Oral Poetry from Africa
A Somali song from the days of Turkish rule. The singer’s ironically compares his troubles — the Mahdi making war, the locusts eating his crops, his wife’s grumbling, the ants eating his stores, the Sultan’s men who have stolen his horse, and the soldiers camped nearby.
Between the Sayyid who upsets wealth and exterminates people
And the locust who has eaten the buds, which is the better for me?..
A prayer to Mwari (God) and the ancestors at a time of drought among the Zezuru, one of the groups making up the Shona people of southern and south-eastern Zimbabwe.
Tovela, our great father,
We have a petition for rain…
Another version of the praises of the Shava clan of the Shona people of Zimbabwe (see also Thank You, Shava). Clan Praises are addressed not to specific kings as in the Zulu tradition, but to the whole lineage. At the heart of the praise is the totem associated with the clan, in this case the Eland. Museyamwa is one of the dynasties within the clan.
Thank you, my Support!
Thank you eland, my dear tawny one…
The Yorùbá believe in Atunwa, reincarnation within the family. Yorùbá funeral songs such as Slowly the Muddy Pool Becomes a River and Where are You Now? incorporate the symbolism of loved ones returning in other forms. This poem is a grief-stricken Yorùbá prayer, inviting a dead child to be born again.
Death catches the hunter with pain.
Eshu catches the herbalist in a sack…
Praises of the Shava clan of the Shona people of Zimbabwe. Clan Praises are addressed not to specific kings, as in the Zulu tradition, but to the whole lineage. Every member of the clan deserves praise after rendering some important service.
Thank you, Shava,
The Great Eland bull, The Runaway.
