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- Permanent Link:
- http://digital.soas.ac.uk/LSMD000458/00001
Material Information
- Title:
- Poems in KiMvita, KiPemba, KiAmu, KiUnguja, and KiMrima (PP MS 42. S/20-S/22)
- Series Title:
- Whiteley Collection : Swahili language and list of authors
- Creator:
- Mohamed bin Nasoro Bahari ( Author, Primary )
Juma Yakuti Mwindi ya Konde ( contributor )
bin Ali Mazrui, Suleiman ( contributor )
Jahadhmiy, Ali bin Said bin Rashid, 1830-1910 ( contributor )
Salim Ali, Sheik ( contributor )
Nunu binti Majaliwa ( contributor )
Kihere, M. M. ( contributor )
Kibwana, Salehe ( contributor )
Mzee Waziri ( contributor )
S M H Mdanzi bin Hanasa ( contributor )
B A Mshoro ( contributor )
Almughanni Abeid bin Mohammed ( contributor )
- Publication Date:
- 1935-1954 AD (1354-1373 A.H.)
- Materials:
- Paper ( medium )
- Technique:
- Handwritten and typescript manuscript : Handwritten and typed with black, bklue and red ink. All material enclosed in white envelopes
Notes
- Abstract:
- In this section there are poems in the dialects of Mombasa (Kimvita), of the Lamu archipelago, and of the Islands of Pemba and Zanzibar and the Mrima region (Southern coast). S/20 contains four separate items. First, there is a collection of allegorical verses from Mombasa, in KiMvita, collected for Whiteley by Ali bin Namaan and Sayyid bin Ahmed bin Babu Kavani. Ali bin Namaan was the local representative of the colonial government in charge of collecting taxes from the African population, and not from the Other social categories, i.e. Arabs, Asians, and European. His title was that of ‘Chief’, because of his administrative duties. Sayyid bin Ahmed was from the area of Kavani and was also helping Whiteley in collecting Swahili poems. Most poems, mashairi, are of a single four-line stanza, and they have English translations attached; some poems have two versions of English translation, in order to try to be more faithful to the original text. Also, words peculiar to KiMvita are rendered in Standard Swahili. For instance, in the first poem, the verb ku-uza in KiMvita is rendered as ku-uliza in the Standard form. Among the poems, we noted that at page 6 there is a poem in KiNyika, rather than in KiMvita, with English translation. And, the only rather long poem is at page 19, and it is a well-known poem, still in the shairi form, by unknown author, in which the people of Zanzibar verbally attack the people of Pemba by saying that they used to be a very proud people and now they have become very poor and had to sell all their wealth, even the things of little value, like kitchen tools. The following two items contain poems from Lamu. The item called ‘Some Kiamu extracts’ contains short mashairi, with some difficult words translated. The second item contains the poem ‘Shairi la kumsifu bibi’, an ode to a beautiful girl, by Mohamed bin Nasoro Bahari, dated 1953, and a long poem entitled ‘Juma’a na Taradadi’ by unknown author, narrating about a man complaining that his country has been taken by the Belgian, which made us assume that it is a poem about the colonial situation in Congo, Central Africa, in relation to trade with East Africa. The Swahili and Arabs slave traders used to trade up to Congo, and perhaps this poem is about the difficulty of the continuation of trade in the area after the arrival of the Belgian. The author complains that he has now become poor and also that the Muslim flag has been taken down. This is followed by a love poem by Juma Yakuti Mwindi ya Konde, dated 1935. This is followed by a poem presented in the form of a conversation between two people, referred as A and B. A wants B to marry a girl who he has left and after a few days to leave her so that A may marry her himself. The authors of this poem are Suleiman bin Ali Mazrui and Hammad bin Khator, known as Sungura. The latter poet is actually from Pemba, and not from Lamu. Afterward, there is a poem from Pemba by Abdallah bin Salim el-Busaidi entitled ‘Paka Shume’ also