(2019). Texts, Voices and Tapes: Mediating Poetry on the Swahili Muslim Coast in the 21st Century (original) (raw)
Related papers
(2018). Swahili Palimpsests: The Muslim Stories beneath Swahili Compositions
Swahili Forum, 2018
Although a textual relationship between Arabic Muslim texts and their rendition through Swahili epic poems (tendi) is acknowledged in Swahili poetry studies, “translation” is not a straightforward explanation of this relationship. Furthermore, Swahili narrative poems on the prophets (manabii), mostly created at the end of the 19th century, have seldom been considered in textual relation to the Qiṣaṣ al-Anbiyā’ literature or to the Qur’ān. Thus, important questions have not been asked: How did the Arabic stories of the prophets arrive on the Swahili coast? How did poets appropriate these stories and forge them into a new narrative discourse? In this paper, I focus on tafsiri as a form of appropriation and adaptation, applying Gérard Genette’s concept of “palimpsest” to analyse the textual relationship between Arabic Muslim and Swahili literary texts. This will allow me, through a close reading of these texts and consideration of both language and genre, to identify the palimpsestuous presence or rather copresence of Arabic source texts within Swahili works. Ultimately, this method offers a model for future philologies of world literature.
Eastern African Literary and Cultural Studies, 2014
Ever since the arrival of colonialism gained momentum in the country, Somali literature has been approached narrowly from the tutelage of the pastoral culture. Colonial as well as early Somali writers have taken the comfort of disdaining the study of anthological themes related to the non-nomadic cultures and literatures. That restricted notion of one culture, as purported by colonial writers and later politically enshrined by the state and a section of Somali scholars, has obscured the wealth of the various non-nomadic cultures in this Horn of Africa nation. Therefore, contrary to the notion of a homogenous Somali nation of the same nomadic culture, this essay aims to produce a non-nomadic version of Somali literature as practised by a section among the agrarian communities in Somalia; those known as Bantu or Jareer. Because the Bantu is an ethnically oppressed community, all what is related to their culture and literature in particular has been deemed valueless and, as a consequence, an institution unworthy studying. In particular, the essay argues that despite the degradation by the Somali state and neglect by Somalia scholarship often obsessed with the apocryphal ideology of a self-same Somalia, the agrarian wordsmith is bestowed with rich cultural and literary wisdom which makes him view his environment with sharp consciousness.
In This Fragile World
Introduction to Part 2 171 Jamii: Topical Issues on Lamu 175 1 Amu ("Lamu") 175 2 Bandari ina mawimbi ("The Port Makes Waves") 186 3 Jahazi ("The Dhow") 190 4 Tupijeni makamama ("Let Us Embrace") 192 Ilimu: The Importance of Education 196 1 Mwalimu ("Teacher") 196 2 Kilio huliya mwenye ("Change Begins at Home") 200 3 Kiswahili ("Swahili") 206 4 Za Washirazi athari ("The Influence of the Persians") 214 Huruma: Social Roles and Responsibility 218 1 Mama msimlaumu ("Don't Blame My Mother") 218 2 Jilbabu ("Veil") 223 3 Mchezo wa kuigiza ("Play") 228 4 Haki za watoto ("Children's Rights") 235 5 Wasiya wa mabanati ("Advice to Young Women") 274 Matukio: Biographical Poems 319 1 Hafi asiye timiwa ("No One Dies before His Time Is Up") 319 2 Mlango ("The Door") 324 Maombi: Personal Poems of Supplication 328 1 Hapo zamani za yana ("Once upon a Time") 329 2 Tunda ("Fruit") 355 3 Kipande cha ini ("Piece of My Liver") 356 4 Mola zidisha baraka ("God Increase Your Blessings") 360 5 Yasome na kukumbuka ("Read and Remember") 365 All pictures belong to Ustadh Mau's private archive unless otherwise indicated. Ustadh Mahmoud Mau at the British Institute in Eastern Africa in Nairobi, 2009 viii Ustadh Mahmoud Mau during a reading at the Iwalewahaus, University of Bayreuth, 2015 xix Ustadh Mahmoud Mau at home reading the Texas Review given to him by his American neighbour 10 The District Commissioner awards Ustadh Mahmoud Mau a medal for his outstanding commitment for education on the Kenyan Jamhuri Day 29 The poet at the entrance of Asilia Bakery on Lamu in 2000 40 Ustadh Mahmoud Mau at the beach on the island in 1967. Behind him the motorboat of the District Commissioner 68 A bookshelf in Mahmoud Mau's private library 94 Ustadh Mahmoud Mau as a small boy in 1963; next to him a kiti cha enzi, a prestigious, commonly shared Indian Ocean piece of furniture from the epoch of Portuguese rule 132 Excerpt from the booklet Yā-bintī by al-Ṭanṭawi, eg 1406/ad 1985, 28 141 The cover art for the three Wasiya tracks available on SoundCloud 148 Original first (right) and last (left) page of Ustadh Mau's Wasiya wa mabanati, composed and handwritten in Roman script in a notebook 151 Barka Aboud, Ustadh Mahmoud Mau's mother, in 1968 168 Ustadh Mahmoud Mau and his photo album 171 Ustadh Mahmoud Mau giving a speech to motivate adults to have their children vaccinated against polio during the time of the maulidi celebration around 2010 175 Ustadh Mahmoud Mau visiting a school in the village of Barigoni on the mainland 196 Ustadh Mahmoud Mau reading Mama Musimlaumu at the Jukwaani Festival in Nairobi in 2009; in his hands the newspaper report which inspired his poem 218 First page of the manuscript of "Haki za Watoto" in Ustadh Mau's handwriting 273 First page of the manuscript of the "Wasiya ya Mabanati" in Ustadh Mau's handwriting 318 Ustadh Mahmoud Mau sitting in front of the oven in his bakery in 1988 319
