An Igbo poem from eastern Nigeria. This poem is from the Odo masquerade when, through masked dancers, the ancestors speak to the living.
I live by the Ngwu tree
Near the Nkwo market…
Why do we Grumble?
A Yorùbá Iwi poem from Nigeria. In a series of proverb-like metaphors, the poem comments on the advantages of variety in life.
Why do we grumble because a tree is bent
When, in our streets, there are even men who are bent?…
The Path and the River
An Ashanti poem from Ghana, an extract from a drum poem in praise of the river God Tano, addressed as “Kokon Tano” and “Birefia Tano” (see also Drum Address To The Earth Spirit).
The path has crossed the river,
The river has crossed the path…
Morning Prayers of the Elders
Two separate prayers of the Nandi people, who live in the highlands at the edge of the Great Rift Valley in Kenya. These are songs that would be recited at dawn to Asista, the Sun god, along with offerings of beer and milk.
Asista, give us health!
Asista, give us raided cattle!..
Tiger
This poem from the Ifá oracle illustrates how, through a superb description of the tiger’s hide and claws, tiger was granted honour by consulting Ifá and making sacrifice.
Ifa divination was performed for Tiger,
The one with the lovely and shining skin…
Hunters Prayers
A prayer of the San bushmen, calling to the Moon to assist the hunter the following day. In the prayer the hunter describes how he will steal the yolk of an ostrich’s egg while the ostrich is actually sitting on the nest.
Ho moon lying there,
Let me early tomorrow see an ostrich…
