This is the second part of S.E.K. Mqhayi’s poem “The Grave of the King”, which was originally published in the Xhosa newspaper, Izwi Labantu on December 8th 1908.
We have a river,
A river of great strength…
Oral Poetry from Africa
Filed Under: Praise-Poems
This is the second part of S.E.K. Mqhayi’s poem “The Grave of the King”, which was originally published in the Xhosa newspaper, Izwi Labantu on December 8th 1908.
We have a river,
A river of great strength…
Filed Under: Praise-Poems
Filed Under: Praise-Poems
The following poem by the Xhosa imbongi, David Livingston Phakamile Yali-Manisi (1926–1999), was performed at a conference hosted by the University of Natal Oral Documentation and Research Centre (South Africa) in 1985.
The forest bird grows restless
one who always goes when sent…
Filed Under: Praise-Poems
I am grateful to Professor Zodwa Motsa for providing us with the following poem, the praises performed after the inauguration of King Mswati III of Eswatini (also known as Swaziland) in 1986.
Mswati the black one amongst the ashen
Warrior stick of horns who settles not in gourd-drums
But enters in the seed-bushels of the buffalos…
Filed Under: Praise-Poems
A previous Shona clan praise published here was of the Shumba Murambwi, whose totem is the lion. The following clan praise is of the Tembo-Shumba, the “Zebra-Lion”, a mythical totem animal that serves as the emblem of the Mutasa people, whose homestead is Manyikaland in eastern Zimbabwe.
Thank you, Zebra.
Thank you Chiwara,
Hornless beast of the wilderness,
The Well Dressed One…
Filed Under: Praise-Poems
The Akan peoples of Ghana include the Ashanti, Fanti, Akim, Akwapim and Asen. One distinct style of Akan oral poetry are the poems recited by the masters of ceremonies to paramount chiefs.
He is one who hates to see an enemy return victorious
He delivers old and young from the ravages of war…
This site opens a window on something that will be new to most people, namely, the vast amount of superb poetry hidden away in the 3000 different languages spoken in Africa … More