ABSTRACT
A society cannot exist without man because man is a social being. Indirectly, literature lays bare the life of a man in his society or other societies that make contributive impact on such man. Literature doesn’t fail to enlist the culture and way of life of the society it is revealing, in that these factors too have impact on the behavior of a man. They can shape and at the same time break a man. All of these are what literature sets to capture. The engagement of a writer therefore is to portray each of these so that the society of the present will be updated of the relevant things going on in it. This essay has carried out an analysis on the viral nature of Westernisation in Africa using references from Okot p’Bitek’s Song of Lawino. It looked at how the influence of the Western world has affected Africa’s mode of dressing, mode of dancing and religion. In chapter one, the purpose, scope and method of research was stated. Also, it was stated that the appropriate theory for this essay is the Post-Colonial Theory because it pays attention to the aftermath effects of colonialism in different worlds but specifically Africa in terms of culture, economy, religion, politics and many more. In the second chapter, the essay showed how that Westernisation influence finds the African mode of dressing offensive. Ocol, the African-Westernised husband attacked his wife’s mode of dressing and attempted to make her look outdated and less of a human with the intention to preach her out of her African way of life into a new way of life 63 which he considered appropriate. He is of the belief that the Western way of dressing should be the appropriate standard code of dressing. However, Lawino stood against his view and showed him that everything about the Western mode of dressing is fake and lacked originality. Hence, the African mode of dressing is the most original and right way to dress because there is no touch of attachments, make ups or indecent wears. Chapter three of the essay demonstrated the issue of mode of dancing. Where we saw how the poet persona, Lawino herself shifts from the previous discourse to the recent one. She listened to the condemnation of her mode of dancing that is barbaric, inordinate and immoral. She revolted and began to state the beauty of the dance and the effects the dance brings too. But most importantly, she also attacked the foreign dance and made a mess of it. She called the dance an immoral dance, and a seduction technique because it showed no respect for family ethics and marital boundaries. Hence, it is not a kind of dance she would ever embrace or rate over her precious and entertaining Acoli dance because the Acoli dance respects family ethics, marriage banns, does not promote sexual embarrassment unlike the white man’s dance. In addition, the white man’s dance is done in the secret suggestion hideous and profane intentions; but Acoli dance is displayed in the public and broad day light.
