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- Permanent Link:
- http://digital.soas.ac.uk/LSMD000297/00001
Notes
- Abstract:
- Mahfoud Loo describes how the parts of a slaughtered bull should be distributed to clans and individuals in Siu. The poem is a commentary on social standing. The poet gives instructions on how a slaughtered bull is to be distributed to individuals and groups in Siu. These groups inculde the ‘Waswahili,’ in Siu a particular tribe; the ‘Wafamau,’ the rulers of Siu, commonly believed to be of Portuguese descent; the ‘Watikuu,’ known by southern Swahili speakers as Wagunya and by Arabs as Bajuni; and the ‘Wazalia,’ who are of lower social status and belong to none of Siu’s major tribes. The poet names neighbourhoods in Siu and uses specific anatomical terms; ‘kidari,’ for example, refers to the chest of a slaughtered animal. The distribution of meat indicates the social status of the recipients and sometimes hints at relationships between groups. The collectors of palm wine (wagema), for example, are assigned the rump, while the bull’s innards are allotted to government and religious leaders, as well as to the ‘Wahindi,’ even though, the poet adds, ‘they isolate themselves.’ Like the poem immediately preceding it, the Shairi la Bwana Kheri, this poem suggests the importance of the concept of social order in the coastal Swahili society of the time. ( en )
- General Note:
- Biographical information: Mahfoud Loo was born in Siu in the 2Oth century. He was a member of the Wakatwa tribe and a well-known and respected poet
- General Note:
- Date of Composition is unknown
- General Note:
- Languages: Swahili (Arabic script)
- General Note:
- Dialects: KiSiu
- General Note:
- Poetic Form: Shairi
- General Note:
- Purchased from Dr J. Knappert
- General Note:
- Extent: 4 small pages
- General Note:
- Incipit: Risala muweza wasu, ndoo mbe yeo twambe, tunda kinoo na kisu, na ukambaa ipambe
- General Note:
- Africa -- Eastern Africa -- Tanzania -- Manyara Region -- Siu District
- General Note:
- Scribe: Faraji Bwana Mkuu
- General Note:
- Publication information: Abou Egl, Mohammad. 1983. The life and works of Muhamadi Kijuma. PhD thesis, SOAS, University of London; see especially ‘A poem from Siu.’
Record Information
- Source Institution:
- SOAS University of London
- Holding Location:
- Archives and Special Collections
- Rights Management:
- This item may be in the public domain. Its status has yet to be assessed.
- Resource Identifier:
- MS 380066 ( SOAS manuscript number )
MS 380066c ( SOAS manuscript number )
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