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- Permanent Link:
- http://digital.soas.ac.uk/LSMD000179/00001
Material Information
- Title:
- 19th - 20th Century Swahili Popular Verses (MS 47707a)
- Series Title:
- Hichens Collection :
- Creator:
- [s.n.]
- Publication Date:
- circa 1800-1900 AD (circa 1215-1318 A.H.)
- Language:
- Swahili
- Materials:
- Paper ( medium )
- Technique:
- Handwritten manuscript : Rectangular shape pages bounded on a brown leather book, written in black ink with red dots
Notes
- Abstract:
- This manuscript contains 159 short Mashairi of Swahili popular poetry, in Arabic script. The authors are not known and are simply referred as ‘one poet said’ or ‘another one said’, except for poem no. 10 where the author is Sharifu Mohammed bin Mwinyi Mkuu. The poems are numbered at the right top of the page, in pencil. Some poems are of one line only, while Other are slightly longer. Most poems begin with the author saying ‘Piga ngoma’ ‘Beat the drum’, which is a characteristic of popular poetry that used to be sung or performed in public. By beating the drum the poets call the audience and announce the start of the poetic performance. Furthermore, this concept embodies a metaphorical meaning as, for instance, in the preface of a published book, known by the researcher but of which we do not have references, that collects the poetry of Muyaka, Mwalimu Sikujua says that in the dance no one will beat Muyaka, meaning that he was the best poet of his time. This way of addressing the audience is typical of oral literature, and of a period where poetry was only sung, but not yet published. The reading and understanding of the poems is quite difficult because the adaptation of Arabic script into Swahili is very poor. Regarding the structure of the poem, the author of the introductory poem adds an unnecessary syllable just to complete the standard requirements of 8 syllables per kipande. The scribe, although not named, seems to be the same one throughout this collection. The researcher suggests that the scribe could also be the author. The themes are typical of popular poetry with many hidden meanings and metaphors (mafumbo) in order to address matters of daily life. For instance, on line 6 of poem 1 the poet says’Walingizile mwituni Wavinda nyama Wakantiya ndiani ili kwenda kufuma’ (The hunters entered the bush to hunt and they persuade me to go with them, and there I shot the animals with an arrow). However, the real meaning is to get together with Other fellow experts in order to achieve a common aim. The mafumbo reflect 19th century society, and can only be understood within that context. ( en )
- General Note:
- Date of Composition: circa 1800-1900 AD (circa 1215-1318 A.H.)
- General Note:
- Languages: Swahili (Arabic script)
- General Note:
- Dialects: KiAmu and KiTikuu
- General Note:
- Poetic Form: Shairi - nyimbo (wimbo [singular], a song form of verse)
- General Note:
- Extent: 34 leaves
- General Note:
- Incipit: Enyi ndugu na wendani napenda kuwaarifu rijali na niswani wakubwa kwa watatufu
- General Note:
- Africa -- Eastern Africa -- Swahili Coast
- General Note:
- Donated by Mrs E. Hichens, 1 June 1945
- General Note:
- Publication information: Abdulaziz, M. H. 1979. Muyaka-19th Century Swahili Popular Poetry. Kenya Literature Bureau, Nairobi
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 47707 ( SOAS manuscript number )
MS 47707a ( SOAS manuscript number )
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