The Swahili Art of Indian Taarab: A Poetics of Vocality and Ethnicity on the Kenyan Coast
Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, 2017
Employing approaches from ethnomusicology and vocal anthropology, Eisenberg undertakes an interpretive-ethnographic analysis of Indian taarab, a genre of Swahili song on the Kenyan coast that features Swahili words set to Hindi film song melodies performed in a distinctly Indian style. Eisenberg argues that Swahili musicians and audiences derive pleasure and meaning from Indian taarab’s paradoxical presentation of Indian sounds as Swahili expressions, and that this positions the genre as a vehicle for public reflection on Swahili ethnicity. Focusing on the voice and vocality, he explores how certain Indian taarab singers—the genre’s “clowns”—engage in a reflexive critical analysis of Swahili ethnicity by playfully making audible the Indianness that resonates within the space of Swahili ethnicity (uswahili). Ultimately, the essay seeks to generate new perspectives on social identification among Kenyan coastal Muslims by taking an ethnographic ear to Indian taarab clowning and its “harlequin poetics.” Keywords: Swahili identity, poetics, vocality, vocal anthropology, ethnomusicology, Indian Ocean
Transcending the Versification of Oraliture: Song- text as oral Performance among The Ilaje
Niyi Akingbe, 2013
Oraliture is a terminology that is often employed in the description of the various genres of oral literature such as proverbs, legends, short stories, traditional songs and rhymes, song-poems, historical narratives traditional symbols, images, oral performance, myths and other traditional stylistic devices. All these devices constitute vibrant appurtenances of oral narrative performance in Africa. Oral narrative performance is invariably situated within the domain of social communication, which brings together the raconteur/performer and the audience towards the realisation of communal entertainment. While the narrator/performer, plays the leading role in an oral performance, the audience's involvement and participation is realised through song, verbal/choral responses, gestures and, or instrumental/musical accompaniment. This oral practice usually take place at one time or the other in various African communities during the festival, ritual/religious procession 324 which ranges from story-telling, recitation of poems, song text and dancing. This paper is essentially concerned with the illustration of the use of songtext, as oral performance among the Ilaje, a burgeoning coastal sub-ethnic group, of the Yoruba race in the South Western Nigeria. The paper will further examine how patriotism, history, death and anti-social behaviours are evaluated through the use of songs among the Ilaje.
ABSTRACT "A lot has been said about the slow death of the oral tradition aspect of indigenous communication. The steady incursion of foreign media content and values which were once alien to Africans but are now being assimilated and exhibited at an alarming rate, most especially among the youth, presents a problem as regards traditions and cultural values. The indigenous means of communication is an integral part of the lives of Africans and losing this will surely mean the loss of more than our ability to communicate traditionally, but also intrinsic aspects of our cultural history and heritage. Most indigenous knowledge is not written down but memorized and passed down from one generation to the next by word of mouth. The influence of foreign media and the competition it brings could mean that the attention of coming generations may be diverted and there might be no one to pass down historical information to. However, there are certain ways through which aspects of the African culture and history can be passed down and preserved. One of these is through poetry. Although poetry is mostly used for entertainment, among the Yorubas, Ewi (oral poetry) – and some other variations – is often used to inform, eulogise achievements, guide individuals through the murky waters of the world‘s hazardous terrain, celebrate the inexorable link between life and death, and to speak out against unacceptable behaviours and practices. This article is an attempt to examine how poetry has been, and can still be used to preserve the cultural heritage of the Yoruba people. In addition, the power of poetry to challenge social ills and stimulate change in the society, and the various ways through which indigenous poetry has found its way into foreign media was examined. Key words: poetry, oral communication, social change, cultural heritage, indigenous communication."