presented in the form of a dialogue between A (Abdallah, the author) and K (Ali bin Said known as Kamange, also a poet from Pemba) discussing relationships with women. According to Whiteley (1958), the word ‘Kamange’ refers to the leader of a troop of monkeys, who as is well known work by night, and this undoubtedly refers to Ali’s exploits in love. This section ends with further short poems by Juma Yakuti Mwindi, Khamid bin Khator-Sungura, and Sh Salim Ali, from Pemba. The final item contains a list of words in the dialects mentioned above, with English translation. In S/21, contains the typescript version of most of the poems contained in the previous envelope, S/20. There are in fact typed copies of ‘Shairi la kumsifu bibi’, ‘Jama’a na taradadi’, the poems about two friends referred as A and B, and ‘Paka Shume’, the dialogue between Abdallah bin Salim el-Busaidi and Kamange. And in S/22 there are poems from what is generally referred as southern Swahili coast, and specifically from Zanzibar and Tanga. First, there is a collection of poems by Almughanni Abeid bin Mohammed, from Zanzibar, entitled ‘Saidi Wamsudi’, ‘Nimekufahamu’, ‘Awali Nawanza’, ‘Na Maradhi’, ‘Muadhamu’, ‘Ah Mai Diar’, ‘Cheusi’, ‘Allahu Rabbi Labbeka’, ‘Takadiri na Syasa’, ‘Bun Khamis bin Majungu’, and ‘Kamwambiye ndugu yangu’ Then there is the poem ‘Hirizi ya shilingi mia’ by Nunu binti Majaliwa, from Malangali, with a reply to the poem by M M Kihere, from Tanga. Also, there are poems by Salehe Kibwana, from Lushoto, Tanga; by Mzee Waziri from Moshi; by S M H Mdanzi bin Hanasa, by B A Mshoro from Pangani, and finally a few poems by unknown authors. The poems are all undated, but given the type of language they appear to be relatively modern. ( en )
- General Note:
- Biographical information: Almughanni Abeid bin Mohammed, Nunu binti Majaliwa, M M Kihere, Salehe Kibwana, Mzee Waziri, S M H Mdanzi bin Hanasa, B A Mshorowa are poets from Zanzibar, Tanga, Lushot, and Pangani. Whereas, Mohamed bin Nasoro Bahari, Juma Yakuti Mwindi ya Konde, Suleiman bin Ali Mazrui, Hammad bin Khator, known as Sungura, Abdallah bin Salim el-Busaidi, Ali bin Said known as Kamange, and Sh Salim Ali are from Pemba, a traditionally famous place for the production of beautiful poetry. In fact, according to Whiteley (1958) Pemba verse has no equal along the whole of East African coast.
- General Note:
- Date of Composition: 1935-1954 AD (1354-1373 A.H.)
- General Note:
- Poetic Form: Shairi
- General Note:
- Dialects: KiAmu; KiMvita and KiPemba
- General Note:
- Extent: 192 leaves
- General Note:
- Incipit: Allegorical verses. Collected in Mombasa from Ali bin Namaan
- General Note:
- Swahili dialect: KiPemba
- General Note:
- VIAF (name authority) : Jahadhmiy, Ali bin Said bin Rashid, 1830-1910 : URI http://viaf.org/viaf/305305470
- General Note:
- Africa -- Eastern Africa -- Kenya -- Lamu County -- Lamu -- Lamu Island
- General Note:
- Africa -- Eastern Africa -- Tanzania -- Pemba North -- Pemba Island
- General Note:
- Africa -- Eastern Africa -- Tanzania -- Tanga Region -- Tanga
- General Note:
- Africa -- Eastern Africa -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar
- General Note:
- Africa -- Eastern Africa -- Tanzania -- Kilimanjaro Region -- Moshi Urban District -- Moshi
- General Note:
- Africa -- Eastern Africa -- Kenya -- Mombasa County -- Mombasa
- General Note:
- Publication information: Whiteley, W H. 1958. The Dialects and Verse of Pemba. An Introduction. East African Swahili Committee, Makerere College, Kampala.
- General Note:
- Publication information: Whiteley, W H. 1964. A Selection of African prose, Vol.1 Traditional oral texts, Vol.2 Written prose. Claredon Press, Oxford
- General Note:
- Publication information: Dammann, E. 1943. Kurzlieder der Suaheli auf Lamu. Afrika und Ubersee, 33: 24-36
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:
- PP MS 42. S/1-S/22 ( SOAS manuscript number )
PP MS 42. S/20-S/22 ( SOAS manuscript number )
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