Oral Poetry from Africa
A modern praise-poem by Amore David Olamide, in praise of the Egba (Yorùbá people who migrated into Egba Forest before establishing new townships around Olumo Rock) and their heroic ancestors.
Egba, the cradle of the renaissance
A city built atop steep hills…
A new poem by Amore David Olamide that contemplates the meanings of Ọ̀yẹ̀kú Méjì, one of the integral verses of the Yorùbá religious corpus Odù Ifá.
The Ifá compilation opens with a chapter called Èjì Ogbè that explores the themes of light and becoming one with the world. In stark contrast the next odù, Ọ̀yẹ̀kú Méjì, addresses the darker aspects of life and suggests that good can come from bad, no matter how unlikely it may seem at the time.
In the following poem, the poet describes the path of an individual who, in order to avert death, adheres to several spiritual preconditions advised by Ifá.
The death that will kill a seasoned swimmer
Will rather make the hyacinth suffer horribly…
There is a Swahili proverb that says “Huyui kilacho nyuki, asali hungeiramba” — “You do not know what the bees eat. If you did, you would not lick up the honey”. The following song by taarab singers Siti Muharam and Mohamed Issa Matona of Zanzibar, explains why this may be.
Bee, you make me sad
Truth I tell you…
The rise of the Zulu nation under the leadership of Shaka Zulu in the early nineteenth century disrupted many traditional alliances in Southern Africa. This era of heightened military conflict led to the ‘great scattering’ (Mfecane), as various clans migrated out of South Africa and into neighbouring countries.
The Ngoni kingdoms established in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Zambia were created by two chiefs, Inkosi Zwangendaba and Inkosi Mputa Maseko who came up from the south, conquering and forcibly incorporating the communities they encountered on their journey northwards.
This is one of the Ngoma traditional dance songs by the Maseko Ngoni, recorded in the Ntcheu District of Malawi. Originally a war dance, Ngoma was performed in preparation for battle and to celebrate victory. In more peaceful times it became a dance to celebrate the installation of a new Chief or a successful hunt. In Malawi today it is mostly performed at wedding ceremonies, festivals and at funerals.
These are two the same two people
The same two…
Allan Namoko (1956 — 1995) was a virtuoso visually-impaired banjo player who took Malawi by storm, becoming a household name in the early 1980’s. He was backed by the Chimvu River jazz band, who played using home-made instruments and recorded their songs in just one take on Reel to Reel tape recorders.
My Uncle, my Uncle
Uncle, my family…
A short poem sent to us by Laju Ereyitomi Oyewoli (see also Mother is Gold), about the costs of comparing one thing to another that is really not related.
And the foolish Rat
Followed the Lizard…
