Utenzi wa Mwana Kupona
Permanent Link:

Material Information

Title:
Utenzi wa Mwana Kupona Selected Text with Audio (MS 34882a)
Series Title:
Hichens Collection
Creator:
Mwana, Kupona, 1810-1860, 1810-1860
Publication Date:
Language:
Swahili
Materials:
Paper ( medium )

Subjects

Subjects / Keywords:
Islam
Swahili poetry ( LCSH )
Gender roles
Marriage
Religious belief
Religious practice
Social structure
Women's education
Mwana Heshima binti Sheikh
Genre:
Poem
Utenzi (poetic form)
Spatial Coverage:
Africa -- Kenya -- Lamu -- Shela -- Pate Island
Africa -- Kenya -- Lamu -- Lamu
Africa -- Kenya -- Lamu -- Pate -- Pate Island
Coordinates:
-2.269444 x 40.902222
-2.1 x 41.05
-2.13753 x 40.99714

Notes

General Note:
First lines of manuscript: Negema wangu binti, mchachefu wa sanati, upulike wa siati, asaa ukazingatiya
General Note:
Mistari ya kwanza ya hati: Negema wangu binti, mchachefu wa sanati, upulike wa siati, asaa ukazingatiya
General Note:
Physical characteristics: In red and black ink on ruled paper, in a blue exercise book
General Note:
Mwana, Kupona, 1810-1860 = Mwana Kupona Binti Msham
General Note:
Biographical history: Mwana Kupona binti Msham, 1790-1860, was a native of Pate who lived in Lamu. She married Bwana Mataka, who belonged to an old Siu family; he was the son of Sheikh Baraka bin Muhammadi bin Omari. On her deathbed, Mwana Kupona dictated her poem to her only daughter, for whose instruction it was composed. Her daughter, who was known in Lamu as Mwana Heshima binti Sheikh, lived from 1841 to 1933.
General Note:
1858 A.D. (Gregorian calendar) = 1275 A.H. (Hijri calendar)
General Note:
Poetic form = Utenzi
General Note:
Handwritten manuscript
General Note:
Swahili text inscribed in Arabic script
General Note:
Relevant publications: Allen, J.W.T. 1971. Tendi. London: Heinemann Educational, pp. 55-78. Biersteker, Ann. 1991. Language, poetry and power: a reconsideration of Utendi wa Mwana Kupona. In Faces of Islam in African Literature, ed. by Kenneth Harrow, pp. 59-77. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann; and London: James Currey. Harries, Lyndon. 1962. Swahili Poetry. Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. 70-86. Hichens, William and Alice Werner. 1934. Advice of Mwana Kupona upon the Wifely Virtue. Medstead, Hampshire: Azania Press. Sheikh, Amina Abubakar and Ahmed Sheikh Nabhany (eds). 1972. Utendi wa Mwana Kupona na Utendi wa Ngamia na Paa. (Sanaa Ya Utungo I). Nairobi: Heinemann. Mulokozi, M.M. 1999. Tenzi Tatu za Kale. University of Dar-es-Salaam Press. Khatib, M.S. 1985. Utenzi wa Mwana Kupona. Mulika, 17, 46-52. Senkoro, F.E. M. K. 1988. Mwana Kupona Nana: Utenzi wa Mwana Kupona. In Ushairi: Nadharia na Tahakiki. Dare-es-Salaam University Press Werner, Alice. 1917. The Utendi of Mwana Kupona. Harvard African Studies 1: 147-181.
General Note:
See also SOAS manuscript MS 53508c
General Note:
Scope and content: This manuscript of the Utenzi wa Mwana Kupona differs significantly from the version published by J.W.T. Allen (1971). The scribe utilises Arabic script without the modifications that are sometimes used to designate consonants (such as 'p' and 'v') and vowels absent in Arabic. Because some words cannot be represented precisely, familiarity with the utenzi and comparison with another version of the poem may assist the reader.
Funding:
Digitised with funding from the Leverhulme Trust.

Record Information

Source Institution:
SOAS, University of London
Holding Location:
Archives and Special Collections
Rights Management:
This item is in the public domain. Please use in accord with Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA). High resolution digital master available from SOAS, University of London - the Digital Library Project Office.
Resource Identifier:
MS 34882 ( soas manuscript number )