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- Permanent Link:
- http://digital.soas.ac.uk/LSMD000150/00001
Notes
- Abstract:
- This is a manuscript version of the book Al-Akida and Fort Jesus, Mombasa, which was published in 1950 by Macmillan. Here, as in the book, a discussion by Sheikh Mbarak Ali Hinawy of the man known as Al-Akida precedes the Utenzi wa Al-Akida by Abdallah bin Masuud bin Salim Al-Mazrui. The English translation of the 1950 publication is not contained in this manuscript. Concerning the Utenzi wa Al-Akida, some comments may be made on points of language. The reference in the fourth stanza to ‘mwaka wa Ijumaa’ relates to the Swahili practice of identifying a year by the day of the week on which it begins. A year beginning on a Friday is believed to be a year of grave misfortune. The phrase ‘akhiri zamani’ in verse six is commonly used to suggest, as it does here, a time in which expectations are completely overturned - as they are to be at the end of the world. The phrase communicates a sense of resignation, as when one person suggests to Others that they should not be surprised at events which seem awful or wrong; what else can be expected as the world draws to its end? The phrase ‘alinimtu’ in the eighth stanza means more than that the ‘liwali’ was a man, or a person; it indicates that he was honourable and good. The reference to ‘liwali’ in the same stanza raises a question, because Muhammad bin Abdallah bin Mbarak Bakhashweini, the subject of the poem, held the position of Akida, not Liwali. The last line of the same stanza, ‘mno sana kajeteya,’ is perhaps best understood as referring to Al-Akida rather than to the sultan: Al-Akida thought his position secure because of the approval he received from the sultan. This reading contrasts with the English translation in the 1950 publication. In verse 26, the phrase ‘mshuko wa adhuhuri’ refers to the time after the completion of midday prayers. ‘Gaeti,’ referred to in stanza 70, was a ruler of the present-day Yemeni coast; he surrendered rather than face defeat and death. ( en )
- General Note:
- Biographical information: Abdallah bin Mas’ud bin Salim al-Mazrui, the author of the Utenzi wa Al-Akida, was born in AD 1797 and died in 1894. Page 68 of this manuscript contains further commentary on his life. Relevant commentary is also made by Lyndon Harries (1964)Sir Mbarak Ali Hinawy was born in Mombasa c.1896AD (1314AH). He became Liwali of Mombasa and, after the death of Sir Ali b. Salim, Liwali of the Coast. Shaikh Mbarak, as he was also known, was probably the first non-European to collect manuscripts relating to Swahili literature, and his papers were given by his family, after his death in 1959AD (1379AH), to the university of Dar-es-Salaam archives. His publications together with his surviving papers reveal the depth of his scholarship. (Frankl & Omar, 1993)
- General Note:
- Date of Composition: circa 1940 AD (circa 1359 A.H.)
- General Note:
- Extent: 81 leaves
- General Note:
- Incipit: Bismillahi awali, utakapo hino kweli, Biladi ya Sawahili, haitufai kukaa
- General Note:
- VIAF (name authority) : Al-Hinawy, Mbarak, Sheikh-Sir, 1896-1959 : URI http://viaf.org/viaf/305366593
- General Note:
- Africa -- Eastern Africa -- Kenya -- Mombasa County -- Mombasa
- General Note:
- The Hichens Papers were donated to SOAS on 17 July 1967
- General Note:
- Publication information: Harries, Lyndon. 1964. The legend of the Monk Barsis -- a Swahili Version. African Language Studies 5: 17-33.
- General Note:
- Publication information: Hinawy, Mbarak Ali (ed). 1950. Al-Akida and Fort Jesus, Mombasa: the life-history of Muhammad bin Adbullah bin Mbarak Bakhashweini, with the songs and poems of his time. London: Macmillan
Record Information
- Source Institution:
- SOAS University of London
- Holding Location:
- Archives and Special Collections
- Rights Management:
- This item is believed to be in the public domain
- Resource Identifier:
- MS 210009 ( SOAS manuscript number )
MS 210009a ( SOAS manuscript number )
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