Song of Lawino
1966 epic poem by Okot p'Bitek
Song of Lawino (Acholi: Wer pa Lawino) is an epic poem written by Ugandan poet Okot p'Bitek. It was first published in 1966 in an English translation by the author, although Chapter 14, its final chapter, was removed. It was quickly translated into other languages. The complete poem in the original Acholi Luo language was published later in 1969. Taban Lo Liyong published an English translation of chapter 14 in 1993 as well as a new translation of the entire poem in 2001 (as The Defence of Lawino).
Song of Lawino has become one of the most widely read literary works originating from Africa. It has also become culturally iconic within Africa, because of its scathing display of how traditional society was being destroyed by colonialism.
Song of Lawino was originally written in rhyming couplets and had a regular meter. The poem is told from the point of view of Lawino in the first person.
p'Bitek published a follow-up poem in English, Song of Ocol, in 1970.
The public source identifies “Song of Lawino” as 1966 epic poem by Okot p'Bitek. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Song, Lawino and epic.
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Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1809068. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1966, 1969, 1993 and 2001.
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This entry incorporates text from “Song of Lawino” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.