Oral Poetry from Africa
Gule Wamkulu is a secret initiatory society of men from Chewa-speaking communities in Malawi, Zambia, and Mozambique. The dancers wear masks personifying the spirits of ancestors and sacred animals native to the lands. They perform primarily at funerals and memorial services but also at celebrations. This performance was recorded at Mkuwazi Village in the Salima district of Malawi.
Bury me on the veranda
Bury me on the veranda
Eyeee… so that when my mother
Should see me and say I am dead…
A poem praising the bravery of a Swazi king, Mavuso, who fought unsuccessfully against the Afrikaaners. The land of the Ngwane kingdom was taken over by Afrikaners, who then had renamed the land the Transvaal and used it for commercial farming in the 1840s.
Mavuso of Ngwane,
Dangazela of Ngwane of Sobhusa.
News of war eats the child still in the womb.
If a person can walk he would have run away…
A new poem by Amore David Olamide. Oba Adéyẹyè Ẹnítán Ògúnwúsi Ọjájá II is the current Ọọ̀ni (the traditional ruler) of Ilè-Ifẹ̀. The Ọọ̀ni of Ilè-Ifẹ̀ traditionally serves as the spiritual head of the Yorùbá people.
The masquerader will pay homage to Alágbaà
All birds shall pay homage to Ọlanfẹ…
My thanks to the Ghanaian poet Adjei Agyei-Baah for this composition a praise song dedicated to his wife, Benedicta Adjei Baah.
The goddess who struts in rocking beads
Aah! So you think the lizard nods for nothing…
Fatoumata Diawara was born in the Ivory Coast to Malian parents, but grew up in Bamako in Mali. Kokòrò (“Our Heritage” or “Our Traditions”) is a song standing in defence of the cultural heritage of Mali.
Let’s not turn our backs to our traditions
Let’s embrace them, be proud of them…
A new praise-poem by Amore David Olamide dedicated to the city of Ìbàdàn, the capital of Ọyọ State in Nigeria. Founded in the 19th century as a warriors camp, Ìbàdàn has grown into one of Africa’s most populous cities.
According to local historians, Ìbàdàn was founded by a military commander from Ilé Ifè called Lagelu in 1829. Lagelu chose the forest site to be a camp for warriors as its elevated hills made it easy to defend. The city-state became a wealthy trading centre ruled by a warrior class rather than the traditional kingship institutions that dominated other Yoruba cities. Ìbàdàn’s military associations led to the city being nicknamed idi Ibon (“butt of a gun”).
Ìbàdàn, the home of heroes
Who could not be opposed…
