Abstract

This paper examines the selected Luhya popular songs of Jacob Luseno, Kennedy Khaemba and Opete wa Musungu with a view to explore the gender issues on women in the Isukha, Bukusu and Tachoni societies. The impetus of this study was borne out of the realization that popular songs whose medium of communication is music have become an important avenue for social communication as a form of text. This study was guided by the research question: How do the popular songs of Jacob Luseno, Kennedy Khaemba and Opete wa Musungu reveal the gender roles and stereotypes in the Isukha, Bukusu and Tachoni societies? Dennis Tedlock and Dell Hymes views on Ethnopoetics and Naoomi Nkaelah’s view of feminist literary criticism were useful for conceptual analysis and interpretation of the texts. Feminist literary criticism helped us to understand how women are portrayed in their roles and imagined beliefs in the selected Luhya songs while Ethnopoetics helped us to actualize the seleted oral songs into a written text and in unraveling the meaning and mood in the selected songs. Critical analysis of the songs and mixed method research that uses a sequential exploratory design was useful in collecting data. Purposive sampling was useful in selecting songs that were taken as cultural texts that depict women in their gender roles and stereotypes. The findings of this study show that Luhya popular songs reveal societal gender issues on women. This study shall shed l ight on the societal attitudes towards women in the Isukha, Bukusu and Tachoni societies that these artists come from. This study will help literary scholars, gender activists and musicians to delve further in gender dynamics of communities and improve their areas of concern especially in relation to the entire Luhya community.