Kisa cha Yusuf (MS 228624a)
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Material Information

Title:
Kisa cha Yusuf (MS 228624a)
Series Title:
Hichens Collection
Creator:
Kijuma, Muhammad ( Author, Primary )
Kijuma, Muhammad ( contributor )
Publication Date:
Language:
Swahili
Materials:
Paper ( medium )
Technique:
Handwritten manuscript : In ink, in a bound exercise book

Subjects

Subjects / Keywords:
Islam ( LCSH )
Religious belief
Religious history
Imani za kidini
Uislamu
Faith ( LCSH )
History -- Religious aspects ( LCSH )
Islam -- History ( LCSH )
Joseph, Saint ( LCSH )
Yusuf
Jacob (Biblical patriarch) ( LCSH )
Yaqub
Genre:
Poem
Utenzi
Poetry ( LCTGM )
Spatial Coverage:
Africa -- Egypt -- North Africa
Coordinates:
26 x 30

Notes

Abstract:
In a 1918 article in the Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Alice Werner, who received a copy of the utenzi on Yusufu from Muhammad Kijumwa, wrote that the poet had told her that he used the Qur’an and the Old Testament as sources for his poem . Abou Egl (1983), in discussing Kijumwa’s sources, additionally emphasises two Arabic books that were key to Kijumwa’s narrative: Qasas al-Anbiyai and al-Mustatraf. Indeed, ‘Kisa cha Yusufu’ contains incidents and detail from the life of Joseph, son of Jacob, that are not found in either the Bible or the Qur’an. An early instance is the narration concerning Joseph’s jealousy at the wooden staff that each of his brOthers possesses. He complains to his father, who says a prayer for him, upon which Joseph’s staff is delivered by an angel. Certain details included by Kijumwa that are beyond the scope of the Qur’an and the Bible may relate to Swahili culture. The utenzi, for example, elaborates the character of Joseph’s stepmOther, unlike the Bible (which does imply that Joseph was raised by a stepmOther) or the Qur’an (which does not contradict this). It is Joseph’s stepmOther who incites his brOthers to jealousy, thus displaying the kind of antagonistic behaviour associated with stepmOthers, ‘mama wa kambo,’ in Swahili society. AnOther example may be found in the stanzas where Joseph’s brOthers are tugging at his clothing, trying to gain leverage to hurl him down the well. Joseph pleads with them to at least leave him his kanzu as a ‘sanda,’ or burial cloth. And when Joseph is in the well, he is visited by Jibril, who gives him a special prayer by which to request food; such prayers for specific occasions are common in Swahili coastal society. ( en )
General Note:
Biographical information: Muhammad Kijumwa was born circa 1855 in Lamu. He was a poet, scribe, peformer calligrapher, carpenter, tailor and sculptor who taught his son, Helewa, the craft of decorative woodcarving. He assisted many Eurpoean scholars of Swahili literature, including William Taylor, Alice Werner, Carl Meinhof, H.E. Lambert, William Hichens, Ernst Dammann and John Williamson, and was a well-known character in Lamu.
General Note:
Date of Composition: circa 1913 AD (circa 1332 A.H.)
General Note:
Languages: Swahili (Arabic script)
General Note:
Dialects: KiAmu
General Note:
Poetic Form: Utenzi
General Note:
Extent: 1 vol. (72 pages)
General Note:
Incipit: Mwando wangu kukutubu, ina la Mola Wahhabu, hadithi ya Yakubu, nimependa kuambia
General Note:
The Utenzi wa Mtume Muhammad (also known as the utenzi wa Ndiwa na Kozi) begins at the end of the exercise book but breaks off after a single page.
General Note:
Other copy: Other manuscript versions with variations that are held by SOAS University of London include MS 279888, vol. 7, ms 351 (from the Allen collection, and scribed by Kijumwa himself)
General Note:
Muhammad Kijumwa uses the Qu’ran and the Old Testament, as well as two books of stories in Arabic, as sources for his poem about the life of Joseph. The text includes relevant Qu’ranic ayas.
General Note:
VIAF (name authority) : Kijuma, Muhammad : URI http://viaf.org/viaf/43775563
General Note:
Africa -- North Africa -- Egypt
General Note:
Donated by Miss E. Lloyd, May 1969
General Note:
Scribe: Kijuma, Muhammad
General Note:
Publication information: Abou Egl, Mohammad. 1983. The life and works of Muhamadi Kijuma. PhD thesis, SOAS, University of London.
General Note:
Publication information: Knappert, Jan. 1964. Four Swahili Epics. Leiden, p. 6 and pp. 9-58.
General Note:
Publication information: Knappert, Jan. 1968. Brief survey of Swahili literature. London: School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Centre of African Studies, pp. 35-36.
General Note:
Knappert, Jan. 1999. A Survey of Swahili Islamic Epic Sagas. Lewiston, New York; Queenston, Ontario; Lampeter, Wales: Edwin Mellen Press; pp. 159-164

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 228624 ( SOAS manuscript number )
MS 228624a ( SOAS manuscript number )