performer sits on a short chair, Orindi or then, wears shakers (gara) and a round metal ring on his big toe which he uses to bang on the bottom bar of the nyatiti.
The sound of the musical strings, together with the shakers and knocks from the metal ringed toe are synchronised to produce a rhythmic musical pattern.
It was usually played solo, but some musicians do have backup singers.
