Oral Poetry from Africa
A modern poem in praise of Efunsetan Aniwura, a Yorùbá woman who rose to a position of great wealth and political power in Ibadan, Nigeria, during the mid-19th century.
Elegbe, let us not toy with a raging fire
for if the thumb get burnt,
all fingers shall suffer…
A Shona song, sung by women to accompany the stamping or pounding of maize into flour (see also Pounding Songs).
You who are at the men’s meeting place,
The amount of sadza in the hand should be fine…
A modern poem in the traditional manner of an offering and petition to one’s gods and ancestors, sent to us by Adjei Agyei-Baah.
We have come to you with our gourd of tears
take, accept and make us men of huge testicles…
The following epic poem was transcribed by Dr Alice Werner, who was the professor of Swahili and Bantu languages at London’s School of Oriental Studies between 1917–1930. Dr Werner first encoutered the story of Miqdad and Mayasa during her visit to the village of Bomani, a village in Kenya’s Kilifi County, in 1913.
I begin with the name of the Compassionate,
and pray for the faithful one…
A modern poem in the traditional manner of a praise for one’s clan, sent to us by Adjei Agyei-Baah. Here the history of the Ashanti people is celebrated with reference to the richness of their land, their gods, and their traditional rulers.
The edenic garden on a fertile land of gold
Ashanti!..
A poem sent to us by Adjei Agyei-Baah on the theme of the Ashanti royal house. The Ashanti people live within a wealthy, gold-rich region of Ghana. Otumfuo is an honourary title bestowed upon Ashanti rulers when they ascend the throne. The Ashanti Empire was officially established in 1701 by the Ashanti King Osei Tutu and his adviser and High Priest, Okomfo Anokye.
He who knows not the Otumfuo
Let me present him…
