Oral Poetry from Africa
A lively example of a Yorùbá poetic tradition known as Iwì Egúngún, the chant of the masked dancers. Masquerades feature on festive occasions, such as a chief’s appointment, the funeral of a prominent person, the dedication of a shrine, the visit of someone important.
Offspring of Abilodesu, listen to my words
One with disordered head pad…
Another of the thousands of poems associated with the Ifá oracle of the Yorùbá people (see also How Leopard got his honour). There are 256 different Odù or branches of Ifá poetry, and many hundreds of different poems are associated with each Odù. The Ifá priest learns these poems during many years of training.
The twisted wooden stump which crosses the road in a crooked way.
Ifa divination was performed for Lion…
I thought that with the inclusion of the Ifá poem, Lion refused to make sacrifice, that now would be a good time to repost one of my favourite poems, Tiger (From the Ifa Oracle) and to make a slight modification to the translation.
Ifa divination was performed for Leopard,
The one with the lovely and shining skin…
Odo, as practised by several Igbo-speaking communities in eastern Nigeria’s Enugu State, is the occasion when ancestral spirits return in the form of masked dances to share in important events, or simply to bridge the gap between the living and the dead. The dancers perform in public arenas and openly compete, both in their costume and in poetry.
May the gathering here listen,
listen:
for it’s the Odo that hears the market din…
A ChiSena prayer to Chauta (God) from southern Malawi. The prayer is led by an elder, with the people responding in chorus.
Chauta we beseech you, we beseech you!
You have refused us rain, we beseech you!…
Two versions of a Dinka poem from South Sudan. During the time of the Mahdi, the Dinka ruler was required to sacrifice his son as proof of his loyalty. Both versions are horrified by the demand.
The old are asked about the distant past:
Ask your father about the distant past…
