The following Northern Sotho poem appears to be about a leopard; but the allusion is to the chiefs of the Tlokwa, whose symbol was a leopard.
It is the yellow leopard with the spots
The yellow leopard of the cliffs
Oral Poetry from Africa
Filed Under: Poems of Gods & Ancestors
The following Northern Sotho poem appears to be about a leopard; but the allusion is to the chiefs of the Tlokwa, whose symbol was a leopard.
It is the yellow leopard with the spots
The yellow leopard of the cliffs
Filed Under: Relationship Poems
A Kgatla song from Botswana, sung by women complaining together about their husbands. The reference to ‘Khaki’ in line 5 suggests not only that the man is poor but also that he may be a court messenger or some other collaborator with the colonial authorities (see Lomwe-Chuabo Protest Songs).
I heard it said that I was betrothed
And one afternoon when I was at home
Filed Under: Relationship Poems
Unlike the longer gabay poems of Somalia, the buraambur is a poem composed by women for women — although men have been known to be interested listeners. In this example of the buraambur, a woman sings of her love for someone she has only had the pleasure of meeting once.
Oh, you are like a kilt which a young dandy set out to choose,
Oh, you are like a costly ring for which thousands were paid
Filed Under: Survival Poems
An Acoli poem from Uganda, taunting the person foolish enough to try to block the speakers path. The poem was collected and translated by the famous Ugandan poet Okot p’Bitek.
Coward, crawl back into your mother’s womb!
We are sons of the brave
Filed Under: Survival Poems
A song of a Shona clan from Zimbabwe, boasting of the invincibility of their ancestors as a warning to other rival clans. The ‘Sons of Chihuri’ say that their enemy has taken on more than he bargained for.
We, the grandsons of Makomo,
are not treated like that!
No one in this country plays with us…
Filed Under: Poems of Gods & Ancestors
Ulli Beier describes Alajire as a manifestation of the Òrìṣà, Ṣọ̀pọ̀na, who is more commonly known as Ọbalúayé or Babalú-Ayé. This Òrìṣà is associated with suffering and diseases such as smallpox, leprosy and AIDS.
Alajire, we ask you to be patient,
you are very quick-tempered
This site opens a window on something that will be new to most people, namely, the vast amount of superb poetry hidden away in the 3000 different languages spoken in Africa … More