Style and Social Commentary in "Mchongoano" of Kenya

The war of words between rivals is a captivating experience for any audience since it is literary a battle of wits. But for the audience gauging to determine the master of the garb, there are lots of other components in play on the background which have a significance in academia. This is exactly what happens to contemporary mchongoano, a kind of ritualised verbal war conducted in Kenya which is explored in this book. It is a kind of “mock insult ritual” based on a scalar humour structure exemplified by its unique opening formula: “your mama…” producing humour. Ostensibly, this genre is well-known for its hard-hitting-under-the-belt “mocked insults” and especially the humour accompanying it. Nonetheless, in Kenya it seems to paint an interesting picture of the society with regard to the emerging thematic concerns. Similarly, there are underlying language resources that seem to be exhibited which have not been fully academically exploited before and this book comes handy as far as addressing the scholarly perspective is concerned. Thus, this book captures the unique structure of contemporary mchongoano, its language and style as well as the distinctive humour it elicits.