Oral Poetry from Africa
Khat (also spelled qat or qaat) is a flowering plant native to the Northeast African peninsula (the countries of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia). When chewed it produces a stimulant effect similar to amphetamines. The talkative high that emerges has made it popular for a variety of social occasions.
When I eat of this Qaat plant I find it to inspire
It helps me to take a seat among notable peers…
Another in our series of Modern Poetry in the Oral Manner, this one about one of the most prominent Òrìṣà, Ṣàngó also known as Shango (see also In Praise of Shango) or Xango in Latin. The following poem not only addresses his encounter with the Owu people, now concentrated in Abeokuta, but also portrays Ṣàngó’s personality ranging from his birth, life and wives, to his controversial end.
Jakuta, son of Aganju,
Violent ruler, grandson of Oduduwa…
These are a series of Nyembara songs from Sudan, performed to mourn the death of Chief Yokwe Kerri in the 1930’s. They were collected by A. C. Beaton, with additional help in translation from the Bari language into English by a Father Spagnola.
How came bereavement to his house?
How came forlorn-ness?
I have added this new section, provisionally called Modern Poetry in the oral manner, in response to readers visiting the site who have sent me their own written poems inspired by the material they have been reading here.
Modern African poetry draws on a multitude of traditions, including European and American. Some of the best, however, works very closely with oral styles and imagery, perpetuating what may best be called an oral aesthetic…
This is a modern poem by Aremu Adams Adebisi on the theme of the legend that surrounds the 12th century Yorùbá princess, Moremi Ajasoro.
In the land of Ife,
A very long time really…
A modern poem sent to us by Laju Ereyitomi Oyewoli, in the style of a traditional praise of one’s own clan. The Itsekiri people live in Nigeria’s Niger Delta area and traditionally refer to their land as the Kingdom of Iwerre.
Iwere ni mi
For I belong to the powerful bloodline…
