Sample the Sights and Sounds of the Special Kilonga Ceremony Commemorating the SLP and Celebrating the New Light of the Suri MTE Initiative!
This special kilonga was held in the Anjo schoolyard near Kibish at the end of our 2023 visit to the Suri. It paid homage to the 20-year run of the now-ended Suri Literacy Project (SLP) and celebrated the just-started Light of the Suri mother tongue education (MTE) initiative. Over 200 community members joined in the celebration. One goal of the celebration was to communicate to the community the importance of mother tongue education among the Suri and announce its revival with the new project. Brief speeches supported these communication goals but are not included in this brief video. Enjoy!
About Suri Kilongas and This One in Particular
The traditional Suri kilonga is held on an anniversary of the passing of community elder to commemorate the life of that elder. This special kilonga recognized the passing of the Suri Literacy Project, which had ended about two years previously. It also applauded the launch of the new Light of the Suri revival of Suri MTE. Like a traditional kilonga, this one included a herd of cattle circling the ceremony grounds, music, dancing and a shared meal. It also involved a specially built hut representing in this case the terminated SLP. Dancers on the roof of the hut jump on it in rhythm to drive its support poles into the ground. The main music of a kilonga is supplied by a special type of horn that’s used only in kilongas. Arsibhala, Suri elder and enthusiastic supporter of MTE is blowing that horn in the lower right of the cover image.