| 008 |
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161111n^^^^^^^^xx^^^^^^s^^^^^^^^^^^swa^d |
| 024 |
7 |
|a MS 47707 |2 SOAS manuscript number |
| 024 |
7 |
|a MS 47707a |2 SOAS manuscript number |
| 245 |
00 |
|a 19th - 20th Century Swahili Popular Verses (MS 47707a) |h [electronic resource]. |
| 260 |
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|c circa 1800-1900 AD (circa 1215-1318 A.H.). |
| 500 |
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|a Date of Composition: circa 1800-1900 AD (circa 1215-1318 A.H.) |
| 500 |
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|a Languages: Swahili (Arabic script) |
| 500 |
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|a Dialects: KiAmu and KiTikuu |
| 500 |
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|a Poetic Form: Shairi - nyimbo (wimbo [singular], a song form of verse) |
| 500 |
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|a Incipit: Enyi ndugu na wendani napenda kuwaarifu rijali na niswani wakubwa kwa watatufu |
| 500 |
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|a Africa -- Eastern Africa -- Swahili Coast |
| 500 |
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|a Donated by Mrs E. Hichens, 1 June 1945 |
| 500 |
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|a Publication information: Abdulaziz, M. H. 1979. Muyaka-19th Century Swahili Popular Poetry. Kenya Literature Bureau, Nairobi |
| 506 |
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|a This item is believed to be in the public domain |
| 520 |
3 |
|a 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. |
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|a Electronic reproduction. |b London : |c SOAS University of London, |c Archives and Special Collections, |d 2016. |f (SOAS Digital Collections) |n Mode of access: World Wide Web. |n System requirements: Internet connectivity; Web browser software. |
| 535 |
1 |
|a Archives and Special Collections. |
| 650 |
0 |
|a Oral tradition in literature. |
| 830 |
0 |
|a SOAS Digital Collections. |
| 830 |
0 |
|a Swahili Manuscripts Collections. |
| 830 |
0 |
|a William Hichens Collection. |
| 852 |
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|a GBR |b SDC |c African Collections |
| 856 |
40 |
|u http://digital.soas.ac.uk/LSMD000179/00001 |y Electronic Resource |
| 992 |
04 |
|a http://digital.soas.ac.uk/content/LS/MD/00/01/79/00001/00001thm.jpg |
