Three Swahili poems (MS 45022) Hirqal, Qatirifu and Ndiwa na Kozi.
Hiraql : three Swahili poems.
Heraclius : three Swahili poems.
Kyuo kya Hereḳali.
Book of Heraclius.
Utend̠i wa Tambuka.
Utenzi wa Tambuka.
Story of Tambuka.
Story of Heraclius.
Utenzi wa Qatirifu (Wadi Isban)
Swahili is an Eastern African Bantu language with many Arabic elements acquired through contact with Arab traders since about 900 CE. The oldest transcriptions of oral Swahili poetry, written in Arabic script, are from the early eighteenth century. Poetry plays an important cultural role, encouraged...
| Full title: |
Three Swahili poems (MS 45022) [electronic resource] Hirqal, Qatirifu and Ndiwa na Kozi. |
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| Alternative titles: |
Hiraql : three Swahili poems. Heraclius : three Swahili poems. Kyuo kya Hereḳali. Book of Heraclius. Utend̠i wa Tambuka. Utenzi wa Tambuka. Story of Tambuka. Story of Heraclius. Utenzi wa Qatirifu (Wadi Isban) |
| Other authors: | bin Mwengo, Abu bakr., Kijuma, Muhammad. |
| Format: | Physical Object |
| Language: | Swahili |
| Published: |
[19th century].
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| Series: |
SOAS Digital Library.
African Collections. Swahili Manuscripts Collections. Tanzania Collection at SOAS, University of London. Ottoman & Turkey Collection at SOAS, University of London. Kenya Collection at SOAS, University of London. |
| Subjects: | |
| Online access: |
Electronic Resource Click here to view record |
| Summary: |
Swahili is an Eastern African Bantu language with many Arabic elements acquired through contact with Arab traders since about 900 CE. The oldest transcriptions of oral Swahili poetry, written in Arabic script, are from the early eighteenth century. Poetry plays an important cultural role, encouraged by religious leaders whose Arabic verses may be paraphrased interlinearly in Swahili. Such poetry protects the individual and embodies patrician Swahili values of purity and piety, expressing pride in their Arab origins. Poems may render events in the life of the Prophet Muhammad or historical happenings in early Islam, as here, where the two longer poems deal with Muhammad’s victories against the Byzantine emperor Heraclius (Hiraql, reigned 610-641 CE) (Text by Tania Tribe, from the exhibition catalogue: Objects of instruction : treasures of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Anna Contadini, Editor. London : SOAS, University of London, 2007.) The second poem of this MS is the religious poem known as 'Utenzi wa Wadi Isban', rendered here as 'Utenzi wa Qatirifu'. The same poem with transliteration is to be found is MS 47779 and MS 380552 (Hichens collection). This poem was given to Rev. John Williamson by Kijumwa in 1940. The writing of the scribe is difficult to read, and his spelling is erratic. The manuscript exemplifies (see, for example, the first several lines) the manipulation of Arabic words to fit the Swahili rhyme scheme, resulting in phrases that are neither properly Swahili nor correct Arabic. The poem narrates about a battle in a Valley, the Wadi Isban, between the Prophet Mohammed's army and the army of an unbeliever, Katirifu. It is written in northern dialect, with borrowings from Arabic. In brief, the poem narrates of a Jew named Amri, who wants to become a Muslim and he is travelling to Mecca to see Mohammed. On his way, Amri meets a shepherd and inquires about the owner of a beautiful house visible in the distance. The shepherd explains that the palace belongs to a tyrant and his daughter Hasina, both of whom are unbelievers. A man named Katirifu wishes to marry Hasina, but as her bride price the princess has demanded that Katirifu kill Mohammed and Ali, against whom her husband fought in the battle of Badr, in which he died. Hasina and Katirifu made an agreement, and Katirifu went to gather his troops. The poem contains 450 stanzas, of one line in each stanza. |
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| Other authors: | bin Mwengo, Abu bakr., Kijuma, Muhammad. |
| Language: | Swahili |
| Published: |
[19th century].
|
| Subjects: | |
| Series: |
SOAS Digital Library.
African Collections. Swahili Manuscripts Collections. Tanzania Collection at SOAS, University of London. Ottoman & Turkey Collection at SOAS, University of London. Kenya Collection at SOAS, University of London. |
| Bibliography: |
Knappert, Jan. 1969. The Utenzi wa Katirifu or Ghazwa ya Sesebani. Afrika und Ubersee 52: 81-104 and 264-313. Ibid. 1999. A Survey of Swahili Islamic Epic Sagas. Lewiston, New York; Queenston, Ontario; Lampeter, Wales: Edwin Mellen Press; pp. 76-82 Abou Egl, Mohammad. 1983. The life and works of Muhamadi Kijuma. PhD thesis, SOAS, University of London. |