Islamic qasidas-panegyrics that mainly eulogize the Prophet, trended in East African coast for centuries. They were mainly composed by Sufi scholars, a cadre of intellectual elites, who were poets and well versed in Islamic sciences. The clerics engaged in propagation of Islam, translating Arabic/Islamic texts into Swahili, writing, teaching, healing and composing qasidas. One enotable individual, a scholar, a poet, a maginificient lyric singer is Sayyid Hussein Ahmad Badawy Jamal Leyl. This paper , therefore, shall briefly outline his biography and some of his qasidas.
AL-INKISHAFI: A NINTEENTH CENTURY SWAHILI POEM
Within the Lamu Archipelago in Kenya's northern coast, creative writing has been thriving for at least three hundred years. Thanks to the coming to the region of Arab immigrants and the introduction of Arabic script, the locals cultivated a strong literacy tradition especially in poetry. One of the region's finest poetic compositions, created about two hundred years ago, is "Al-Inkishafi" which translates as "Soul's Awakening" (Hitchens, 1972) or the "Catechism of the Soul" (De Verre Allen, 1977).
Centering the Peripheral: A Case for Poetry in Africa
Journal of Arts and Humanities, 2014
Available Online January 2014 This paper grapples with a frequently asked question: Is there a case for poetry in Africa? Though not necessarily a polemical rooting for recognition of African oral poetry, the paper stands in contention with assertions that have tended to dismiss the said artworks as nonpoetry, while at the same time attempting to confer superiority of the written poetry over the oral. In particular, the paper contests the arguments by some pioneer researchers into African literature that posited that what was usually touted as poetry in Africa did not qualify as true poetry, but rather, simply songs and chants. In an attempt to address the nitty-gritty of this subject the paper tackles the crucial question of what constitutes poetry and whether there is a significant difference between a song and a poem. The paper employs the theory of ethno-poetics which takes interest in the aesthetic components and poetic structuring of oral poems. Ethnopoetics gives guidelines on how to organize an oral text in lines to render its fullest charge of texture: rhythm, nuance, phrasing and other components that allow full poetic meaning. It is intended that the poetic restructuring will particularly help realize the poetic qualities in African poetic works. Besides, the paper also tries to underscore "narrato-centric" approach, an application I used elsewhere in my discussion of theory in the study of oral literature. The approach encourages the study of oral literature material that puts emphasis on performance and the dynamics dictating the performer and his role in the performance.
(2020) Prayers Uttered Down on Paper: A Stylistic Analysis of Swahili Devotional Lyrics
Special Issue: Islamic Verse-Making in African Societies: Themes, Forms, Functions, 2020
In Swahili poetry, praising God through blessings and salutations finds aesthetic expression in a plethora of genres, particularly mashairi, utendi and takhmis. In this article, I will draw attention to a lesser-known rhymed poetic genre known as gungu "songs," in shairi verse form, dating to the turn of the nineteenth century. Different from other well-known, fully devotional Swahili compositions such as Sayyid Aidarus's Hamziyya or al-Būṣīrī's Qasida Burda, the texts that will be analysed are a selected group of short devotional quatrains belonging to a vast manuscript that otherwise chiefly comprises war poetry as well as dance and wedding songs. While, on the one hand, the presence of devotional lyrics in this extensive poetry collection attests to the legitimacy of religious subject matter in popular lyric poems, the verses also offer an opportunity to reflect on literary prayer (dua) and its architecture, lyrical tone and imagery, in comparison with longer classical Swahili religious compositions, where dua is also interpolated. Is there a set of shared Swahili or Arabic formulas for naming, praying to and praising God that can be found in all of these genres? Can the Qur'an be considered as the sub-text the poets drew on in making their texts speak of the divine? A stylistic analysis, looking at patterns, formulaic dua and devotional speech acts of these yet-unedited short devotional lyrics, will provide the criteria by which I will compare excerpts from other Swahili poetic genres, inquiring how Islamic prayer is woven in between their lines.